I fear that one of America’s oldest forms of social recreation may be fading into the mist of history. I hope I’m wrong. In winter, fresh air is just as important to the body & mind as it is at any other time of the year. And, in this farmgirl’s opinion, we need to get out and breathe it in deeply … skates or no skates.
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“If I ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to paying attention, than to any other talent.” ~ Isaac Newton
Some words are little and don’t have much personality. Other words may be of medium character and they too need the assist of words with more dimension if they hope to amount to anything. Then, there are words that need a lot of room. They are the giants. Words that can change the landscape, change lives, change borders, medicine, books, culture, the way we look at things and even at ourselves. “Discover” is such a word.
Oh Shery,,, you made me giggle this morning, reading your blog… and never were truer words spoken… especially "Menopause poaches your Brain"! OMG! now I know what happened to mine! Thanx for that clarification!
Oh & I uber luv the cute ‘trailer pot holder’…
Happy Trailes to you & yours!
Kristy says: My daughter taught me to put new, unused, and unfluffed out (flat) garbage bags in the bottom of the garbage can, under the bag that I’m currently filling. They take up almost no space and and are even handier than than they would be in a cupboard or the top suitcase, in a pile of old suitcases. I use the same size can liners in both the laundry, and the kitchen so I’m not trying to stuff a whole box of them in one location. Now you can save something else or more frivolous in that old train case. My vote is for frivolous.
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OhMyGosh….eXXXcellent idea! Thanks for taking the time to share it :o)
Loved this piece! The word moxxiest really made me giggle, so my moxxiest thoughts are coming your way! Lois
Treese says: I’ve always figured some of the good things in life were free. Sometimes you have to slow down a little bit and enjoy seeing what life has to offer. I took my horse out for a ride on Monday night in the full-Wolf Moon. The moon looked so close I thought I could touch it. The trail thanks to the moon was so bright it looked like I was riding with a spot light in front of me. I live on the front range of the Colorado Rockies and the mountains sparkled like they were covered in fairy dust. I saw something shine on the ground. Normally, I would have ridden on, but I stopped and found a little brass pot. I took it home and since then have had a good time trying to figure its history. Where did it come from? Who did it belong to? Ah, discovery stimulates the mind.
Treese/Colorado Cowgirl
Linda says: I don’t think I’ve left a comment to you before, but I have been enjoying all your articles and photography.
I can’t believe you live in a mobile home! From your pictures, I don’t know how it all would fit!!
Possible solution for transforming your workroom-Michele??
A discovery- frame and sell your photography??
Love your blog!!
Linda
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Linda, How nice of you to take the time and leave kind words :o) thankyouthankyou. Ya, know I’ve thought about selling photo, but *I* don’t buy photos or decorate with them. So, its kinda hard to imagine other folks being that impressed with my pics when I haven’t even had very many of them developed…much less framed. ‘And thats the truth’ said Edith Ann. I really do appreciate the encouragement though. That means more to me than anything. shery
nameTerry wright says: I’d wondered if you were going to do Pinterest. I too feel like I’ve come out of hibernation and I can’t seem to get enough of Pinterest and the ideas. Now, as you say, I’ve got to look for more time and energies.
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Hi Ms Terry!! Sometimes all we need is a nudge of inspiration and it starts a ball rolling. Yea, Pinterest is doing that for a lot of folks I think. shery
Jan says: Hi Shery, Another wonderful post! I love this topic because I have been in the process of discovering myself for the past year and a half. In the past I was so busy with children, family and work that I kind of lost myself. This happen to anybody else? So now in my 60’s, me, myself and I are getting reaquainted. 🙂
Hugs,
Jan
Nella Spencer says: Shery, you have a way with words! I love how you said you’ve "become slower and easier to find" being the same age as you, I am finding this true for myself also. I was just thinking today about needing more energy to do all the things I want to do and your blog was just what I needed–perfect! Thanks
Reba says: This article was so funny. And it encouraged me to write about the discovery I made this year about myself. I had always considered my sisters (6 of them!) as the "organizers" of big events. However, I wanted to do something that was considered unheard of and unusual. What a way to find out that you really like this sort of thing! My great-nephew (and he really is!!!) was diagnosed at 2 yrs old with T-cell Lymphoma. Now he is 4 yrs old and finished chemotherapy. He is in remission!! The idea occurred to me that we needed to celebrate in a BIG way. We weren’t having a funeral…we were given life! Well, my "junk", as some have called it, came in handy at this event. We did a "farmstyle" Celebration of Life, inviting 50-60 people who had been a part of his healing and recovery. William craved farm fresh eggs while he was taking those awful steroids. There is no telling how many he ate. So this got me to thinking about how to celebrate. We live in the city, but I thought, we can have a farm celebration! Mary Jane has taught me that much! So-o-o, I pulled out all my "junk" and all the stops! We had dancing (hokey pokey, limbo, some modern stuff :o), country (natural and organic) cooking, apple-bobbing, sack races, and decorated my very small backyard like a farm! It was described by my nephew as "the perfect party." I had the best time! I never dreamed that I would do something like this! But we are so thankful! He is so full of life and has really taught us. Mary Jane has a saying in her book, "while we try to teach our children all about life, they teach us what life is all about." Amen, amen.
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And, amen that your family’s dear little boy is healthy. He’ll remember that party all the days of his life. shery
Shery, How about using your photos to make note cards to sell? I’m thinking that your actual photos would be inserted into a "frame" (of sorts)on one side of folded card stock (large sheet folded twice). Each card might be enclosed in a cellophane sleeve to keep it fresh until sold. Just putting the idea out there for you to consider.
I really LOVE your blog and photos! Keep sharing with us.
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Maybe cards, hmmm. Thank you. Love hearing from everyone. That is the best part of this process. Everyone else loves the feedback, ideas & comments too! shery
A good post as always. Love your thoughts and that you share them. Your hens look happy. I hope they are providing you with a lot of eggs. And Pinterest, Oh how I love it. Hope to find your boards and see what we have in common!
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Brenda, my hens are on winter rest. I did get one egg the other day tho. I don’t have a light on for them. But, its ok. They’ll go back to work in the spring. Fortunately, our local grocer offers organic eggs from folks around here. Eating ‘production’ eggs after having the real thing is just not something I can do anymore. I’d rather go without. shery
Lacey says: Hi Shery! I purchased my very first copy of MaryJanesFarm about a month ago and this lead me to find your Blog…I just LOVE it!! I have read many of them aloud to my husband, and we have to agree that it’s nice to read about others that have a similar lifestyle to ours!! Thanks for all your amazing stories, insight and the great recipes! Can’t wait to see what you discover next!! Lacey (Saskatchewan, Canada)
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Folks hearing about MJF publications (hard copy & online) just keeps getting bigger. In a ‘down’ economy, that is really something. Uncertain times remind people to think long and hard about being more self reliant. It is how things ought to be ANYway. I’m so proud of the young adults in this era, those who boldly look at a future that isn’t painted as bright for them as it was for us. They forge ahead, determined to be good stewards of their world and live a highly responsible, creative, grateful and compassionate lifestyle. This world has become a place of polar contrasts. Where darkness seems to be on the rise, light even more so. Hope doesn’t surrender easily. Have you noticed the abundance of COLOR in the arts & crafts so popular with younger women now? Now, maybe I’m making too much of it, but I do believe it is indicative of younger folks looking at the age old promise of a rainbow and there is nothing worng with that. shery
Colleen says: Your pictures are wonderful, you have no idea how much I enjoy them. I have downloaded a few onto my "work" laptop to take along with me "on the road", particularly anything red and anything with a horse (I miss my horse…)I love your photography. Thanks for a beautiful, inspirational blog. I read it faithfully.
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Ohhh, Colleen. You made my day. Thank you. shery
Hi Shery, me again. I did not put a light on our hens this year either. Planned on letting them rest also. But in the last 2 weeks they just started laying everyday again. Sometimes I get 4 the next day 8. We have 10 hens at this time. We have had to add the red heater lamp at night because it is getting so cold here in the last couple of weeks. I keep it on when the temp dips down in the 20’s or lower. Do not know if it that or the fact that they were not laying much from early fall until now. But we are in eggs again and I feel the same as you about the store bought eggs. I had bought some eggs from the grocer for some baking over Christmas when I could not get enough from our girls and had a dozen left that I decided to make some egg salad from. Just could not believe how un-flavorful it was for us.
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Hens stop laying in the early winter due mostly to short days (less light). But, when it is really cold…like -minus temps, they’ll stop too. I used to keep a light on, but I stopped. If it gets frigid like that though, I can always string a cord over to the coop. shery
Marcie says: Hello Shery,
I love your stories and your photos that tell stories. When I open my email and see a MaryJaneFarm email and see that it is from you… well I get another cup of coffee and settle in for a treat. It is like a visit from an old friend. Actually, you remind me of a long ago friend from West TX whose name is Sher (she is a hoot)! I have two chickens (one is going into the molting stage… poor baby), but they are still laying their one egg a day.
Keep up the good work lady … we appreciate you, and your fans will continue to look forward to your great stories…and stay warm Shery,
Your fan from the Tennessee Smoky Mountains,
Marcie
Debra says: I am auctioneer’s daughter and my two boys are auctioneers. So I do know about junk and what you can do with. How fun it is to see what you do with it. I like your blog real well. Thanks have a blessed day.
I hope that my next statement is as true for you as it has been for our family: Blessings in 2011 far outnumbered the trials. We also have two new family members. In fact, when I was looking around at our growing clan while at my sister’s home on Christmas day, I marveled at that fact. We were all there, no one missing and with two new additions (and rumor has it, another on the horizon). My sister told me that Dad got a little misty over it; that and the fact that all of his loved ones are happy. Years in the past haven’t always read that way and I know the future won’t either … but … as for Christmas 2011, it was one of the very best. 2011 was indeed a good one in many ways. I can’t help but look back over my shoulder before moving on toward 2012. Care to join me for a farmgirl year in review? At the end, please offer up the highlights of your year in the comments section.
Dear Sister Shery,
Happy New and Old Year! It does my heart good to know your 2011 was a happy one. We all know life has it’s ups and downs and that’s just the way it is. So, to relish in the years with more happy than sad is a must! You did just that here today. I would say you had a beautiful year, one of quiet reflection, many blessings and a heap of faith to go with it. New ( like/love ) is a blessing in every family! Congrats to Beth and her new man! Our highlights this year were good health all around. My hubby’s SAD, wasn’t so bad, both or our mothers were healthy, our children continue to grown and surprise us with their interests and talents. We too brought home some early spring life in our latest flock of young cottage hens. One might not think this is a blessing, but my husband was let go just before Christmas…No worries here though! We were preparing for such a time and are very excited about what HE has in store for us. It was time for a change and we are ready! 🙂
One of my biggest highlights of 2011 is sharing the farmgirl blogging lime light with you and our other sisters and getting to know our readers better!
God Bless you Shery. See you in 2012!!!
Hugs from your beach/farmgirl sister…
Deb
This year’s highlights:
Got laid off (boo)
Got a new job (yay)
New job meant moving across the country away from family/friends in Missouri (boo)
Moving meant moving to Colorado within the shadow of the Rockies, a place I have always wanted to be (yay)
Sold half of what we owned to afford the move (boo)
Everything we brought with us survived the trip (yay)
Family is somewhat homesick (boo)
I’m happier than I’ve ever been (yay)
It isn’t perfect, we are renting a house that has now gone into foreclosure, but we are protected by the law, and we’ll find another more appropriate place. My job is awesome, my husband was able to find work when he got here, as was my 18 year old daughter, my 9 year old daughter is doing great in her new school, we live in an wonderful small-town-style city after coming from a big metro area, we are getting a real winter, my asthma is gone, my knees don’t hurt anymore, we know all of our neighbors by their first names, and I’m looking forward to this next chapter of my life.
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Sounds like more yays than nays :o) Best wishes for a lot more yays all the way around in your new life by the Rockies!
nameTerry says: Happy New Year dear Shery. This was the best year in awhile for me, for various reasons. One being reconnecting with you, moving close to Grandkids and family, and priming the pump for the creative juices to begin flowing once again. Despite the 2 1/2 yrs of joblessness, we are SO BLESSED! Love, Terry
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Oh Terry, I know it is has been a tuff pull for ya’all. I hope 2012 is a reap year for you … in which case, the blessings should be a mile high for you. xo, shery
Dear Shery, You have indeed had a colorful year! As always, I LOVE your photographs, and you have inspired me to take a photography course and one on Photoshop this semester to better acquaint myself with the digital photography world. Can’t wait for it to start in a couple of weeks. What a beautiful year you have had. Congratulations, and thanks so much for sharing it with us … as usual, I have savored every part of your post. Our family can likewise look back on 2011 with gratitude. Our country inn business is hanging in there despite the sluggish economy; our oldest son Christopher married a smart and beautiful woman named Elizabeth in June, and it was one of the most beautiful and thoughtfully planned weddings the world has ever seen! Our second son Noah got engaged and we have his wedding to look forward to in 2012. Our daughter spread her wings and started college at the Maine College of Art in Portland in September, and is thriving there. We now have lots of undivided time with our remaining (homeschooled) son Joshua as he adjusts to being an ‘only’ child! I made a precious new friend/kindred spirit this fall, and we were also able to buy a little peninsula on the coast of Maine for my slaty dog hubby to dream about! It has been a year full of blessings. I wish you a very happy new year full of the same, and look forward to every one of your posts. Much love and hugs from your Mountain Farmgirl Sister, Cathi
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Sister Cathi, I was awed at the wedding photos you shared on your blog. Beauty-full !!! I dream about a New England trip in which I visit both the beach farmgirl blogger and YOU. Ya just never know, MAYbe it can happen one fine day. As for photography, I need to take a class. The new ‘idiot proof’ cameras make it easy to skip that part, but I really ought to do that. I could do a much better job if I actually knew what I was doing rather than let the camera do all my thinking :o) I hope your new year is everything you hope for and full of surprises too…of the blessed sort…like your new kindred spirit friend! A hug right back atchya, shery
Joan says: Thank you Dear Sister Shery for the wonderful look back. Your every word brought a thought of my year to mind and yes I too was well blessed. I’m going to try do some picture taking of life this next year to help me remember at the end just how wonderful it was – yes I am looking forward to another blest year and all you Sisterhood bloggers help make it a time to live for. Happy New Year to you and yours – congratulations to your sis and her mate.
God Bless,
Jan says: Hi Shery, What a lovely blog to finish out the year 2011. Congrats to your sister and the new "like" in her life! It was so nice to see that you and your family had such a happy Christmas, and wonderful year with many blessings.
The biggest highlight of the year for me was the purchase of my palamino boy, Jasper. He is a delight and him and my mare are now best friends. So glad that worked out! Another blessing was having my brother home for Christmas this year. It has been many years since we have been together at this time.
I am looking forward to 2012 and praying it will be the year that I get my place in the country. Have been trying to settle with seller on a little place, but haven’t been able to get the deal closed yet. Being alone makes things a bit more difficult.
Many blessings to you and your family this new year!!
Hugs,
Jan in KS
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Dear Jan, Thank you kindly for the good wishes and kind words. I’m seeing you lope along a dirt road back home to your new digs in the country…and hoping that is just what happens.
Janice K. says: Wow, Shery! Such a perfect end to a wonderful year..Now I know where you and your sister get you beautiful genes, as your folks are both so attractive! Yes, you are blessed to still have both of them and I know that you appreciate their presence…Your sister and her honey just GLOW with happiness…
Happy new year to all!
meredith says: Oh Shery! I am happy for you that 2011 was such a good year for you and your family! What a great way to enter 2012! This year has been full of blessings for our family, some really tough times that have proved blessings in the long run. HE knows what we need and when we need it! Happy New Year and cant wait to read more from you in the new year!
Diann says: Well, as most of you, there have been good and bad. I still work in a stressful job (law enforcement) but I have a job! I need a new roof on my 113 year house, but I still have a roof over my head! My hog population exploded, got four little calves, my chickens and doves are happily producing and the garden was doubled this year. I am presently sitting at my desk looking out over the plains and into the Sierra Nevada Mtns. at Yosemite Natl. Park….sigh….life is okay even with the negatives. My grown children experienced very positive job changes this year after a couple of really rough years and my granddaughters are thriving. I am finding it hard to remember the lows of this past year as those I love are well and thriving. So! A roof over my head, clothes on my back, food on my table…all is well with the universe. Y’all have a blessed new year. I can truly say it has been a blessing and inspiration for me to read this blog. Thanks!
bonnie ellis says: You rock! I LOVE your pictures and words. I love seeing life as it is in your world. I am counting only the blessings this year. We are healthy and heading into our 50th year of marriage March 17.Our town in Minnesota has disappointed us with no snow this year. some think it is great but I am sure tired of looking at brown. I got the new pocket Goosebery Patch calendar and in the front it says: "This year belongs to you". Happy New Year to all our farmgirls. Bonnie
Terry says: How could I forget? Mom and Dad look GREAT!!
Brenda says: thank you so much shery for the look back. Love the pictures. I do hope that 2012 is a blessing for all the farmgirls. I too am blessed to have my parents at the age of 84 and 86 I know to enjoy them as much as I can. I hope that I can connect with the farmgirls for a long time reading what you and the others write seems to bless me everytime. And I do get MaryJane magazine and look forward to it so much. I don’t have any farmgirls around me that I know of but am blessed with some dear friends and family. Happy New to you May 2012 be all you want it to be.
Linda says: I loved your pictures! I live out here in the flinthills and plains of Kansas.
You look alot like your mother. Two cute gals.
Now what I really want to know is what was in Beth’s celluloid box? It sounded like it was full already! I love the idea.
Read you and all the gals each time.
Or should I say read and look? Great photographer, too!
Happy New Year!
Linda
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Hi Linda…and thank you – thank you.
I made my sister a necklace and bracelet set. shery
Becky says: What a wonderful, magical blog. . .thanks for sharing your beautiful part of the world with us and the pictures of a lovely country Christmas
Lisa Taylor says: Happy New Year Shery
As I sit here reading this month’s blog, it’s early morning and I’m looking out the window at a nearly full moon. It promises to be another beautiful Colorado day.
I want to thank you for sharing your Jeweled Chutney receipt with us. My 10-year-old niece, Brianna, and I made it to give as Christmas gifts and was it ever a hit! We did however change the name to Lisa and Brianna’s Jeweled Chutney. She made labels (in her own sweet handwriting) and tied them on with raffia. It was wonderful bonding in the kitchen with my sweet girl.
Love, love, love the blog.
Stay warm in Wyoming and thanks for all you do.
Lisa
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Please tell Brianna that I’m so tickled that HER batch of chutney was so well received :o) Making gifts as children is a golden life-long lesson. Thank you for the kind words. shery
Put on your mittens & cloak because we’re going to go for a lengthy farmgirl sleighride … of sorts. There’s a party to go to and many stops to make along the way. Eventually, we’ll wind it up with an old-time Christmas story. Hop in, snuggle up together under the sleigh blanket and ‘kiss’ Dolly into a nice road-trot…Jing Jing Jing. “Can you see the road before us and sing a chorus or two?”
Jillian says: Shery,
I’m a 23 year old farmgirl-at-heart in Wisconsin and I love following your blog. This is by far the best blog post about Christmas I have ever read. It made me tear up, smile, and it rejuvenated me. Thank you for spreading Jesus’ message in such a beautiful way! I love all of your Christmas decorations… you are so talented. Also, White Christmas is one of my favorites as well… I just watched it several days ago. And yes, cried when Bing sang to the soldiers. Have a Merry Christmas!
Thank you Shery for yet another inspiring story and shared experience with you.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
The Christmas rose story is such a great reminder.
Karin says: Shery, thank you for sharing your beautiful stories with us. Like you I love all the old Christmas movies (White Christmas; It’s a Wonderful Life; Miracle on 34th Street; Holiday Inn) and must watch them every year. And I listen to my Christmas CDs from Thanksgiving on. Thank you for being willing to remind us of the real reason for Christmas. I’m so tired of the politically correct "Happy Holidays". It is Christmas!
The pictures are beautiful, Emmy Lou looks delightful, and I wish I could spend a day with you.
Have a wonderful, beautiful Christmas and a blessed New Year.
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I’ve never seen ‘Holiday Inn’…I’ll have to check into it! Thank you for the kind words :o) Be Ye Merry!
Deb says: BEAUTIFUL… INSPIRING… CHARMING…. OLD FASHIONED… SPIRITUAL….HEARTWARMING… CREATIVE… GENIUS…LOVELY…TOUCHING…FUN…PEACE… JOY… LOVE… CHERISH… DREAM….BELIEVE… MIRACLES…
Scooch over so I can sit for a spell and take it all in! YOU MOST CERTAINLY ARE hip deep in blessings; and so are we for knowing you!
Happy Holy Days to you too Shery! Pat the horses for me..
Much love and a big ole’ farmgirl hug from your " mushy " beach farmgirl sister in the East!
Deb
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Awwwwww, you say the nicest things girlfriend. One holiday hug comin’ right up (((())))) :o)
judy says: Your blogs are always beautiful and well done. This one was especially so– thank you for this lovely christmas gift.
L A Brown says: Thank you SO much for sharing this beautiful story of the Christmas rose and your inspiring thoughts. Happy Holy Days to you 🙂
Margaret says: Shery, I have never heard this story before of the Christmas Rose and so glad I can now pass it on to others, and I was born back in the 40’s. Thank you for it and those Christmas lights in EmmyLou are just fantastic.
Merry Christmas!!
nameTerry wright says: Merry Christmas Shery. 40 years ago, when we were newly married, on Christmas morning, Hubby and I were supposed to go to his Grandmas for Christmas breakfast along with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. But hubby woke up sick, so we stayed home. I was having my own little party, a pity party. I’d asked for a bird book for Christmas, and received one of those little Golden Press books for beginners. As hubby slept, I heard a rapping outside. I looked and saw a golden-shafted flicker in our front yard Silver maple. I like you knew it was absolutely a divine appointment. That Flicker lifted my spirits for the rest of the day, to be sure.
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SO good to hear from you my dear old friend! Just when you need it the most a kind little blessing can fall into your lap. I believe there are superstitions that suggest that birds are often used to deliver such messages. A few years back when we were riding during calving season, I was feeling sorry for myself and I was weary. I just happened to be riding through thick sagebrush and I spied a Golden eagle’s primary wing feather sitting right on top the brush. The chances that I rode by and found it when I so needed such a thing has gotta be a million to one. The feather fell from high in the sky and landed in such a way that it didn’t fall down into the thick brush. Eagles shed feathers like all other birds do. The feather was laying on a particularly tall sagebrush – I didn’t even have to dismount to fetch it. Now, that is key in all of this because the reason I was feeling down was due to the rather sudden onset of arthritis. It hurt to get on and off my horse. The moment I laid my hand on the feather, the scripture verse about relief for the weary came to mind: "Those that trust in the Lord will be strong again, they will rise up like the eagle, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not tire." Isaiah 40:31 I wept with gratitude and felt humbley grateful for that much needed cheery-upper. You see, I pick up found feathers with the excitement of a child ANYway, but to find an EAGLE feather was a real & true endorphin rush. I’ll remember that moment all the days of my life. shery
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Joan says: Thank you Shery, for another of your ‘best ever’ blogs. You made me tear up, with happy tears, smile and helped me remember my Christmas’s of long ago and of the ones not so far gone. Memories — aren’t they the best — they are what we give to ourselves after having lived in the moment. I have the English 12 days of Christmas figures and LOVED seeing the Partridge – oh what a wonderful experience you had. And the Rose – your Christmas dishes are so very special. And Emmy Lou what a wonderful happening she is. Have your self a Merry little Christmas and a wonderful New year. God Bless
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Thank you, Joan. The dishes aren’t mine…but they fit into the rose Christmas theme :o) I believe they’re a Royal Albert pattern … and very expen$ive!
bonnie ellis says: Sheri: You have the gift of writing from the heart and also the gift of photography. Merry Christmas to you and keep on giving the gift of your blog. I wish you could be with us at one of our meetings. Farmgirls meet at my house on Saturday. Blessings to your group from ours. Bonnie
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Hi Bonnie! Thank you for the kind words and for the In-vite…I’d love to meet you and your farmgirl pals. Please wish them all a Merry Christmas from me.
KimberlyD says: Merry Christmas to you and your family and all your farmgirl friends! I enjoy your blogs and your photos, you are a very good photographer and when I read your blogs its feels like I’m there to! I enjoyed the story about the Legend of the Christmas Rose. It was my first time hearing.
Karen says: Hi Shery,
I hope this finds you well. I would like to thank you, SO much for sharing your gift of words. I love your writings. This one touches the heart so deeply. I would love to visit you and your farmgirl friends in Emmylou. : )
I have never heard the Christmas Rose story before. It is truly beautiful. Again, thank you for sharing this. I will reread it over and over.
I hope you and your loved ones have a beautiful, blessed, happy, Merry Christmas.
Take care.
Peace & Love,
Karen
Cathi Belcher (The Mountain Farmgirl) says: Sheri, When I was growing up, a lone solitary Hungarian Partridge found its way to our house out in the middle of practically nowhere. Every day for an entire season it would appear and come within yards of our house, looking in the sliding back doors. It was such a friendly little creature, totally curious and wanting to make friends! At the end of the year he vanished, never to be heard from again, but over the many intervening years I have thought of him often. Thanks for another wonderful post, and for reminding me once again of my long lost feathered friend!
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Thanks for stopping by Sister Cathi :o) I haven’t checked into it yet, but I’d like to raise some partridges if the eggs/chicks are available…ya know, like some other game birds. I’m smitten. Lots of merry to you & yours in my 2nd favorite state. Theres gotta be a corner of Heaven that Vermont was modeled after ;o) shery j
yvonne says: i just want to say that if life could just be the way you have it for me i would never want any thing again. i love the simple life but dont have it.. i am sure GOD has a plan for me. but i love the way you write and the picture you post thank you for being who you are and writeing how you do.. yvonne
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Dear Yvonne, Few of us have ‘simple’. Finding quiet in the middle of a noisy life is possible…but not always easy or simple. Hang in there, my friend…because the plan for you is ‘a future of hope’. There was a time in my life that I couldn’t feature hope, much less a future with hope. And then, there it was…enough light to show me the way and always enough hope to keep me going. ‘The way I write’ is the result of hope that I have to lay claim to every day….every day. You go get it girl :o) shery
cora jo says: Shery, A blessed and Merry Christmas to you and your family. Thank you for making my afternoon perk up a bit with Christmas spirit. What a great reminder to us all that we are about to celebrate a birthday of epic size. EmmyLou (also my fav) looks wonder-full! thanks for sharing her with us. cora jo
Brenda says: Thank you, it is blessing to read you articles. They always make me feel good. It is also a blessing in the world today that there are people that still praise God. That is one thing about the Farmgirls. I love the simple things in life and I am a farmgirl in my heart all the way.
Cindy Lou Hou says: Hi there!I am new to your website!I found it through Sugarpiefarmhouse!Love to read your beautiful message!I too am a farmgirl at heart and will be living the dream on my 26 acres in Idaho!The farmhouse will be built this coming year!A very long time in the making!!!Lots of planning and hard work!Thanks for all the inspirational words of goodness and love. God Bless,Cindy
‘Clan Plaids & Plaid Cans’. Try saying that fast three times. I can barely get it out once. However, a pattern (literally) has been more prominent in and around my life of late. Plaids. Firstly, my ‘new’ 1958 farmgirl Glamping trailer has become my playhouse. She has a name now: EmmyLou (after my fave country songbird). Anyway, EmmyLou loves vintage plaid goodies and I’ve managed to collect some 50s plaid accessories for her. And, now that Christmas is nigh, plaids are back on the scene – wrap, ribbons, table clothes etc. Ever wonder why tartan plaids play a signifigant role in holiday decor? Me neither, but my curiosity woke up.
Happy Holidays Shery! It’s safe to say you are in a very festive mood by the sound of things here! Looks like it too!
Emmylou looks adorable all dolled up in her Christmas Garb! I’m on my way over!!! Thanks for all the wonderful info on Tartan too! My curiosity hadn’t led me there but I’m glad yours did. We love our holiday music around here! It’s tradition to start listening right after Thanksgiving. Plus, this year our daughter has been working on another composition and it’s a Christmas tune! Her first! We’ve had a house full of music already! Love your gift wrap idea. I like brown paper too. One year I did brown paper with red and green raffia and pinecones.
Bum bump and have fun at your " farmgirl " gathering…
love,
Deb
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We might pass each other about Iowa since I’m headed your way for a taste of Christmasy salt air ;o)
CJ Armstrong says: How fun, Shery! Love your tartan information, much of it I had studied because of my own Scottish heritage and travels to the land of the tartan. My own family is part of the Gordon clan, a Highland clan and my hubby is an Armstrong. The Armstrongs are a Border Clan and were known to be rascally "reivers". So I have a collection of tartans and clan jewelry for both. Tradition states, however, that if your husband is Scottish and has a tartan, a women wears that one. AND, tradition states that women do NOT wear the kilt . . the tartan fashioned into other garments, but not the kilt. Thanks for sharing the info!
AND, I think "EmmyLou" is just FABULOUS! I’m SOOOOOOO totally jealous . . . have fun with her.
By the way, you are RIGHT ON with Sean! I’ve always thought in one handsome Scottish hunk!!!
Merry Christmas!
CJ
Isn’t it wonderful how our ‘trailers’ speak to us…. and tell us their personality….
I had posted the other day about how I came about nameing my ’59 Aljo….. it all started with a Junkshop find…and the rest is "Herstory" as we say! lol!
I absolutly love EmmyLou’s Tartan theme! With so many colors, reds,greens, blues, yellows, browns,,, you can change her "outfits" according to the seasons if you so desire…. and now I have even seen Pendleton Woolin Mills put out Spring (pinks/lt.greens, etc.) colors of plaids… I mean Tartans. Check out their catalog for some cute sewing/deco ideas… old wool blankets/throws make great deco pillows.
And don’t toss away those old westerny blingy t-shirts,,, they too make great deco pillos.
Happy Trails…….
>^..^<
hereford girl says: Hey Sherri! I think Sean Connery is the BEST POSSIBLE model you cold have chosen, and I am a mere 45. What a hottie!
EmmyLou is the perfect name for your "glamper" – would you believe the human EmmyLou is my uncles first cousin? We are practically related! HA! Your EmmyLou looks positively welcoming and warm-what a great job you have done with her! Merry Christmas!
linda says: Love your Emmylou! But my husband wants to know how in the world you get any people inside?
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People? :o) Well, there is room…for a couple farmgirls on the fly! shery
Karin says: Shery, EmmyLou looks absolutely adorable. You are so lucky to have found her. I have always loved tartan (when I was in high school tartan kilts, and matching sweaters and knee socks were the thing to wear)and I absolutely agree with you about Sean Connery! Oh my, that voice!
As always thanks for letting us live vicariously through your blog. What a wonderful life you have.
Karin
Farmgirl #2708
Ruth says: I never tire of reading your words and descriptions of the ‘simple’ things of life and your pictures always add so much! It transports me to a most wonderful place every time, no matter the subject. Love it all! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Sheri! Hope you have a peaceful, joy-filled Christmas season! Enjoy every moment!
Ruth
P.S. Your side-note about John and his misguided attempt at apparel for the portly gave me a great laugh, too!! HA! Indeed!
Carol Norwood says: Hi Shery … I love how you have EmmyLou decorated for the winter! I’m so happy for you! I also love all the tartan "stuff" you have collected – it’s so festive. Thanks, too, for sharing the wonderful photo of Sean Connery … Whew! I’m fanning myself … as I type. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Kathie says: I too have a tartan passion. Clan kilts are very expensive. I was delighted to find a pre-owned kilt on my clan’s web site. It was a very large kilt so I sized it down and was able to make a matching kilt for my scottish terrier. Hamish Macbeth and I attend the Door County Scottie Rally every May and volunteer at The Midwest Pet Expo. We help raise funds for puppy mill education, rescue and canine health research. Not only does Hamish wear a Grant Clan kilt but he wears dog sized bagpipes ( with prerecorded bagpipe music) He favors the Red Hot Chili Pipers cd! Slainte!!!
Kimberly Diener says: Merry Christmas Shery! I too have Scottish ancestory, Irish, English, Danish, German, Swedish, French, Native American…Anyways I too love tartan! And EmmyLou looks pretty, I wouldn’t paint that lovely maple wood either!
hi Shery, I am so jelous of the camper,I have wanted one for years.You have decorated her wonderfully,Stay warm this winter.Intresting about the plaids,my dads family is from Scotland originally,so,I will have to look that up.Moma sewed me several little plaid church dresses as a child,with smocking,I always loved.Stay warm this winter!Merry Xmas!Carol Branum
Laura says: Interesting^^
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Well, I guess it had to happen. It Is COLD in Wyoming. The warm looking sunlight of late afternoon is NOT warm unless you’re inside. But, there is plenty to be grateful for as I get ready for Thanksgiving. I have a dandy little space heater. C’mon in and take a look at what I’m going to use it for.
Jan says: I am so ENVIOUS of your new trailer! She still looks so pristine and wonderful, she must’ve been cared for with love…I had a thought of having one parked out back for my craft room. I have so much stuff here in the house that I need another room! Trouble is, usually I only have time to do my crafting in the winter and it is also cold here in Washington state.
I made my first chutney last summer with a recipe that I got from Deb! It was tasty!! When you speak of processing for 10 minutes, do you use a pressure canner or do you do a water bath? YUMMMMMOOO. As for your beautiful sheep, where did you get the heads?
Thanks so much for your warm and wonderful blog!
Jan
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Hi Jan :o), I just use the water-bath method (my grandma’s old one). In answer to your question about the sheep heads…we used the store-bought ‘sculpey’ kind of clay that you mold by hand and then bake. None of us had ever played with clay before. We made the body and heads out of clay. –My trailer is not perfect, after all it is 52 years old. However, it IS in very good shape. There have been a few leaks over the year, but they were fixed and there have been no new ones. I knew that in owning an old trailer that I would have to be mindful of careful maintenance. With a new one, not so much. The trade off is that my old girl is getting cuter by the minute. I spent the better part of yesterday puttering in it. I love it and she’ll be a dandy guest cabin too. Thank you for the kind words. Shery
Adrienne Kristine says: Since I lived in an older 27′ motorhome and traveled the country for several years, my first recommendation is to join the Tin Can Tourists: http://www.tincantourists.com/ You’ll receive lots of decorating (and maintenance) ideas and meet some terrific people who are devoted to preserving the past. Congratulations!
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Adrienne, Thanks a lot for the web site. Shery
Joan says: Shery, you never cease to amaze me how you touch my soul!! If I didn’t know better I’d think we are one n the same – the only difference is you get to do what I only still dream of – SO thank YOU for sharing, showing, so eloquently. Can hardly wait to see, hear more from you, especially about the ‘new’ everything ‘cabin’. I wish you and all the Farm Girls a very Happy Thanksgiving!!
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Joan, You and all the other commenting farmgirls touch MY soul. You say the nicest things, kind things, affirming things, soulfood things. Please know that this little job-o-mine as a farmgirl blogger has been one of the best things to happen to me. Turning 50 was a tough one for me. I spent too much time looking back. Menopause, injuring my knee (then surgery), feeling older in earnest kinda dampened my spirits and creative spirit. My friend, Lisa, intro’d me to MaryJanesFarm magazine and on that very day, I felt a spark within. A few months later when I landed a job with MJF, that really helped me turn the corner. Please know that every one of you sweet farmgirls who have taken the time to leave comments, well, you changed my life, really. You are the ‘fire in my belly’. MaryJane is my mid-life role model and I will be forever in debt to Lisa for opening a window and letting fresh air back in my life. Shery
Karin says: Lucky, lucky you! I love your little camper and would love to have one someday. The idea of "glamping" just seems like so much fun. Right now we’re renovating a house for when we retire, so everything else kind of has to take a back seat. But, maybe some day. I love the pictures of Michele’s collections also. That’s where I want to live =D. Our Thanksgiving will be traditional at church where we serve a meal for the community and those members who don’t want to cook for just one or two people. Thanks for your wonderful blog.
Karin
Farmgirl #2708
Joann says: I loved reading about your new "cabin"!! What a darling idea!!
We have sold our home in the suburbs and heading (in December) to 47 acres in the country! So excited I can hardly stand it! Can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store and nearly beside myself to once again have Christmas in the country!
Coreen says: I am grateful for your use of warm colors and homey stuff! Just beautiful!
Shery, As usual after reading your post I’m sitting here in awe with a big ole’ grin on my face, shaking my head in amazement at you and your talent for making a farmgirls heart go pitter patter every darned time you put the pen to paper and point that camera of yours!THANK YOU! I am just over the moon for you about your new " play house " and I can hardly wait to see how you purty her up! I’m with ya on the latest issue of MJF. I can’t get enough of it ( but that’s normal for every issue isn’t it? ) And, I loved seeing your images and reading about Michelle’s’ collections and seeing the photos of your farmgirl pals..The fun and friendship you share shines through in your images!
Can I just give you all a virtual hug right here?!
I love everything about Thanksgiving and what it stands for…with lots of GRAVY ON TOP FOR ME TOO PLEASE!
Shery, thank you for all you share in this space (and in MJF) throughout the year. " YOU ARE THE STUFF OF DREAMS " I have Mary Jane to thank for that quote, and if fits you to a T!
May your gravy boat over flow-eth with more blessings than you can count!
Love AND A BIG HUG!
your beachy farmgirl sista!
Deb
PS… I’ll be looking for YOUR reply RIGHT HERE! Ha!
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Right back atchya, sista!!!!!!! You’re the berries … and full of beans too ;o) Your blog is way better than ‘Calgon, Take Me Away.’ SOMEday you’re gonna see me on your doorstep begging for tour of your cottage and surroundings. Now that I know someone in such a place, I have the HUNGER fer real. Oh, maybe I should wait for an invite. Until then, here’z a cyber (((((hug)))))) Shery
Your article made me teary eyed! Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks with our families and friends! We are traditional with the food, my girls bring parts of it to help out. We have 3 tables full of people, mostly family, but it varies from year to year on friends who come. My favorite is the pecan pie — it is a tradition from my family and we have to have it!
Margaret says: Wow, Love your new little camper. Great ideas for decorating, thanks. We have camped in Wyoming every year for over 40 years plus lived in the Big Horn Basin for awhile. This year we have a new to us used camper and all the new features make us need to conserve on the battery since we "dry camp". Well we used candles in the evening inside but since they do not give off enough light making it hard to play cards I just came up with another idea after seeing your pictures. The Christmas solar light strings might work well inside also as lighting. I can put the solar panel in the window and have lights at night without attacting so many bugs on the windows and still be able to play cards. Since we are now empty nesters this will also be romatic. Just wanted to pass on this idea for inside lighting.
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Margaret, Solar light strings???!!! COOL, will have to check them out. Google search, hmmm? Yep, one of the trips I want to take next summer will be to the Big Horns. It is a 3 hour drive for us. The rest would be easy little one day or overnight trips in the surrounding Black Hills area…lots of options all around us and anywhere from 45 minutes to a little over a hour away. No more thinking that ‘someday I’ll get back into camp mode’. Shery
Margaret says: What great fun! We don’t find treasures like your new playhouse around here much anymore! Can’t wait to see all your decorating on it! Have fun! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
OH Shery,,,, I am doing the ‘Happy Dance’ for you!
and your new~old glamp~trailer! Now you are one of us !lol!
Oh the things, the fun, the creativity…. you’ll be busy!
There is a vintage ‘yellow/brown’ scotch-plaid set of picinic ware,,,thermos, metal basket etc… several of my gal pals have pieces from that collection, the brand name escapes me tho.
How cool, and if you go to facebook, check out Juli Thorson’s ‘Girl Camp’ (& she has a camping blog)as well as the SOTF sites.
I will try to put together a list of trailer sites that might be of interest to you to give you ideas of what other gals have done w/their vintage trailers.
Irene Rawling’s book "Sisters on the Fly" is great…. and brag moment…Juli & I and some of our gal-pals from our annual FarmChick camp out are in it.
Again, so happy for you…. now, "Happy Trails to you".
hugz
gracie
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Thanks Gracie!!! Oh goody, more sites to pour over. You’re in SOTF??? What page??? Thus far, I have two (lg & sml) red plaid Thermos bottles and a matching plaid cooler. A matching 4 gallon ice chest is soon to arrive. ACK, accessorizing ‘her’ is gonna cost more than the trailer ;o) But, I’m used to that…having horses is the same deal. Buying the horse is the least expensive part of the whole equation! Ok, back to goodies…I’ve got half a dozen vintage tableclothes, a wooden ironing board (for buffet set-up), red-handled sliverware etc etc. I’m a woman obsessed!!!!!! I remember well when dad brought home a LOG playhouse when I was a wee lassie. Same deal, I spent hours ‘nesting’. Mom saved many canned goods cans for our pretend pantry. I tried many times to sleep in it at night … buuuut, being afraid of the dark always made me chicken out. Ya know, preserving the ‘child at heart’ within is so important. Making our own fun is something we should never outgrow. Being a’scared of the dark, well, I ain’t afraid of no haints now. Shery
Hi Shery, What a great xmas gift to yourself, I am jelous, and it looks like it is in mint condition and the price was fabulous, lucky you! Have a nice Thanksgiving and Xmas! Happy Trails to you !Looked like you didn’t have much snow yet? carol
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Hi Carol, No measurable snow yet… and that suits me to a T. But, the COLD is here and tomorrow it is only suppose to reach a high of 10..?????!!!!!!! ICK. Yes, you have a great holiday too. I’ll be doing the backstroke in gravy! Shery
I have been wanting to join your blog for awhile, and the awesome camper prompted me….can you believe the stove is yellow and white…how precious is that. I am a rancher type person in Texas…my husband and I manage a Quarter Horse Ranch in central Texas, 5300 acres of paradise (if it rains) love your blog, thank God for Mary Jane….(also my mom’s name) Would love to find a camper like yours…some day.
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Oh Amy, thank you for the kind compliment (following this blog). Glad to have you. Or, as my Arkansas grandma use to say, "I’m just suh proud to have you’ns." A ranch in a MUCH warmer climate sounds perfect right about now. I agree, isn’t that cutest little stove?…and the fridgey-icebox matches it. I gotta come up wit a name for ‘her’. Hmmmm. Shery
WOW, Shery, I am so excited for you and your new trailer. I just love those old models. I have pics of ours when I was a little girl and we used to camp on the beach at Galveston. Of course the grownups slept inside the camper, all of us kids slept under a tarp in the sand. HA! I know you are going to have a blast decorating. And you see, the Lord had a better plan when you missed out on that last one at the auction.
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving and Happy Glamping.
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Hi Vivian, I think you’re absolutely spot-on. While the other trailer at the auction was much less $$, it needed extensive cleaning, plus the cushions were shot — packrats & mice Oh My — soooo stinky-filthy-ICKY. The whole thing would have also needed re-wiring due to possible rodent damage. It would have ended up costing much more due to the expense of renovation work. The clean up on this one: half an hour of tidy & wipe…and I really didn’t need to do that. The seller kept it very clean. Way better deal. Happy-grateful I am. Shery
diane says: My husband just bought me a 1963 Lil’ Ceasar canned ham trailer this summer for our 34th anniversary. I love her!!!! Her name is "Alice" and we pull her with a white Dodge Ram named "Bud". I have two decorative themes. One that is retro for when my kids borrow her…It is kind of Dick and Jane…for the grandsons…and since I have decorated using fabrics which I put up with pressure rods and velcro I can take that down and put up my "glamping" decor which is brown and tourquoise silks and chandeliers…such fun…my husband is a good sport. Since he is 6’2" he does have to stoop over a bit when he is in it..thank you so much for sharing your life with us…I feel a real kindredness with you…I wish you many, many blessings and much joy…diane
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Oh Diane, do you have a blog where curious folks like me could see photos of your darlin little Alice?? She sounds so cute. One thing I am going to have done in my trailer: reupholster the seat cushions…from turquoise to cherry RED. Shery
Jane Gladden says: I love your new trailer. It really seems to be in good shape. My husband is restoring a ’53 Terry in our barn right now. We are hoping to stay true to the vintage interior but I am going to red and white rather than green and gold. Please keep your readers posted on your progress. It’s cold in the mountains of NC now too so work is sometimes limited. Enjoy !
Oh Shery,,, you are so smitten! lol!
Now you have trailer love, soon it will be trailer lust! Everytime you see a vintage trailer you will want to see the inside,you’ll want that pillow, this light etc,,you’ll scan for more deco ideas…..it can be addicting! lol! and yes, the cost of the trailer is the cheapest part of being the owner of a vintage trailer.
I have my SOTF book in my Scotty which is parked in the barn across the road for the Winter, so I don’t remember what page I am on, but, it is in the lower bottom right corner, I am pointing to the flag I have above my trailer. I co-host the SOTF Farm Chicks camp out in Spokane and there is a group shot of us as well…again, can’t remember what page. If I recall, that was the year that MaryJane camped with us and then joined up with SOTF.
I currently have 3 trailers, ’59 Aljo in full tear down restoration, a ’63 Serro Scotty and a ’64 FleetCraft… and I am always on the look for another one….. see, I told ya, it’s addiciting!
Now go have fun, & remember,,, ‘spray paint is your friend!’…lol!
hugz
gracie
meredith (Hereford girl) says: Wow Shery! Did you find a GEM!! I am so excited for you!!! Our family has a new-to-us modern camper, not too big, that I adore. You will have so much fun with yours! We have used ours primarily as a place to stay during Hereford shows, it is our home away from home. Last year we took it to Kansas City (from VA.) for the Junior National show. I have never been so grateful for our little house on wheels. It was 115 degrees, 95 degrees at night- we LOVED OUR A/C!!!
Enjoy decorating it and dreaming about your future fun this winter- spring will be here soon enough!
Happy Thanksgiving, I am thankful for you and all the MJF farmgirls!
Rejena says: Hi there! We are headed from Pennsylvania to Wyoming this winter. My husband leaves in two weeks while I close up shop here.
We’ve sold the farm animals and are planning to rent for a year or so while we look for our perfect Wyoming Ranch. It is so exciting, I can’t believe it is real!
I’ve enjoyed your post immensely, and look forward to more ‘real life experience’ of ranch life in Wyoming soon.
Best wishes and a happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Rejena
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Rejena, Happy hunting! Welcome to the Cowboy State! Some folks stuck in PC mania oddly and happily wrinkle their nose at ‘cowboys’ (and our state) …and direct the cowboy label as an insult. Those of us who understand the real meaning of the label wear it proudly. I hope you find just the right spot here in God’s country. Yippee-Ki-Yi-Ay. Shery
Brenda Graham says: Well, this Cowgirl just found this Wonderful Book on her weekly outing. I never knew there was so many others like me. Now I know i am cloned.Lol. Looking and reading all, is so over whelming. I know now i have sisters out there. I want to thank you for coming out with the magazine for us to have and cherish. I had a farm until my late husband passed with cancer,and they took almost everything i owned. But i put my Big girl pants on and here I am years later. I cannot take the farm girl, or cowgirl, out of me.Thanks to you all for this blessing.I want to know more on how to make the clay sheep, with the wool.I so do love them. Heres a big Yea Haw to you all.Brenda
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Hi Brenda,
So glad you joined us!! OhMyYes, there are gobs of us out there in the big yonder. MaryJane provided a ‘place’ for us to meet, even if not face to face.
Ok, the sheep. Well, we just molded them by hand. Mmmmm, trial and error :o) When we were happy with the way they looked, we backed them for about 15 minutes. Mixed results. Some of them cracked. But, those that survived looked good and we then painted faces…or not; then wrapped and hot-glued the wool onto them…as needed. Vwah-la, they were done. Shery
Ann says: Love your trailer! My sister and I have seen some Sisters on the Fly at the annual Country Living fair in Columbus, Ohio and each trailer is unique but very farmgirl chic. Can’t wait to see pictures of yours when it is fully decorated. As always, your photos are stunning. Also, about your recipe – yum but I am assuming it is 10 minutes in a water bath? Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you, Ann. Yep, 10 minutes will do it. Shery
Cora Jo says: So, I’m glad I am not the only one still trying to learn computer stuff! Heck! I’m still writing on the back of my hand and calling it my "backberry". Haha
Thanksgiving floats around our family nowa days. This year my step daughter Jackie is hosting for the first time. She will do fine. We will miss the "creamed grapes" though…as that was one of my Mom’s things. We had a huge family back then and Mom was always looking for one more dish to put on the table. One year it was Creamed Grapes…cream cheese and sugar int he blender over halved grapes…worked. And I absolutely love the next day sandwich! Enjoy, Shery, I love your pictures and blog…now I’m looking for a trailer!
Oh Shery how wonderful. I have a board on my pinterest account that I have pinned all the wonderful vintage campers I have came across. I drool over that board. Now your camper has been pinned. Love it. How much fun you are going to have. I dream of parking mine in some of the Michigan campgrounds and dragging my grands along for the ride. And when no grands are available I want to drag my sewing machine and just set and sew to my hearts content, away from all the things at home that seem to say do this first. I might even invite the hubs along once in a while. Dreaming…..My favorite part of the meal would be mashed potatoes and dressing side by side covered with gravy. And a warm piece of apple pie with ice cream at the end. I could skip everything else and have turkey sandwiches later and be very content. Your little lambs are precious.
I just love the colours in your post-pics… they make me want to snuggle-up by the fire and sew my quilt… and that is what I am going to do! Your posts are just lovely. I am a great fan of MaryJane and her friends and followers… you are all such a rich source of inspiration and a breath of fresh air! May God bless you all x
Images can help tell a story. Pictures can add meaning and impart a deeper understanding. What we see with our eyes and read with our eyes join together and, in my opinion, turn an otherwise good read into a great read. Imagery stirs emotions, pricks our memory and takes us back to places we’ve been or transports us to places we will never see for ourselves. Words are busy, pictures are quiet. Together, they’re a great team.
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING…thank you so much for sharing your fabulous photos and the wonderful sayings!!!
Jan says: Now this brought a tear to my eye, a chuckle to my day, and an appreciation of your beautiful contribution!
Great job, Shery.
nameTerry says: Mom looks just as beautiful as i remember!
Marcie says: As always, your words and photos are priceless works of art.
Thank you Shery!
When I see your blog in my email, I always get my cup of coffee and sit back to enjoy a great adventure,
Marcie
Thanks so very much for sharing your photos and wonderful sayings with us Sherry! I ALWAYS love to see your photographs in every blog post you do!
You have a beautiful life with your ranch and horses, girlfriends are the icing on your cake and sharing with us is magical for us!
You always have a follower in me and thanks for sharing with permission your photos and sayings added.
I are adore them all! The china plate and needlework with frame are fascinating. I may add them to my blog side if you do not mind. But, all are fabulous!
Smiles, Cyndi
Debbie says: PERFECT Shery! I’m gonna stay quiet and enjoy your lovely images for a while longer…THANK YOU!
Deb ( your beachy farmgirl sister from the east )
Elizabeth says: Cultivating Mirth…Thank you for sharing your Peace with me.
Roxana says: Thank you for reminding me once again to look for the loveliness in everything. It’s a comfort just knowing you are out there doing this – and then sharing it with us.
Hi Shery!
Love the photo with Grandma Moses quote and the picket fence lovely. Well I love them all but those are my favs. Thanks for sharing your lovely pictures. I know it must have taken quite a while to pick out just the right ones to put words to. So thank you for your time also.
Joan says: THANK YOU!!!!!!
Lynn says: Thank you for the beautiful photos!
I always enjoy your posts.
Blessings
Lynn
meredith (hereford girl) says: Just beautiful Shery! You remind me to live in the moment! I always save your blog post for a quiet time with a hot cup of coffee – yours is always thought provoking and motivating! My camera is going out with me today – we are starting the halter breaking process with two of our heifers. Thank you for reminding me of the beauty everywhere!
Dawn bass says: Beautiful pictures and beautiful words….:)
Brenda says: beautiful and relaxing just what I needed at the end of this busy day. thank you I always enjoying reading what you write or show us.
Janice says: The photo and words about your mom took my breath away, brought tears to my eyes, and made me think of my mother in a new way. Thank you!
Beautiful pictures and meaningful words….you’ve inspired me to embrace all the beauty around me in ways I’ve never thought could be possible…..thank you. Mel
I loved your Blog and am so glad our friend, Mel, sent me here! Your photos are amazing and beautiful as well as your stories you share. I hope you will come follow me on all my blogs. Have a blessed day, I’ll be back!
Bonnie W. says: I will accept these photos and quotes as part of my Birthday presents…you never knew…but now you do.
I loved each one…
Thank You!
Elaine says: I am brand new to "Mary Janes Farm Girls" but must say what I have seen I have enjoyed. I live in northern BC Canada and enjoy living in ranch land country like you. I am not allowed to ride anymore because of a car accident and a broken neck etc. I did so enjoy your photos and sayings. I do enjoy taking pictures of animals, and God’s great out doors. My newest pleasure are our two grandchildren four and almost six. Please keep up the great blog.
Fall color on the grassy ‘high plains’ is more subtle, but just as lovely as the tree’d up hill country nearby. On the ranch, we’ve been doing a lot of ‘fall-work’. Socially, my farmgirl pals and I have been having a rollicking good time and savoring every autumn moment. Come on in and see for yourself …
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Helen says: Shery,
Just want you to know that I look forward to reading your blog each week or so. Love your photos and your thoughts. I am a farmgirl, too. I currently live north of Colville, WA, on 20 acres, with my daughter, rat terrier-type dog, couple of cats, 15+ hens. As a California transplant, I am "living my dream", of being in the country, although I commute to town most days for a desk job, to pay for it all! I envy you your beautiful ranch, horses, etc….not that I don’t like my own place, but love yours, too!
Thanks for taking the time to share your days with us, Sincerely HW
Wow…lots of interesting and fun stuff to read about this week! You live in such a beautiful area…I love the rolling pastureland. I wish we had that surrounding us other than farmland. There’s nothing at all wrong with farmland and it is beautiful when the crops are growing but when the fields are left bare and strong winds hit them BOY do we get hit with dust! I found your info on RT’s very interesting…we’ll have to consider that breed. Loved the party pictures…too bad about the horse having a sore hoof. The trees are just starting to turn color here on the farm..this is my favorite time of year. I’m definitely not looking forward to winter and I’m hoping that this year is a lot kinder to us. Enjoy your weather!
Maura 🙂
Debbie says: Really Shery? REALLY???? You get me everytime I read your posts! LOL!!!How do you do it??? I know, you’re a talented gal that’s how!!! Oh, the beauty of your photos and images formed in my head by your words can transport a gal 3000 miles from home and in a nano second, I’m there ( wish I was )!!! It’s all so warm and fally looking… Your info on RTs was very interesting… Being a Corgi lover ( and owner ) I was SURE they were the only dog for a farmgirl! HA!!! You know I’m kidding….WE do love our Max… he’s great with the hens and a wonderful companion dog… We just don’t say the words sheep or cow around him…He’s in the herding group and we don’t want him to get his hopes up! LOVE LOVE LOVE~ ALL OF IT!
FARMGIRL HUGS and a very happy Farmgirl Fall to you!
Deb ( your beachy farmgirl pal from the shorelines)
PS. Pat the ponies for me!!!
Thanks for taking the time to take photos and tell us all the tiny details about your farm girl (ranch) life. It is very interesting and I get a lot of ideas from it. I am in a new area, hubby and I just bought a mini-farm and I would love to belong to a farm girl group but there isn’t one around here. I don’t know if I have the confidence to start one myself. Maybe someday.
As always… I love "visiting" with you at your blog…
I have to share with you… for me, RoseHip tea is a Winter staple… I have been drinking it since I was a little girl. When I lived in germany, my Oma (grandmother) in Germany would serve it to me as a source of vita-C.
To this day, I still drink it in the Winter…and I have family send it to me from Germany…somethings one just can’t change, and getting my RoseHip ‘Hagebutten’ tea from Germany is a tradition.
Wish I could have been at your delightful Harvest Fest event… I luv all the goodies I see/saw in your posting.
Oh sigh! part of me is not yet ready for Winter & yet another part of me want’s to start decorating…
What’s a gal to do? lol!
hugz
>^..^<
Dear Shery,
I don’t know how you do it. Most days I feel like I am barely keeping up and you make it all so beautiful, so heartwarming, so fun… I love reading your blog, keeps me inspired and remembering to stop and smell the hay some days!
Thank you.
Love.
Terces
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Dearest Terces, Many days I barely keep up. Some days I just don’t. So, move over and we can sit on a big ole pile of laundry & share a glass of wine :o) Nothing rids us of the tyranny of obligations, so you might as well enjoy peace-of-mind moments and tell ‘life’ it can wait for your soul to catch up with you. Thank you for the kind words…and you’re welcome. Shery
Love the pictures, looks like you all had a blast at your fall sale. Sounds very similar to the Harvest Festival the Lamoille Women’s club puts on every year. That’s where I first tried homemade apple butter.
I have yet to try rosehip tea but I did pick a bunch last year and made rosehip jelly. I may have to go pick what’s left in our favorite choke cherry foraging spot to set aside for tea.
I brought home a Jersey cow too!! I love love love her! The fresh milk, butter, cheeses, cream…how did I ever get along without her?! I’m currently milking her in my newly finished green house, until the milking parlor gets its makeover.
Sounds like that fall festival was a lot of fun too. Too bad about the horses’ sore foot, but at least he got lots of pats and well wishes.
Thankx for the visit (pictures)!
Jeanne says: Your pictures always take my breath away. The high plain meadows are beautiful. Reading your blog always takes me away from chores for a spell.
I love Michele’s "art junk" bird houses. Are they just for decoration or can they be hung in a tree to be used? I would love to buy one.
I am in Southern Colorado and it is getting very cold here in the early mornings and my daughter told me next week it is going to be really chilly. She even got out her bed quilts and comforters. Guess I had better do the same.
Blessings, Jeanne
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Hi Jeanne, Some of Michele’s birdhouses are not just decorative. Several of them have a hinged door so that they can be cleaned out. But, she just sells them locally and at shows. I’ll sure tell her that you like them though. :o)
Thanks you for the kind words. Shery
meredith says: I have to put my vote in for the corgis! We have had them for years, they are the best pets, herding dogs, and as soon as I teach them how to get varmints, well, they will be great at that too! Ha! Loved the info on the RT- might have to look into that breed one day! Thanks for your fabulous post, as always……Meredith
Rene Foust says: What a beautiful life! I love your posts they are always so inspiring, beautiful and informative. I always learn something new after reading your posts, thanks so much.
Sondra K says: What a wonderful blog. Thank you for taking the time to share it with everyone. So much to feast my eyes on. I especially loved all of the outdoor photos. The part about the rat terriers was very educational. I might consider getting a rat terrier if I get to the point that I need another dog.
Your horse is beautiful. I’ve never seen that shade of palamino before, but up close, she certainly is. With all of those lovely dapples, I was expecting a grey at first. Beautiful, beautiful.
I’m very envious of all the grass that you’ve got. It looks like a perfect location for a ranching farmgirl.
Sondra K says: What a wonderful blog. Thank you for taking the time to share it with everyone. So much to feast my eyes on. I especially loved all of the outdoor photos. The part about the rat terriers was very educational. I might consider getting a rat terrier if I get to the point that I need another dog.
Your horse is beautiful. I’ve never seen that shade of palamino before, but up close, she certainly is. With all of those lovely dapples, I was expecting a grey at first. Beautiful, beautiful.
I’m very envious of all the grass that you’ve got. It looks like a perfect location for a ranching farmgirl.
Amber says: What a great blog
Nancy Sinatra’s 60’s mega-hit made it clear that her boots were made for walking. Those groovy Go-Go boots had an agenda in the song. Her boyfriend was doing her wrong … so goes the story. If you don’t know the rest of the story … take a fresh listen to “These Boots” via the YouTube link below … and then read on about the life & times of my favorite footwear.
Speaking of boots, you inspired me to show some pics (on my blog)of my boots working around our place…. lol!
Happy Trails to you….
nameDonna Shaw says: I love reading your stories and your picture so beautiful.Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us your lovely life.
kristy says: Now tell us about hats. Some of you pictures show them, some don’t.
Ann says: This may inspire me to get a pair of boots! I impulsively, finally bought a cowgirl hat at the encouragement of my family, so next stop – boots! Love your pictures and prose as always, also your Cluck posts.
JoAnn says: Oh those Go Go Boots!!! I loved them & I wonder whatever happened to them and the Hot Pants we wore. Who knows maybe they will come back some day – just like the Bell Bottom jeans. And as for Cowboy Boots – even though it’s only my husband and myself at home now I bet there are at least 10 pairs in the mudroom right now. Love Them!!!
linda says: The pink cowboys caught my eye. Can you tell me about those boots?
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Hi Linda, The little girl’s boots? Shery
What a beautiful blog!!!!!!! The pictures are so crisp. I’m a boot girl. I should own 20 pair, but only have one. After seeing those absolutely beautiful boots, I shall look for more in all kinds of colors and patterns. I am inspired now!!!! Like Linda posted, my favorite boots were the pink ones.
Hugs to your horse Dolly.
Marly
September is when summer isn’t quite over and autumn hasn’t yet taken hold. We’re betwixt the two.
Veronica says: Enjoyed your post this morning. Thank you! So true about September… and sorry about the camper. Have a blessed day!
Oh my, I even have tears over that Shasta!! Someone got very happy that day! I still have dreams of finding one. How cute are those hats. I think I need to make four for my darling granddaughters. Enjoy betwixt, it is beautiful out!
juniperlover says: I really enjoyed your betwixt post this morning. I live in southern Colorado and your landscape reminds me of mine! We too are enjoying this in between time when the days are warm but the sun has finally lost the intensity that sends us looking for shade. We had a light frost two nights ago…it’s Autumn sending a shot across our bow! Enjoy these sweet days before the winter winds start to howl!
Hi Shery 🙂
I always enjoy your posts and photos. Just beautiful! Sorry about the Shasta, I guess that means that the Lord has something even better in mind for you! Michele’s hats (and model!) are adorable and what a blessing that birdhouse is 🙂
Here are a couple of Green Tomato recipes for you 🙂
Green Tomato Chutney
Four cups peeled and chopped tomatoes
Two-third cup chopped onion
One-quarter cup yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
One small garlic clove, minced
One cup packed light brown sugar
Two-third cup cider vinegar
Two Tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
One teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
One Tablespoon mustard seed
One-quarter teaspoon ground turmeric
One and one-half teaspoons grated lemon zest
One cup golden raisins
Place all ingredients in a large, nonreactive pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is very thick, 1- ½ to 2 hours. Let cool slightly. Ladle into hot sterilized half-pint jars and seal. Yield: 1-½ pints.
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Green Tomato Marmalade
4 lbs green tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped ginger
6 cups sugar
5 lemons
1/2 cup water
Chop tomatoes, add grated rind and juice of lemons, ginger and water. Simmer 1 hour stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add sugar. Simmer until sugar is dissolved and then boil rapidly until consistency of jam (about 25 min) pour into jars and seal. I’m afraid I don’t remember what the yield is, it has been a few years.
Have a blessed day!
~Sharon
Janice K. says: Did you hear my ‘AAAARRRRGGGGHHH’! all the way to Wyoming? Yes that would be my dream of a lifetime, too. That along with a lovely robin’s egg blue 1954 Chevy pickup to tow it with…We can still have our dreams!!!
The metal roofing lids look wonderful, too. How lucky you are to live in an area that still has preserved some of it’s local history.
Have a wonderful fall…
Nicole Christensen says: Shery, LOVE THOSE HATS! So cute. Can’t wait to see the pattern. I love your pictures, too. Great post. Happy Fall, your blogging sister, Nicole (Suburban Farmgirl Blogger)
Terry says: Yep this time of year is down right enchanting. It’s catch-your-breath at breath-taking scenery or scents. This Saturday our son David is raising his timber frame for his straw bale home! My thinking is that it’s a most perfect time of year to be doing it! Shery, have you thought about finding the buyer of the trailer and offering more money for it?
bonnie ellis says: Shery: Now you have the "one that got away story" but I know how you feel. You were hoping for That one. Love your blog and all the fantastic pictures. Wish I was closer to visit in person. Hope you will find the perfect one soon, but won’t it have to be pulled by a horse? ho ho. Your farmgirl friend Bonnie.
Carol Norwood says: I love this post and the accompanying photographs. All of them are wonderful but my absolutely favorite are the tin can lids all over … fabulous. I can just hear the rain pitter, pattering as it hits the lids! I love it! Thank you ….
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”.
I remember Ice Skating on the ranch in Wyoming, my big sisters leaving me behind as they skated on Rock Creek all the way to the bridge, and of course I was usually the one who fell through the thin ice!
Love this. Our weather in Missouri has been really mild unlike last year but I work from my home and sometimes feel trapped in my office. I love getting out and getting the "stink off". My Grandfather used to say that (We stayed with my grandparents when growing up). I go out every morning and feed dogs cats horses and donkeys but there is a need to sometimes just get out…. to get out of the routine truly getting the stink off. Of course those urges hit me when it is coldest outside. I love skating but our ranch only has creeks that are spring fed and do not freeze but sometimes the ground thaws enough it is slippery. Does that count? I have a healthy respect for the ice and need to work on that also. I prefer staying on my feet and last year spent enough time like an unpside down turtle in 2 feet of snow. (My bottom was my center of gravity if you can imagine, just arms and feet sticking out the snow). I thought I was a goner several times but that ol faithful dog was there for me to hold on to and get myself out. Thank you for such a great article.
Hahahahah! Love your dad’s saying! I’ve never been good on roller skates, ice skates or skies. But, this post reminded me of the fresh air of the Sierra during our cross country skiing days! Now, that was fun and definitely created some giggling! I did used to fall quite a bit, but at least I wasn’t going too fast when I did it! Great images and I love the one of Ribbon wearing skates.. Perhaps it’s time for a long walk in the winter air!
Thanks for another ( gem ) Shery!
Stay warm!
love and hugs,
your beach blogging sister- friend!
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Thanks Deb :o) I hafta tell you though that the horse in that photoshop pic isn’t mine. I found it on the http://www. ~ shery j
Oh Shery,
as a child I to would go with my girlfriends and skate (at skate parks where you had to pay) what fun we had. Then somewhere along the way, I grew up,,,,and had not been on a pair of skates for 10+ years…. After all my bragging my hubby brought me & another couple to a Indoor Skate Park… Ummmm well, let’s just say, my skating memories were a lot better then my actual skating abilities! lol!
I do have a pair of ice skates that hang by the entrance door of our home (year round) and with each season I replace the flowers to reflect the season. I also have a pair of wood/metal ice skates that lay by the fireplace.
I am a true believer that one does not have to limit ones self to only the current seasonal decorations… so yes in Summer I have ice skates hanging with flowers and in Winter I have have bird houses & sunflowers & flamingos!…. I am just quirkey that way!
Speaking of bird houses, I just acquired a new bird house that looks like a trailer (on my blog)…. I am so ready for Summer & Glamping,,,how about you? Happy Trails!
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Oooooooooooo, a birdy trailer ? :o) Cuuuuuute! I’m gonna try and twist my farmgirl pal, Michele, into creating a junky trailer birdhouse. I can do the graph paper part…and hopefully she’ll agree to do the woodworkin’. Got your ears on Michele? shery
What wonderful memories this evoked! As I young person, I remember ‘living’ outdoors in the winter; skating, sledding, snowmobiling….anything just to be outside in the snow and cold!
My uncle had a pond that became the neighborhood gathering spot for kids and adults (summer and winter). Many a game of ice hockey was played there as well as just plain zooming around like crazy people on the ice just for the fun of it!
My uncle had built a cabin adjacent to the pond, complete with a big pot-belly, wood-burning stove. If we weren’t outside on the ice, we were inside warming our fingers and toes, guzzling hot chocolate, hot cider and every sweet treat imaginable from my Grandma who was a wonderful cook and loved feeding us!
Thanks for allowing me a few moments to ‘be’ in that place again. Like you, I ‘observe’ more than I ‘do’ lately, but I still enjoy!
Oh, how I miss those days….
This was a great post! I loved all the pictures too! We havent been skating this year as the temps have been so all over the place. It’s snowing today, so it definitely puts me in the mood to skate or sled!
OH, I love to watch people ice skate. I’ve tried it myself and it’s always ended in failure…so far…but I still love it 😉 🙂 It’s fun to watch people glide on the ice. It’s like they’re flying and for a moment you aren’t bound by gravity 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
I use to ice skate till I had my first back surgery for scoliosis when I was a 11 years old, my parents wouldn’t let me after that. I did continue to go sledding up till about 9 years ago I was still sliding down the hills on a sled! But not now, my back can’t take it anymore. In Michigan we haven’t had much snow, it comes and melts the same day or in a day or two. Which is fine for me for that means the roads aren’t messy and I hate driving in it. But loved it as a kid, playing in it and making forts and tunnels and snow angels, now if I make a snow angel it isn’t because I wanted to its because I fell…LOL!!!!
I grew up on a ranch in Colorado. We did a lot of snow skiing and roller skating, but no ice skating. I went to Harvard for my education. Boy, did I learn to ice skate! There are ice-rinks everywhere. I crashed and burned too many times to count, but finally got the hang of it.
I am back on our cattle ranch in Colorado after many years of being away; and once again no ice skating rinks anywhere near where I live. I do miss the fun I had with my friends.
We have had very little snow this year so far and a growing fear we are headed for another drought just like last year.
Treese
We live in Saskatchewan and we have many Ice Rinks indoor and out, Plus we usually like to build one on the front lawn in the winter months. However this year has been unusually warm, so the ice has seemed to melt away 🙁 Some of the best times I had as a child were spent doing winter activities and I am truly enjoying teaching my son that winter can be just as fun as summer, when it comes to playing outdoors! This year we started working on an Igloo…contrary to popular belief we Canadians Do Not live in them! We used a plastic swimming pool as the roof and propped it up with a few pieces of scrap wood with a fabric curtain doorway, So even though we only have a few inches of snow we can still have a true winter hide out! And our dogs have been occupying it at night! Everyone is Happy! Enjoy your winter activities, for soon it will be Caving season….and we will be too busy to fully enjoy the snow! 🙂
Great post Shery! Fun, inspirational pictures too!! I love ice skating and I am not the most active of adults. I really miss it this year. Our winter has been so mild in Maine that lakes and ponds haven’t frozen over enough yet. Just last week the state had to cancel it’s biggest ice fishing competition for safety reasons. Granted there are still ice rinks open, but if I’m going to make the effort I prefer to be outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. Here’s hoping it’s cold enough some where for people to enjoy the sport the way it was meant to be.