Happy New Year! There’s nothing like opening up a new calendar and starting with a clean slate. You might have noticed some freshness when you opened this issue of the Horsetrader — the first of 2017. For one, we’ve redesigned some of the sections. The Fototrader pages — those popular horse-for-sale and trailer-for-sale color picture ads — have been relocated into the front of the magazine. This puts them on on the same pages as our other popular sale listings, our classifieds. We’ve changed the look and feel a little, too, to help readers slow down to check them out. We hope you like the changes…please let us know!

Hawthorne Country Store in Escondido is having its Inaugural Homestead Arts Faire on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. One of the first of its kind, the Faire is designed to connect those who have knowledge, experience, history, products and services to share with others who want to know how to “do it yourself” or buy directly from the maker.  Brian Hawthorne says they also hope to foster barter such as: I make cheese, you make bread; let’s swap some cheese for bread so we’re both better off.”

“Homestead Arts” include gardening, baking, grain production and processing, water collection and reclamation, composting, livestock raising, winemaking or brewing, cheese making, leather and fiber arts, soaps, lotions, archery and hunting, foraging for food and medicine, repurposing (“MacGyvering”), animal training, beekeeping and much more. Hawthorne is holding this event at the Escondido store located at 675 W. Grand Ave., Escondido 92025. Booth space is closing soon. Call 760-746-7816 and ask for Heather. Visit www.HawthorneCountryStore.com.