Happy Fall, Y’all! Where I originally grew up and lived over thirty plus years ago, the weather this time of year was still pretty much the same as it was in the middle of July. In New England, we have four distinct seasons, and each one brings on a different feel inside and out. September and early October often feel “in between”, with nods to both seasons, bringing cooler temperatures and waning sun. Even though it’s “between seasons”, there is still much to do, indoors and out!
It’s so hard to believe that summer is almost over, at least by the calendar, but it’s not over yet. As I mentioned before, it’s been a weird summer weatherwise. However, there’s still some summer to be had!
Have you acquired an “accidental collection” of something? I realized that I have just that – and it’s a collection of “cute”!
Hi Dear Readers! I hope this finds you having beautiful, warm summer weather and that you are staying cool! Here in New England, it is summer – finally! Still, it has been sort of a “strange” summer so far. However, in true farmgirl spirit, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade (or strawberry jam)!
Welcome back, Readers! It is hard to believe, but the month of May is almost over! I hope you have had a good month since our last visit. From a road trip to foraging, to redoing my sewing room and more, it’s been a “merry” month!
Hi Farmgirl Friends! This time of the year in New England, things get busier than ever. There are festivals, restaurants put their patio tables out, kids play outdoor sports, things are bustling all around, and each day brings new blooms. There’s a lot of joy to be found in a New England spring, something I have lately needed a big dose of!
Here we are in March, “officially” spring. “In like a lion, out like a lamb” is the old saying. That especially holds true in New England. Here in Connecticut, our first real taste of snow was just recently. It was one of the warmest winters on record here, with very little true snowy weather. It always gets stormy and cold around St. Patrick’s Day, however. No matter where you live, March is a good time to “spring clean” and “spruce up” indoors and out. Once the nicer late spring weather arrives, it’s outside that I will be! Still, the “lull” of March is something I enjoy as I “tinker” about. Join me as I share a few “Suburban Farmgirl” tips!
Hello readers! I can’t believe we are already almost through February. Maybe it’s because in the Northeast, we have not had our usual share of snow, and have been teased with spring-like weather, despite having gone through a weekend at the beginning of February with record-breaking, arctic lows and wind chills that only a polar bear would feel comfortable in. February is that month, once Valentine’s Day passes, that feels “in between” with everything. That’s why I appreciate winter “Pick Me Ups” – little things – from “treats” to recipes, new or fun finds that make the end of winter a bit more enjoyable.
Hi everyone! I hope your January is off to a great start! It’s good to be back behind the keyboard!
My 2023 has started off super busy, and it already feels like the year is moving at warp speed. I’m hoping this year will be as good as 2022 was for our little family.
We marked several great milestones last year, attended a wedding, had visitors from Texas, a terrific summer, a beautiful fall, and had a wonderful, stress-free holiday. I know this year won’t be as exciting as last, but I want to start it off on the right foot. I leave my holiday decor up until New Year’s, but after New Year’s, it all has to come down! I want to start my year off uncluttered and organized! I’m often asked, “How do you store it all?” Especially when it comes to vintage, very carefully!
Hi All! Wishing you the happiest of holidays! I hope you are finding your “happy”, wherever you are, with whatever it is that makes your heart filled with joy.
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
calls herself a knitter, jam-maker, and vintage enthusiast who "never met an antique sewing machine she didn't like." Born and raised in the great state of Texas, she now resides in suburban New England in picturesque Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York state.
Married for over twenty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields and has been a world-traveler, entrepreneur, and homemaker, but considers being a mom her greatest accomplishment of all. In addition to blogging, she also teaches knitting professionally and is a Certified Master Gardener. Loving all things creative and domestic, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “bloom where you are planted.”
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