Candy Box for All + A Melanie Falick STC Giveaway

Easter is coming soon and when I think back to the holidays of my youth, it seems there was always a box of Russell Stover's candy passed around the Sunday dinner table. My sisters and I would look longingly at the lovely chocolate covered confections in dark and milk chocolate, trying hard to decide which ONE we would eat. It was a dicey decision because we were only allowed one. If we picked the wrong one, one that had one of those icky fillings, you were stuck. Eat it or leave it. I usually ate it. As the box sat aging on the bureau in the dining room, the candies would slowly disappear. All except the odd flavors that none of us liked. Those candies would be left in the box, one small bite out of each, to age until my mother got sick of looking at the box and it would be thrown out.

Many of the lambs that were born this winter have been eating hay for awhile. They still look to their mothers for milk, but their diet is becoming what an adult sheep eats - hay and baleage. Baleage is "pickled grass". The Farmer harvested it last year and it has been wrapped in white agricultural plastic fermenting and waiting to be fed to the sheep now when the grass isn't growing.

The Farmer uses his tractor to bring a new bale of either dry hay or baleage to the feed bunk. It helps if I am around because these things are really heavy (500 to 800 lbs). The little lambs are always just waiting to dive into the hay and my job is to make sure the bale doesn't land on any of them. It's rather dicey and scary because it doesn't take much to squish a lamb. After plopping the bale down, it is time to unwrap the bale and see what the feed looks like. For the sheep and lambs, I liken this moment to unwrapping that box of Russell Stovers candy from the holidays.

They start picking at it, looking for the bits they like. Sheep are all about the feed. I can tell that some bales taste better than others. They just smell better - sweeter and pungent. Some of the bales seem to disappear quickly and then others hang around for a couple of days. Hay is made up of several different kinds of forage including timothy, blue grass, fescue, alfalfa, and red and white clover.

It's good exercise peeling the hay away, unwrapping the preserved grass that is wrapped circularly like a giant scroll of paper and feeding it out down the line. The mature mama sheep are on one side of the feed bunk, ravenously waiting, never mind that they always have feed in the field - they want to try the new bale! The lambs are on the other side, picking at the hay before we can unwrap it. 

 

It takes about a day or two to go through a bale. As the lambs continue to grow, we will go through more feed. We always hope we have enough to make it through until the grass starts growing. Then the sheep and lambs will transition to fresh green grass.

All this talk about candy boxes of all kinds.....  Have I got a grown-up candy box for all of you creative types! My friend Melanie Falick, Editor of STC Craft Books has donated four of her newest book titles in honor of my 5th blog anniversary! All of Melanie's books are creative maker's eye candy. But although drop dead gorgeous - they are not just fluff. They are full of great how-to instruction, well-thought out book construction, and stylish book design. STC published Knitting For Baby, the book Melanie and I did together just after we both had our children back in the early part of this century (wow, does that sound weird - the century thing, that is).

Here's what I've today for you as a giveaway. Thanks to Melanie and the other fine folks at her publishing house STC for donating the following books. I wish I could enter! They are all incredibly wonderful titles!
Crafting a Meaningful Home by Meg Mateo Ilasco

Oliver and S Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson - a beautiful collection of sewing patterns to sew for children

Stitch Magic - A Compendium of Techniques for Stitching Fabric into Exciting New Forms and Fashions by Alison Reid - a very creative sewing book from a designer in the UK

And lastly........

A Knitters Home Companion by Michelle Edwards. Here's a nice video interview with Michelle. Do you know her writing and illustrations? Check out her blog - it is truly beautiful. I really wish I could keep this one!

Here's how you enter: Answer the following question in the comments section: 
If you had to pick one book that changed your life, that helped you to change course, or that you can't imagine not having on your bookshelf forever, which one is it? The book doesn't need to be a knitting or craft book - just any book that you adore.....

Please, don't forget to leave me an easy way to get a hold of you! Contest ends at midnight on Thursday. I'll let you know who wins on Friday.

Contest is over. Thanks to all who entered! If you get a chance, read through all the comments. There are some really great book ideas! The winner is Ellen. She said:
Robinson Crusoe - when I was in second grade we moved outside of easy walking distance to the library, so I had to dig into the set of classics we had at home. Been digging ever since!