Kids – and other farm babies

Speaking of things to do with the kids this weekend – if you feel like taking a short day trip to a wonderfully scenic area, you’ll find baby lambs, piglets, goats, and calves at Hancock Shaker Village on Route 20 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. (It’s about 3 miles from the Columbia County border.)

Children (and adults!) can learn about Shaker heritage breeds and even lend a hand with farm chores at the 1826 Round Stone Barn. (They might even learn a bit about local history.) Through April 22, from 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.

And since you’ll be in the area anyway, you might want to swing over to Lenox, Massachusetts to buy some exquisite CHOCOLATE at Chocolate Springs Café. The chef, Joshua Needleman, was named one of Saveur magazine’s Top 10 star chocolatiers for 2006 and lectures on chocolate’s health benefits at noted Berkshires locations such as Kripalu, Canyon Ranch and Cranwell Resort and Spa. (I first met Joshua at the Totally Fermented festival at Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie in April 2004, a daylong celebration of foods including wine, beer, cheese, bread -- and chocolate! We profiled him in the February issue of Hudson Valley Connoisseur.) Yum!