Monthly Archives: October 2012

The Happy Harvester

 

“If you tickle the earth with a hoe she laughs with a harvest” ~ Douglas Jerrold

Dear Sisters,

Tis the season to strip the fields, gather in and reap what you have sewn during planting season. Or, put another way…How full is your wheelbarrow looking these days? Is it over flowing with more seasonal goodness that you know what to do with or does it look rather barren and bleak? Either way,you can decide whether you will be the happy harvester or the broken hearted farmer who’s yeild never weighs heavy enough on the happiness scale.

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The Omnivore's Dilemma

“When chickens get to live like chickens, they’ll taste like chickens, too.”

-Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

Bacon. It is my weakness. You may wonder why I have a quote about chicken as an introduction to this post–but we’ll get to chicken later. Right now I have bacon on the brain. In recent years, bacon has become a kind of fad–chocolate covered bacon, bacon scented cologne, bacon salt, bacon cookies, bacon martinis, bacon t-shirts; I do, in fact, own a pair of knee socks that say in large block letters up the shin: BACON.

A trendy bacon cupcake

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Halloween Happenin's and Haunted Spots

Fall! The crisp air, foliage, pumpkins, and Halloween! Grab some cider and turn down the lights…if you dare! Let’s do some farmgirl decorating and spin a spooky yarn or two. Did ya know Connecticut is chock-full of places supposedly haunted?

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The Horse Yeller

“There’s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.”

Ronald Reagan

How have I lived 49 years without a relationship with a horse? I don’t know. My insides could use it. I have been afraid of them most of those years. And then something happened. I moved to a farm and am getting to know horses.

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Fiery Little Lanterns

“In all the world, no rarer treat than the lantern light of Bittersweet.”

As much a symbol of autumn in America as pumpkins and indian corn, American Bittersweet is in need of caring stewards who will offer it a home and salvation. Rather than search high and low for it in the wild, make a place for it on your own homestead. In doing so, you’ll help save an endangered native species.

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The Recyclin' Town

The Suburban Farmgirl’s  talkin’  trash… recycling trash, that is!  (Got ya!)

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In A Pickle

Well, Im not really in a pickle, but its the catchiest phrase about pickles out there. About a month ago, it was jam making time–but now tis the season of canning and pickling! Throughout the busy-ness of a summer of farming, Amanda, the other interns and I would lament every once in awhile about the dissonance between our intense relationship with growing food and the lack of energy we had to spend quality time in the kitchen actually preparing meals. With that said, we didn’t starve or consume all of our food via the microwave and ramen noodles. All of us did get to chop, toss, saute, puree and steam much more than the average twenty somethings out there…but we have special relationships with food that often necessitate at least an hour to prepare meals (or at least we like to think our food relationships are special!). Sometimes, we just didn’t have that hour!

(p.s. if you read to the end of this article, cuteness awaits!)

Dill Pickles!

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It's a FARMGIRL THING!

Ever since I discovered MaryJanesFarm a few years back I am much more in tune with the things that make me tick and those that tickle my fancy too! The best part about being “a farmgirl at heart “is knowing I’m not alone in my ‘ farmgirly-ness’. Whether I’m working on a project at home, out in the garden or off on a road trip, my farmgirl spirit is always with me. I can count on it every time to add an extra dose of surprise and romance to everything I do. Just the other day I went shopping for pumpkins, mums and gourds and ended up falling head over heels in love with a…
Well, you’ll just have to come in for the full story cuz…
IT’S A FARMGIRL THING

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Making Home Sweet Home

Making Home “HOME SWEET HOME.”

I know FOR SURE we must have talked about this before, but it’s on my mind with this new old farmhouse I’ve got. How does one MAKE a home HOME? How do you take four walls and make them your own HOME SWEET HOME? How do you create a HOME that nourishes and nurtures your family?

I’ve come up with FIVE WAYS to do that.

I have to tell you. When I first saw this old farmhouse (a year ago now!) and stepped through the door for the first time…well….

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