July 1, 2013

Dear Customers, 

Soon the chickens for the fair will be arriving. If you would like to bid at the auction for these meat chickens, more details will arrive soon.  We also plan to sell whole chickens again.

Last weekend we picked our lambs for the fair.  We hope to take 5 ewe lambs, 2 yearling ewes, 4 ram lambs and our supreme champion ram.  The winnings will be donated to the business. 

Our grandfather expects a big harvest of apples and may have too many to eat himself. They will be for sale in the early Fall.  We also plan to sell peaches... they are really good!

For the next two weeks there will not be any newsletters because of summer camps.

Fun Fact: There are four cities in the United States that have the word "chicken" in their name: Chicken, Alaska; Chicken Bristle, Illinois; Chicken Bristle, Kentucky; and Chicken Town, Pennsylvania.

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

The El Salvador Newsletter

Dear Customers, 

I got back from El Salvador on Saturday at 5:30 am after an exhausting 19 hours of travel.  Needless to say the trip was absolutely incredible.  It was rewarding to go back a third time, see many friends and familiar faces, and bring musical and educational supplies I knew they would enjoy.

I took guitar strings, music books, marching band music, and reeds for clarinets and saxophones in hope of expanding the opportunities for the musicians in Chiltiupán. These supplies will help them learn how to read music and play their instruments with better quality.  I gave them to the principal, Sister Irma, and the music teacher of Santo Domingo who were very excited and appreciative to receive the gifts.  I also gave Sister Irma Spanish books, dictionaries, and $145 to buy books that can only be found in El Salvador.

When we visited the Santo Domingo School, the students put on a variety of performances for the Saint Dominic group and the entire Santo Domingo school.  After the marching band played, the music teacher asked me and several other musicians from our youth group to play in the marching band.  Although I was nervous to play, the kids in the band were really nice and let us become apart of their world for a few minutes

Later that day, I went to Centro Escolar Colonia El Coco canton school, which is a very poor rural school.  There are about 16 of these canton schools in Chiltiupán.  Seven teachers teach 300 students (K-9).  They are in desperate need for white boards, shelves for their developing library, and computers.  Most of the working computers date back to 2002!  Surprisingly, one of the classrooms in the school is made out of bamboo because they couldn’t afford the cement. They used to have a marching band, but most of the instruments are broken, and they can only afford a music teacher for part of the year.  We thought recorders would be a simple way to introduce students to instruments. There is a beautiful garden with flowers, corn, papaya, and bananas that the teachers use to teach the students to grow and care for plants. Every change in this school, small or large, will drastically change the students’ lives and education. 

On my trip, I also visited the Cultural Center, which is a small library filled with books and posters used for educational purposes in Chiltiupán. By bringing chairs and tables into the room, they hope this center will become user-friendly for people who visit it. They also need storybooks, puzzles, children’s activities, markers, and coloring books.

This trip I witnessed just how important and vital your contributions are to Chiltiupán.  I want to sincerely thank you for your support. Attached are a few pictures. More pictures will be uploaded to the website soon!

Thanks,

Lauren Hawkes

June 16, 2013

Dear Customers, 

Lauren departs for El Salvador tomorrow, and she will be able to meet the children and adults you are helping.   She will be sharing stories next weekend when she returns.

Don't forget that if you need any composting for your garden, we have plenty and that it really helps your plants grow. Plus its a great deal, at just $1dollars for a 5 gallon bucket. 

We also have 6 dozen eggs for sale if you would like to pick some up.

Fun Fact: Composting can clean contaminated soil. Composting absorbs odors and treats both volatile and semi volatile organic compounds. It also stops heavy metals from entering waterways or being absorbed into plants by binding them.

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

June 7, 2013

Dear Customers,

Lauren is very excited for her visit to El Salvador in one week!  She bought guitar strings, marching band music, spanish books and dictionaries for her trip through the money from the business. Shout out to the Immels who donated many clothes, a trombone, violin and computer games!! Pictures will be on our website after the trip if you have any interest in seeing what it is like in Chiltiupan.  She hopes to share some more details next week.

Reminder that we still have the frequent buyer cards.  People who are using them seem to like them, so if you want one please let us know!  Pay $25 or $30 (delivery) and you get a card to keep track of the number of eggs you buy.  Much easier to use!

Please return your green egg cartons whenever possible. 

Have a great weekend

Fun Fact: Hens will lay eggs whether or not they’ve ever seen a rooster. Roosters are necessary only for fertilization of eggs.

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

June 2, 2013

Dear Customers,

This morning we sheared our sheep for the upcoming warm summer months.  You may find it interesting to know that the breeding ewes (mothers) are shorn twice a year, now and in January, to help with lambing, while the other sheep are only shorn once a year before summer.  Pictures are attached!

This year we kept the best wool, and plan on selling it for anyone who would like to card and spin their own yarn. 

There is a garage sale Thursday, June 6- Saturday, June 8 at October Moon Farm with interesting finds, Juicy Lucy clothing and antiques.  The address is 1148 Bell Street, Chagrin Falls.

There are 5 egg cartons in the garage, so come buy your eggs!

Fun Fact: One sheep produces eight to ten pounds of wool per year, enough to make a man's suit.  One pound of wool can make ten miles of yarn.

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

May 27, 2013

Dear Customers, 

We are now going to start to take orders for compost.  We will be selling 5 gallon buckets for 1 dollar each and there will be a 5 dollar delivery charge. Also truck loads will be available for 50 dollars, with a 20 dollar delivery charge.   Please also let us know if you would like to reserve a rick of firewood. 

Lauren will soon be visiting El Salvador, where she will be able to share a portion of our profits and your donations.                                      

Save the Date...Garage Sale at October Moon Farm starting Thursday,  June 6.  More details in next week's newsletter.  

Fun Fact: We all know that Memorial Day is the beginning of summer, but did you know that it was originally called Decoration Day, a day set aside to decorate the graves of fallen civil war soldiers. 

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes

May 19, 2013

Dear Customers,

This year, we plan to take orders for the firewood and schedule deliveries on set dates.  Please email us if you would like to buy a rick. 

4-H meetings have started, and we are preparing for the fair.  We plan to again show sheep and sell our chickens.

Fun Fact: Australia currently has over 145 million sheep for shearing and produces 80% of the wool used in clothing. The industry is worth $2.8 billion per year to Australia's economy.

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

May 12, 2013

Dear Customers, 

We had a quite week at the farm.  We split and stacked more wood today, and we let the chickens free range over the weekend. 

Fun Fact: A productive hen will lay over 1000 eggs in it's lifetime and a ewe will have roughly 10-15 lambs in its lifetime. 

We hope you had an enjoyable Mother's Day!

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

May 5, 2013

Dear Customers,

We hope you enjoyed an amazing spring weekend.  

In addition to the chickens spending a lot of time free ranging, they also received a large delivery of vegetables from Lisa at Garden of Flavor.  Her juice can now be found at Heinens if you are interested.

Last week we also picked up a case of Uncle Joe's hot peppers, so come buy them!

Fun Fact:  The dandelion is the only flower that represents the 3 celestial bodies of the sun, moon and stars.  The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars.

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

Sunday Newsletter: Exciting Announcements

Dear Customers, 

Sister Irma is visiting this week from Chiltiupan, El Salvador.  She is the principal for the Santo Domingo school and later this week we will have dinner with her.  Because of your generous support and contributions we can tell her that we have raised $1,126 for the library and music program.  A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!!

Also, May 17th is the Contemporary Youth Orchestra's Rock the Orchestra concert!  I have been apart of this orchestra for 3 years and I am excited to announce that the concert will be performed with Bootsy Collins, a funk master from the 70s.  If you would like to attend (YOU SHOULD!) please check out some of the videos attached of both CYO and Bootsy Collins.  The website to buy tickets is below.

Where to buy tickets: http://www2.cyorchestra.org/tickets

Videos:   Bootsy Collins concert advertisement http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=UU0yIjnOaC-krNBz9E_4E4Vg&v=sp7SDAqvkt8

Styx and CYO  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brDDzKOcvPA 

Jefferson Starship and CYO  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwx1cUyuyvk

Donations and instruments collected at an event on Tuesday May 14 will benefit the Bootsy Collins Foundation and Cleveland Metropolitan School District Music Programs. 

Fun Fact: Boil: Older eggs first. The fresher the hard-boiled egg, the harder it is to peel. Fry: The freshest eggs are more likely to hold their shape in the frying pan. Whisk: Eggs with a splash of water when making scrambled eggs for light and fluffy results. Crack: Eggs on a flat surface to avoid eggshell bits getting into the egg. 

Thank you for you amazing support!!
Lauren Hawkes

April 22, 2014

Dear Customers, 

We hope you enjoyed the weather over the past week, with the nice weather we were able to free range the chickens, improving the quality of your eggs. 

For this week only, we are offering Uncle Joe's Peppers for $1.00 off each, or if you buy 2 then you can have a dozen of eggs free. 

Fun Fact: Capsaicin, the chemical in peppers that makes them hot,  isn’t found in any other plant and is potent enough that people can identify it even when the concentration is as little as one part per million.

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes

April 14, 2013

Dear Customers, 

We are now getting about 1 duck egg a day. They will be for sale at 50 cents each. Even though the price is higher, it's worth it because it is harder to find them in stores and they also have twice the nutrition value.  Also, thank you to those who donated to our El Salvador charity.  

Fun Fact: Duck eggs are richer with more Albumen than chicken eggs, making cakes and pastries fluffier and richer.

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes

April 7, 2013

Dear Customers,

During Spring Break we had a build up of eggs, but we are now back to normal inventory levels with a dozen in the fridge. 

With the nice weather and April showers about to happen, we are selling compost for your gardens.

The 28 chickens are producing an average of 18 eggs a day and longer days should increase production.  

Now that it is warm outside, we are starting to free range the chickens, so their yolks will start to become more colorful. 

Fun Fact: Danish chickens go gok-gok; German chickens go gak gak; Thai chickens go gook gook; Dutch chickens go tok tok; Finnish and Hungarian chickens go kot kot. The rather superior French hen goes cotcotcodet.

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes

The Easter and Passover Newsletter

Dear Customers, 

We hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing Spring break!

With this being the end of the fiscal year, we would like to thank you for your support in making us a successful business. We learned a lot about running a small company and financial management. 

We calculated the profits for the year, and we are able to buy $672 worth of books and sheet music for the students of the Santo Domingo school in Chiltiupan, El Salvador!

If you would like to help raise more money to support the students in El Salvador, you can write a check to Hill House Farm and put it in the tin can or mail it to our house. Any amount of money is greatly appreciated. All of the money will go directly to their library and music program. 

Fun Fact: The Easter Bunny first came to America when the Germans brought the tradition into Pennsylvania in the 17th Century. 

Happy Passover and Easter to all of our friends!

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes

St. Patrick's Day Newsletter

Dear Customers, 

All the lambs have been born and the wood has been split. The farm is calming down for Spring break.  Next week there will not be a newsletter given vacation.

With March being one of the top three months for birthdays, we recommend some peppers or a frequent buyer card as a gift. 

The fiscal year for the business ends March 31st. By then we should be able to calculate our profits and donations to El Salvador for the year.  

Fun Fact: There are roughly 8 million sheep in Ireland for approximately 4.5 million people.  

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes

March 10, 2013

Dear Customers, 

We split more wood this weekend to get ready for sales next year. 

The last lamb was born on Wednesday.

We sold our first frequent buyer card, and they are now up for sale for $25. If you would like to participate in our frequent buyer card system, there are several cards in the garage.  Please write you name on the card, leave $25 and each time you get eggs, just cross off the number.

Fun Fact: What Came First the Chicken or the Egg? According to Popular Science, chickens, as a species, became chickens through a long, slow process of evolution. At some point, a chicken-like bird produced an offspring that, due to some mutation in its DNA, crossed the threshold from mere chicken likeness into chicken actuality. That is to say, a proto-chicken gave birth to a real-life official chicken. And since that real-life official chicken came out of its own egg, we can say that the egg came first. 

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

March 3, 2013

Dear Customers,

Thank you for returning your egg cartoons, it is greatly appreciated.

Today we finished splitting the wood for next year, so it will be dry and great for burning. 

We had another set of twins so we now have 17 lambs, and with one left to deliver we could have up to 20 lambs this year. 

Fun Fact: A chicken will lay bigger and stronger eggs if you adjust the lighting in their cages to make them think each day is 28 hours long, instead of 24. 

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes

The Oscars Newsletter

Dear Customers, 

We had a pair of twins born on Friday. With only two ewes left to deliver, we have 15 lambs in the barn so far. 

With three people already interested in the frequent buyer card, it is looking like it may be for sale soon. If anybody else is interested, please let me know.

Fun Fact: The movie Babe, based around a farm, was nominated for 6 Oscars and won an Oscar for best effects, visual effects.

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

President's Day Newsletter

Dear Customers, 

We had triplets and twins last monday, giving us a total of 13 lambs, and there are still 3 ewes left to deliver. 

If you ever want to see the sheep, you are welcome to visit.  Now is the best time to see the lambs, when they are young and running around.

Thanks to the people who dropped off their used egg cartoons. If you see an egg cartoon that isn't ours, don't be concerned, we are just reusing ones that people dropped off which that they got from the store. 

Also we are considering creating a frequent buyer system, where you could buy a card for a set price and that would buy you 10 dozen eggs.  This way you wouldn't always need $2.50 with you. If you are interested in this, or if you have an opinion, please let us know. 

Fun Fact: President LIncoln had two favorite foods, Chicken Fricassee with biscuits and oyster stew. Actually, he loved oysters just about any way they were served. Apple pie was his favorite desert. 

Thanks,
Harry and Lauren Hawkes

February 10, 2013

Dear Customers, 

We are starting to have a lack of green egg cartons so if you have some, can you please return them.  

It has been a busy week with the lambs, we now have 8 and they are doing very well.  There are 5 more ewes that still need to give birth so we expect many more lambs. 

With the new chickens starting to lay, the egg production has increased, so if you want eggs don't be afraid to ask.

Fun Fact: The new chickens will lay plenty of double yolked eggs, so if you get one don't be surprised.  Also, the eggs are often small at the beginning.

Thanks,

Harry and Lauren Hawkes