Here it is November already! Hope you all had a happy Hallowe'en. October is always such a wonderful month...with plenty of opportunities to enjoy the fabulous weather... and we had quite a month!

October is winetouring time here in Missouri wine country! Greg and I used to host an annual winetour for our family and friends and I have kept up the tradition of the Witchy Winetour (pointy hats required).

This year we visited some of the Hermann area wineries... next year will be Augusta Wineries. If you would like to join us for next years wine tour, just let me know (and start planning your costume now... you must at LEAST have a pointy hat!).

Kathy goes on a VACATION! This October was especially exciting for me because I got to go on the first non-farm related vacation I have had in about 20 years: a trip to Salem, Massachusetts for Hallowe'en! Wow. Sailing, shopping, touring, eating.... what a great time we had! To see a few vacation pictures see Salem vacation My heartfelt thanks go to my daughter, Josie, who fed for me everyday while I was gone.

MOHAIR and WOOL NEWS

Included in this issue is an updated fall mohair list on the goats & mohair page ... this will be your last chance to order raw fall fleeces (the best mohair of the year). If you have never tried washing mohair before, ask for my washing instructions for mohair. If you were waiting for me to do all the hard work... well, stay tuned: 8 ounce packages of washed mohair will be available beginning in January.

In the meantime I have some absolutely gorgeous Bluefaced Leicester / Angora blend roving now available in time for winter knitting projects. See the sheep & wool page for details

The 2006 CAGBA Calendars are now available! See the goats & mohair page for details

Take a look at the Feather Fancy page for a look at the new addition to the farm and a look at the old German Feather Trees. The holidays will be upon us before we know it.

Before I left on vacation I managed to get the gravity water system set up in the rabbitry and it works GREAT! It shaves about 20 minutes off the chores each morning, and even allows me to go away overnight and not worry about if the rabbits have enough water. The system was easy to set up too!

The Bourbeuse Valley Rabbit Club (of which HMFF is a member) had a rabbit display at the MidMo Horse and Mule & Historical Craft Days the first weekend in October. Their feature event is HORSE POWER and I never miss an opportunity to stock up on freshly pressed and cooked molasses for the coming winter. In 2001 , I put together a 37 page molasses cookbook called Cooking with Molasses . For a sample recipe (Ginger Snaps!) and ordering information click on the link! For more info on next years event contact the MMH&M coordinator: Gail Cross at tenacity@fidnet.com

Outside, the breeding is winding down and it is time to consolidate the herd again into warmer shelters...the trees are showing their autumn finery..the days are sunny and crisp... and the nights are getting downright chilly. Time to look to the woodpile, clean out the chimney, bring in the tender plants, plant bulbs for next spring and finish any late shearing so that the goats have time to grow back their coats before the really cold weather arrives.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thanks to last months customers: Terry Lipe, Adrienne Werren, Jen Schilling, Amy Kehoe, Sherre Wichmann, Marsha Kunz, and asst. ebay customers. Your support means alot to me!