You, you may say I’m just a dreamer, but I’m not the only one ~ John Lennon.
I don’t think John was alone in being a dreamer, do you? There are lots of us out there and I’m in the business of encourging you to DREAM BIG with a
Anytime of year is a good time to sow some dream seeds, but I like winter the best.
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Here we are just a twinkle away from Christmas day! Are you ready? I’m as ready as a busy farmgirl can be on the 23rd of December. There’s still a pie or two to bake and stockings to stuff, but that can wait. Today we are having a very special OPEN HOUSE just for you!
Please come in and join us for some Christmas Wishes and Dishes!
Ahoy and Welcome Aboard America’s Hometown Christmas!
If you’ve been reading this blog since my introductory post
” From Sagebrush to Shorelines “ you already know I’m a born and bred western farmgirl, raised in the high desert of Northern Nevada. For most of my life the majestic Sierra Nevada’s Mountain Range was my playground. Lake Tahoe and its Nordic inspired cabins were only a short 50 minute drive away anytime the mood struck to breathe fresh mountain air, swim, hike, and camp, cross country ski, canoe, or just sight see. Christmas time in the Mountains was always magical. Imagine a six inch blanket of glistening snow resting on the evergreen branches of a hundred foot pine tree with a clear, bright blue sky over head. I can feel the cool air on my cheeks and smell the pungent scent of the pine forest just thinking about it. But, that was then and this is now and I’m here to tell you that a Coastal Christmas has its own brand of magic that’ll soak into your “ sea level ” soul quicker than a hermit crab can run for cover! There’s a joyful calm about Christmas near the sea.
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Happy, Happy Thanksgiving my farmgirl sisters! By the time some of you read this post, Thanksgiving Day and all the trimmings’ will have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we should toss out gratefulness along with the potato peelings does it? Whoa girls, hold your horses for a minute. Before you strap on your shopping shoes and head out into the madness of another holiday shopping season, there’s something we need to talk about! You know, if the media machines and advertisers had it there way, we’d be Christmas shopping in June! As it is, it pains me to see all the back to school stuff for sale in July before I’ve even purchased my new bathing suit for summer! I think we need a reality check and I’m gonna be the one to do it! Right here, right now, THIS moment, let’s talk about what it means to be TRULY GRATEFUL… not just thankful, all year long.
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Do you feel happy, sad or somewhere in between this time of year? Does the thought of sunset by 4:30 every day for the next several weeks have you pouring over travel brochures looking for a sunny, warm escape from dark, cold, and wet weather ahead? Maybe you’d rather just pull the covers over your head and not come out until Groundhog Day. Take comfort! You’re not alone! Help is on the way!
Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the Artist
Howdy farmgirl sisters! Who’s in the mood for some leaf peepin’? It doesn’t get any better than in our neck of the woods! Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts receive thousands of visitors every year from around the world just to get a good, long gawk at the leaves. We do our fair share of it too so come along on our virtual leaf peeping tour New England style with a surprise stop along the way! Plus I’ll share my top ten favorite farmgirl Fall things. Leave a comment and tell us yours too!
There’s something about the long Indian Summer days of October that makes me want to get out on the open road and see all I can see before Old Man Winter arrives. Do you like to take a drive? I love a good road trip and sightseeing! Even with gas prices what they are today ($3.50 and higher in these parts) I can still justify taking a ride! It’s in my blood!
If you feel the same way, buckle up and come with me! The Fall color we’re known for world over in New England isn’t here just yet, but I’ve got a heap’un help’un of Fall Fodder to show you, sure to satisfy every Fall lovin’ farmgirl at heart. We’ll begin with a stop at a local nursury, (just because I LOVE how they gussy up for the season here in New England ) then we’ll go Pumpkin’ pickin’ at Billingsgate Organic Certified Farm Stand where we’ll visit with proprieters Lynn and Peter Reading.
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It’s no surprise to me that we ” farmgirls ” are often on the same wavelength. Afterall, we share many of the same interests and passions. MJF being num-er-o uno! Our hearts travel in the same circles, and we like to go treasure hunting in some pretty interesting places too! This post is filled with a little of this and a little of that. Feel like diggin’? Come with me!
( Ameraucana chicken )
Oh great! You’re here! I’ve been waiting for you! I’m Gladys, ( named after Deb’s Granny ) one of the “younger chicks” at The Little Red Hen House. My little flock and I are getting along fine with the older gals ” The Cottage Hens” but those two rogue roosters that were here for a spell had everyone’s tail feathers in a bunch! Come on in for a roost and we’ll tell you all about it!
“At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun.”
– Anonymous
Welcome to the Beach and happy September! I’m so glad you stopped by today! Don’t pack away your beach bag just yet. Summer isn’t officially over until September 21st and I’m in no hurry to rush her along. This summer was bursting with plenty of moments to savor. Time spent with family and friends from near and far is the best kind of savorin’ and if you toss in a Lobster or two, it’s even better! I didn’t over plan, over book or over do this summer. Luckily the universe played along with me so I could indulge to the fullest in many of my favorite summer pastimes. That meant lots of family time, playin’ in the dirt, walking the beach, and eating LOBSTER! I hope your brought your appetite and a strong stomach. Lobster New England style ain’t purty nor is it a dainty affair, and, it’s even kind of smelly, but it sure is yummy! Follow me for more snippets of my Savory Seaside Summer!
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.
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
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!
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
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