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celebrate 6 The Cheese Guide By Lorrie Baumann Kelsie Parsons, an American Cheese Society Official Cheesemonger from 2014 and a cheesemonger for Sobey's in Kitchener, Ontario, likes to make his cheese selections a celebration of spring. "This time of year, I usually like to offer fresh cheeses. It's a new season, it's like a rebirth. Salt Spring Island Cheese in British Columbia does some really nice fresh goat cheeses, and they do one that is topped off with some edible pansies. It's just so nice to have some color on a cheese board in the springtime after a winter of gray skies and dreary weather. Those flower goat cheeses just put a smile on my face when I see them. Salt Spring Island does a bunch of fresh ones, some with flowers, some with basil leaves, some with rosemary and garlic," he said. But goat cheese isn't the only way to celebrate spring, he adds. "I am a big fan of sheep's milk cheeses, and this is the time of year when the sheep would have just given birth, so they're now lactating again. We're getting more young sheep's milk cheeses on the market, and one that I really like is called Madawaska, which is made by Back Forty Artisan Cheese in Lanark, Ontario. It's a raw sheep's milk bloomy rind cheese." The cheesemongers at Antonelli's Cheese Shop in Austin, Texas are excited about the spring cheeses from the southern half of the United States. Cheesemonger Francis says, "I'm loving Garrett's Ferry, a bloomy-rinded crottin made from the herd of sheep at Many Fold Farm in Georgia. It's creamy and rich with a milky tang. We just got our first batch of the season about a month ago – after a hiatus – and it's exciting to have it back in the shop. Both the cheesemongers and customers alike love it." Cheesemonger Hannah, also from Antonelli's, has a local choice. "Winter's tough when you love fresh goat's milk cheeses like I do. Fortunately, our spring comes earlier in Texas, so we get some of the first goat's milk cheeses of the season. You can't get much fresher than buying from a local producer. One of our favorites is Pure Luck Farm & Dairy out of Dripping Springs Texas, another farmstead cheeesmaking operation. They make their cheeses with milk from their herd of Nubian and Alpine goats," she said. "While I love everything Amelia and her family makes, my favorite right now is their Anaheim Red Chili Chevre. It's always in my fridge. The grassy and citrus flavors of Cheesemongers spring freshness