Did you know that last week there was only one state in the nation, Hawaii, that did not have temps below freezing? Colder weather and shorter days aren’t a bother for me, since winter forces me to “slow down” a bit. I’m also excited because it’s about time to deck the halls! I’ve been crafting more lately, too, and crafting is always more fun with friends. Grab your best gal pal and a cup of hot coffee, and let’s re-purpose some ol’ ice skates!
“Opa”! I first heard that expression in 1976, when my parents took me to the Greek Festival in Houston. I’ll never forget that day; the exciting festival with all the people, dancing, and scrumptious Greek food, handmade by local ladies my family knew. While I wasn’t raised in the Greek church (or speak Greek), my father’s mother was born in Athens, Greece. Though my grandmother’s been gone decades, she’s on my mind as I cook comfort food with the arrival of colder weather, and begin holiday baking, using her treasured recipes.
“Opa”! I first heard that expression in 1976, when my parents took me to the Greek Festival in Houston. I’ll never forget that day; the exciting festival with all the people, dancing, and scrumptious Greek food, handmade by local ladies my family knew. While I wasn’t raised in the Greek church (or speak Greek), my father’s mother was born in Athens, Greece. Though my grandmother’s been gone decades, she’s on my mind as I cook comfort food with the arrival of colder weather, and begin holiday baking, using her treasured recipes.
There’s a wonderful resource that sometimes goes untapped. Here’s a hint…it started nationally, has gone international, and is over one-hundred years old! It’s an original “social network”…where kids ages 7 to 19 can have fun, learn new skills, feel like they “belong”, and adults can volunteer. Have you guessed? I’m talking about 4-H! Generations of families have participated in 4-H clubs, a positive source still relative to today’s world. It’s had an impact on my “young farmgirl” daughter and friends!
There’s a wonderful resource that sometimes goes untapped. Here’s a hint…it started nationally, has gone international, and is over one-hundred years old! It’s an original “social network”…where kids ages 7 to 19 can have fun, learn new skills, feel like they “belong”, and adults can volunteer. Have you guessed? I’m talking about 4-H! Generations of families have participated in 4-H clubs, a positive source still relative to today’s world. It’s had an impact on my “young farmgirl” daughter and friends!
Everyone should be so blessed that they experience four distinct seasons at least once in their lifetime. Having grown up in a climate where shorts are worn year ‘round, in New England, I never tire of watching the transformation from season to season. We’ve been blessed this year with a perfect fall…sunny and relatively warm, perfect for late harvesting before the garden’s put to bed for a winter’s nap. While things aren’t as lush and green as summer, there’s still so much beauty, and still so much to do!
In New England, autumn is a gift Mother Nature bestows upon us before winter’s chill. Late September through early October typically brings beautiful weather…cool but not too cold, warm enough to enjoy the outdoors without much more than long-sleeves and jeans. Pumpkins decorate porches, colorful mums burst with rich color, and the leaves start to change. There’s local fall festivals, hayrides, corn mazes, and apple picking. It’s also time to catch the last of the county fairs. From Maine to New York (and beyond), there’s much excitement about “The Big E Fair” at the Eastern States Exposition… the “grand-daddy” of fairs, a true New England tradition! Over one million folks head to this fall extravaganza each season. This year, we got to see what the buzz is all about!
In New England, autumn is a gift Mother Nature bestows upon us before winter’s chill. Late September through early October typically brings beautiful weather…cool but not too cold, warm enough to enjoy the outdoors without much more than long-sleeves and jeans. Pumpkins decorate porches, colorful mums burst with rich color, and the leaves start to change. There’s local fall festivals, hayrides, corn mazes, and apple picking. It’s also time to catch the last of the county fairs. From Maine to New York (and beyond), there’s much excitement about “The Big E Fair” at the Eastern States Exposition… the “grand-daddy” of fairs, a true New England tradition! Over one million folks head to this fall extravaganza each season. This year, we got to see what the buzz is all about!
Recently, my father flew down for a long-overdue visit from Texas. My dad’s a human search engine, knowledgeable on many things. Need to build something? Dad’s probably built it before. Gardening? He’s got tricks. Something needs fixin’? I call my dad for advice. Many of my favorite tips, I learned from my father. Dad recently turned seventy-five, and I love that he still teaches me things I didn’t know before!
The carefree summer’s gone. School’s back in session. Now the bus arrives so early, we’re up before the chickens! What a fun-filled season it was… hitting the beach, gardening, county fairs; it’s a great summer when you’re sad to see it end. A memorable adventure was a road trip with friends to Loon Lake in the Adirondacks. Come along… see nature’s beauty at its best, cook by campfire, and even go treasure hunting!
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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