Spooner Advocate Column- April 4, 2013

Good morning- Happy April Fool's Day!! I am sure there are those jokers that are out there pranking people. It looks like a beautiful sunny day out there until you walk out and get hit by the wind! Guess that is our April Fools joke today.......hold onto your hair if going out! Happy Birthday goes out to my brother-in-law Dane. I hope nobody pulls an April Fool's joke on you today. Have a beautiful day and enjoy your day! Hugs. I have to say it is a pleasure to see the snow melting out of my yard! Yes, it does look muddy, dirty and plain but oh it is so much easier to deal with. I think we are finally on the last bend before Spring. I have been starting some seeds so we shall see what starts for me. I have to say I have been drooling over some of those seed catalogs that I get in the mail- love Seed Savers and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co! Beautiful pictures! Trying to do more heirloom seeds every year- to say I have been bite by the gardening/ plant bug is a major understatement! Anyone else out there planting? Drooling? Happy birthday to all those April birthdays out there! Hope you have a beautiful birthday. You are special, and we love you! On April 6, 2013 St Joseph's Annual Quilt Show will be held in Rice Lake. St. Joseph's is located at 111 W Marshall Street, Rice Lake. THe quilt show runs from 9 am -3 pm, admission is $3.00. There will be all kinds of quilts to look at, vendors and also if you are interested in knitting, spinning or talking about yarns and fiber the Spinning group from the Rice Lake area will have a table all set-up. The show is always a good one to go check out, we had a great time there last year! Come on out and get inspired! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! The weather on Saturday was very lovely. Sunday was nice, but what was going on with the snow showers? Either way Spring is going to come soon... I hope. I got to go to a friends house and see how her sheep get sheared, have to say my back hurt just watching the guy flip those sheep around! LOL The sheep sure were happy to get their thick jackets off! Lambing and kidding season is upon us. My friend Carmella has baby lambs, the first of her 2013 flock. Deb's lambs will be arriving in the next couple of weeks. We have 2 kids, with more to come on our farm. If you hear of bottle lambs or kids needing a new home please let me know. Good luck to all the farmers during this fun but tiring time of year. May your flocks and herds grow and be productive. Thank you for being a farmer! Things to put on your calendar ... Shephard's Harvest, May 11-12, 2013 at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, MN. They are open Sat 9-5 pm and Sun 10-4 pm, admission is FREE! More information or to sign-up for classes held on May 10 please go to their website- www.shephardsharvestfestival.org . Minnesota Quilters 35th annual Quilt Show and Conference. This year it is in Duluth, Minn., on June 13-15. Classes begin June 12. You can get more information off their website, www.mnquilt.org/mq2013. Good luck to all those quilters who put their beautiful creations in quilt shows, I hope you win some ribbons! I know I am always inspired by each creation that I see when I go to the shows. We really have some talented people out there. Wisconsin Farm Tech Days July 9-11, 2013. Held at Breezy Hill Dairy, 147 16th Street, Dallas, WI. They will be open 9-5 pm daily, further information www.barronfarmtech.com . The 2013 Hayward Quilt Show is July 26-27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Flat Creek Inn in Hayward. If you have questions or donations please contact haywardpiecemakers@hotmail.com. I just wanted to ask all those in the area to let me know what is going on. There must be something going on at the churches, quilting groups, 4-H or something. I appreciate all of you reading the column weekly. Make a "Spring" list of things you can do for the outside animals and for yourself, start checking off those "Spring things". Until next week....turn that frown upside down...smile.