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.
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.
*************************
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 ….
Until they leave later this month, Redwing Blackbirds have a place in my early fall routine. They crowd an open feeder to gobble up sunflower seeds just as soon as it is light in the mornings. My fellow farmgirl friend, Michele, makes a wood & screen feeder and she gave one to me; she said it would likely attract birds that do not normally come to a feeder.
So many things to cover this week! It feels like harvest time all the way around. Nature produced a bounty to prepare us for the coming winter. Let’s see if we can make a place in the ‘pantry’ for alllllll that I have to share with you in this installment.
Wow, just love this post…I have a new appreciation for blackbirds…of which, I have many in their flocks around my property.
This is a time of bounty and I thank you for showing me the wonderful beauty (in photos) of this time.
Ann says: That cloth bird at the beginning of your post really caught my eye as well as your lovely vignette. I will go back to the Cluck site and look for this pattern. As always, your photos are stunning. I did not know this about blackbirds. I just wish they weren’t so raucous in the mornings around my house! Sometimes it would be nice to sleep in!
Lori Nichols says: ALL of my favorite blackbird references … thank you Shery for your words and your insight and for reminding us that without the black, dark and shadows of creation, the light would never shine so bright….
Bambi says: What a great post! In the photos of your Black Hills drive, can you tell me what the plant is in the first frame. (green with purple edges) Thank you for all the effort you put into your posts, I always look forward to reading them. Keep up the good work!
Shery, what a wonderful post. We had a ton of red winged blackbirds in the area I grew up. But not here. We do have a lot of crows, large groups of them that make a lot of noise at us when we walk through the woods or work in our back garden. I will look at them differently after reading your post. Happy Fall Shery!
Betty Benesi says: We have many black birds and crows as well. The crows particularly have become more abundent the last few years and have pushed out the blue jays. Very few jays around anymore. Both really squawky (SP). The Black bird song has a particular meaning for me as well. It was on the radio when I found out one of my horses, Ruby had been put down.
She was a profoundly disturbed little horse who I loved dearly, but could never ride. She was pretty and playful but I always felt that life had not been particulary good to her. So at last she could fly.
Janet says: Sherry
Yours is the only one of the blogs I truly enjoy and this one took the cake. Thanks for sharing all of what you enjoy. Just wish we could be neighbors….
Hey Shery,
Karen Bates (above) is a dear friend of mine and we will be camping next weekend….hurry & get a lil vintage trailer & come join us….then we can sit around the firepit, museing and sharing life’s adventures.
Happy Autumn from my side of the State to yours.
<><
Julia Hursh says: Oh, how I enjoyed the writings and pictures you shared!!:) We live on a remote ranch in the Chihuahuan Desert in far west Texas…. so I just loved seeing a different part of our country. Thanks for sharing your life and surroundings. May you and yours have a blessed day – Happy trails – J
Brenda says: Shery, just found your blog for the first time today. How wonderfully insightful you are. Reading your words of encouragement and viewing the stunning photography have given me a feeling of excitement to start my day. Oh, I miss my farm. I long to experience the abundance of life that each day offers when one lives on a farm. I think it’s time I make this dream into a reality again and shop for a little land. You’re an inspiration.
Sunflowers, sweet corn, goldenrod, crook neck squash, the juicy flesh of ripe peaches, and many other harvest-time goodies … they all suggest that yellow is August’s favorite color. The saffron beauty of sunflowers attracts bees and artists alike.
Connie Mac says: Shery, First I have to admit this is my first comment despite lurking since I joined MJF. I love your blog. It is the first one I check. Thanks for going to the trouble and taking the time to make it so enjoyable!
Now my sunflower story … I planted sunflowers outside my west facing kitchen window once many years ago. My sister came to visit around 6 one evening and I was so excited to show her how well they had grown. She gazed out the window and with a quizzical look on her face said "They are beautiful but why didn’t you plant them facing the window?" My laughter made her mad and to this day the subject of sunflowers is taboo. Paine’s poem brought that memory back. Thanks for the remembered laughter!
Sister #2880 CMac
I just love this article. I have been planting the huge Mammoth flowers to border my Chicken coop and raised garden. I would love to get some merlot sunflower seeds.
I harvest my seeds for snacks…soak them in salt water and roast them the next day! I still have some left so I may just cut them for decorating this fall. Thanks again for your article.
Simply stunning…oh, how I love their faces. I have just had a hankering for some photos of them this year….thanks for the fabulous post…as always!
I adore your blog posts and always read as soon as I get your email from Mary Jane. Your photos are always fabulous and so interesting.
I do love sunflowers and this post is beyond excellent!
Thanks for sharing all you do with us Shery!
Smiles, Cyndi
Treese says: Here on my Colorado ranch I only have a single Sunflower, but every year I can count on it coming back. It is a little bigger every year. It always makes me smile to see it return year after year.
Colorado Cowgirl.
Kare says: Oh how I love sunflowers. They just cheer you up looking at them.
You are an amazing lady. Love to read your blog and see what you are up to next. I just have to share about this lovely sour cream that can be made out of sunflower seeds.
1 Cup Sunflower Seeds (Raw) (Roasted can be used, but the raw blends better and is better for you. )
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 fresh lemon- Squeezed
Place all the above ingredients in your blender and whiz until creamy and smooth. The longer you blend it the smoother it will be. (About 5 minutes)
If not thick enough, add a few more nuts.
If too thick, add a little more water.
Enjoy it on your favorite baked potato, or tacos, or your favorite Salad, Brocalli etc.
Much better for you than the High Cholesterol real Sour Cream.
I love making this. Hope you will like it too. And you’ll be
excited about what can be made when your lovely sunflowers are mature.
Thanks again for taking the time to share with us each month!! Jan
REBECCA ROSBERG says: A BIG HELLO FROM MY LITTLE PART OF THE WORLD.. SUNNY SOUTH FLORIDA !
I HAVE WRITTEN BEFORE … I WAS THE ONE THAT THOUGHT "WHAT WOULD I HAVE IN COMMON WITH A RANCH GIRL" AS I LIVE WITH ONE FOOT IN THE COUNTRY AND ONE FOOT IN THE BIG CITY OF PALM BEACH FLORIDA.
BUT THE ANSWER IS I SEEM TO HAVE LOTS IN COMMON WITH THE RANCH GIRL ! I JUST LOVE YOUR BLOG AND THE WAY YOU DECORATE.
IT ALWAYS FASCINATES ME THAT AROUND THE WORLD THERE IS A SMALL GROUP THAT DECORATES AND LOVES THE SAME JUNKTIQUES THAT I LOVE !
I RECENTLY RENEWED MY SUBCRTION TO MARYJANES FARM … AND LOW AND BEHOLD THE FIRST ISSUE I GOT WAS THE WONDERFUL ARTICLE ABOUT ALL THE THINGS YOU COLLECT !
DO ANY OF YOU OTHER FARMGIRLS OUT THERE FIND THIS INTERESTING … WHEN YOU MEET PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE SAME KIND OF "JUNK" THAT YOU LIKE … YET YOU NEVER MET.
WELL SIGNING OFF FOR NOW … I WONDER IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER TRANSPLANTED FARMGIRLS DOWN HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA ?
FROM REBECCA HERE AT SUNNYBROOK FARM !
MerrieJayne says: Thank you for this lovely post. My home is known as The Sunflower Ranch here in central Arizona. We love our sunflowers.
Betty Stone says: I’ve grown the teddybear sunflowers and must say they grew taller than the three feet listed on the packet. They were more like six feet. Gorgeous flowers because they always make me smile. I have a few in my garden also and one that seems to be pushing nine feet–Russian Mammoth. Thank you for sharing your sunflowers.
Maria Kaul Casper says: I really enjoyed reading your blog – I have in my spare time been working on a revised book of the secret language of flowers – Sunflowers say, "I admire you and desire to look upon you always. And as the the sun moves across the sky, east to west, my flower head follows the sunlight and rays – so do I desire to follow you. As the sunflower head droops and fades when the sun is gone from the sky, so do I miss you and long for you when you are not near me." Like a heliotrope turning toward sun light, so I turn toward you as you are the bright light in my life." Say all these things by giving sunflowers to the one you love.
Janice K. says: YAHOO FOR SUNFLOWERS! This year is the first that hubby and I actually didn’t plant any sunflowers, we relied on the volunteers that pop up in the compost bed and other places in the veggie garden area. We went to a neighborhood BBQ and my closest neighbor (over the fence) told us how she missed the regular group that peeked over the fence line each year. Guess what?? Next year we will plant some more in that area.
I also have tried to save seeds and end up with a completely different version of flower. Could it be something to do with cross pollination???
Shery my dear,
As always I can count on you for a colorful blog both in words and images! I too enjoy Sunflowers. Everything from the range of colors and sizes to the sentiment of sunniness too! When we left Nevada for the east coast we drove across our great United States in the last week of July. Guess what we saw mile and miles, acres upon acres of? SUNFLOWERS! It was then that I learned Kansas was the Sunflower state and I finally understood what " the heartland of America was ". It’s easy to take for granted where the ingredients for many of the products made for us come from until you see it first hand. I gained a great appreciation for the growers of the heartland after driving through it… As for my own little patch of earth, I’ve grown Mammoth Sunflowers, and kids sized ones too, and some of my favorite perennials are in the sunflower family: ( Prairie Sun ) Helianthus Maximiliani, and new to my garden this year, Lemon Queen which has small paler yellow blossoms and grows to 96 inches tall in one season! Heliopsis is another favorite of mine that grows 3-6 feet high… I leave the flower heads on for the entire winter for the birds.
YOUR sunflowers are delightful and I love the deeper colored ones… Great way to ease into fall color…Thanks as always for a wonderful blog! You’ve done it again!
xo
Deb ( beachy farmgirl )
I plant sunflowers every year. Although this year I put them in late and they are very little and not much to look at. I will find a new spot next year. Have a great week Shery!
I love sunflowers, but I’ve never grown them. Maybe next year…but I do LOVE the color that’s the first burst right before all the fall colors really kick into high gear. As we slide into reds and oranges and golds and browns, the yellows of late summer are a great last hurrah!
August is when things come together. It is harvest time … a month of hot days and cooler nights … when corn can be heard growing and when fruit on the ground, on the vine and in trees ripens. Gardens fill canning jars for the pantry and for the county & state fair. Amidst all the other things that make August a very full month, this is Fair time. I’ve got a lot of ground to cover and “fair time” is the first stop on our scenic tour of August.
Susan Sharkey says: Shery,
You do beautiful work! I so enjoy reading what you write, looking at what you capture through the lens and wearing what you create. You are sooooo talented!
Susan
Denise Botkin says: Bestest part of County Fairs is all the kids and their animals and projects and knowing they will carry on the traditions!
Joan says: Shery,
Thanks again for a fabulous visit!!! It is about the same around here but I hadn’t taken it all in in the loving way you described – great wording. Would love to have your Mother’s beet relish recipe. May God continue to bless you and in turn bless each of us who are lucky to read your lovely words and see your exquisite pictures.
Joan
Mary Ann says: What a beautiful story and beautiful baby!
Michele says: Shery,
I so enjoyed all your photos from the fair and of your beautiful farm. I hope you know how blessed you are to live such an idyllic lifestyle!! I know that there is LOTS of hard work involved but you must be sooooo satisfied and fulfilled at the end of the day
My MIL hates ground cherries. She never could develop a taste for them, and she said they are prolific producers,weedlike and impossible to kill once they get established. Of course, I’m only repeating what she told me, I have no idea, but that’s what I’ve heard about them. From her comments I would say that means they are hardy plants with vigorous growth. 🙂 I look forward all week for your post Shery. You do have a way with words and photos.
Debra Brown says: I was in 4-H and showed a lamb and as I got older I put a quilt in the Colorado State Fair and got second place. I was on top of the world when I did that. My children where in 4-H and showed their lambs also. Now I get to put my grandchildren in. It is great for you. Thanks
I just want to say how much I enjoyed reading your blog. I love your photos and your photojournalism. Nice writing.
Kim Manning says: Thanks, Shery,
You again brought back many wonderful memories of my fair days. Although I did live for awhile in Weston County too,
I wasn’t in 4-H until we were in Niobrara county. I received blue ribbons in baking and one year did get a ribbon in Douglas at state fair. You have recaptured the special time during Fair Days exquisitely! The only other thing I remember was it became my first time to see and experience square dancing. What a treat! Thanks again!
Hi Shery! Catching up with my blog reading. I got a few ribbons at the fair. A crocheted afghan, handmade dolls, things like that when I was a teenager. It was always one of the most looked forward things to go to in the summer when I was a kid. I still have a niece that shows llamas and has a horse/pony that she shows. And I add to her button collection when I find old buttons that I can bear to part with. Your flowers and hens are pretty, thanks for sharing!
Lori says: Enjoy your blog so much. Love looking at the pictures. You have a wonderful gift of being able to write so beautifully.
Doris says: Nice to read your blog
When you’ve got a jumbled mix of things and you toss them in the same pot, you’ve got a “hochepot” – the french word for hodge-podge. A little of everything went into this article, resulting in a heaping helping of hochepot “pie”. Also included is the edible recipe!
Shery,
I had a great time on our ride…Pictures are awesome! I always enjoy hanging out with my farmgirls…and I’m sure everyone that reads your blog will feel like they were in the saddle with us:) See you soon my friend.
Always Michele
Ruth says: Shery,
Your words never fail to create scenes so vivid and real that they are almost palpable! It’s so easy to just join you on your journeys and in your stories. Always a blessing! Always a gift!
Thanks for sharing and gifting me with a beautiful and pleasurable escape in my hectic day! You are a treasure!
In deep appreciation,
Ruth
Joan says: Oh I had a wonderful time on the ride and the parade AND the sale – what fun things to see – Yes, I know this fun was all through your wonderful pictures and writing but as always YOU made me feel like I was THERE!!!!
Thanks,
Joan
Vickie says: Shery,
Your blog is wonderful. It describes the lifestyle that I wish I had. So, living it vicariously through your experiences and photos makes my day.Thank you so much for the time you give to this effort.
Vickie
Judi McQuaig says: Incredible pictures. Great fun to read about it all…thanks for sharing.
Shery,
I always read your blog and love your photos! Your stories are enchanting and I wish I could go horseback riding also. Your sisterhood is to be cherished as I am sure you know. You are very lucky!
Smiles, Cyndi
Ann Sampson says: Are you in Upton Wyoming?? My husband and I use to go up there yearly with my inlaws and hunt Antelope….hunted on the Barton’s ranch back then, but haven’t been back there for many years since our family grew bigger. We live in eastern Nebraska and I totally LOVE the country and all the miraculous sites!! Thanks for sharing and it’s so cool to see the pictures!! 🙂 btw, would LOVE to learn to make a basket like you showed!! NICE!!
Shery,
I, too, have been meaning to start on my badges forEVER. I mean, really, I should at LEAST have the gardening ones, doncha think?
As always, I love your blog posts. Wish I was there to ride with you and the gals.
Mary Ann
Cora Jo says: Shery, Great photos as always…I’m headed outside in a few minutes to get John out there. After major foot surgery, he is "walker bound" and in the house most of the time. I hope to remedy that. Picnic in the yard is better than nothing. Thanks for sharing Wyoming…still very homesick.
Love the old Ford pickup. One of my dream "to owns". The pictures of the wildflowers are beautiful. Was out at my piece of Wyoming yesterday enjoying the Black Eyed Susans.
Rhonda Sjolund Smith says: I love your blog … I was raised a "city girl" in a small town, and have always enjoyed the outdoors! Your blog makes me want to move out into the deep woods and live off the land! Well, maybe not entirely off the land! 😉 But, I would really like to find some acreage and get a few horses to ride, and take time to smell the wildflowers! Thanks for sharing … until I get to do my dream, I will live vicariously through you!
becky groff says: hi
i have a daughter and son-in-law who live in weston, very small community about 60 pop. they go to oshoto community bible church. the nearest town is gillette an hour south of them. wondering if you had heard of it or are you near there? thanks
they are managing a 700 acre cattle ranch.
becky
Cattle pant in the leafy shade of trees. Horses perspire at work and later stand in the pond fighting flies with the wet brush of their tails. July … steamy afternoons, sticky necks, salty sweat. July … picnics, straw hats, iced tea and sugar snap peas.
Hello Shery!
Oh how I wish I was laying in that tall green grass, gazing up at the sky! Well, your photos take me " there " every time!
I guess I’ll have to be happy with that. Your July looks full of wonder and life to the fullest! I too was delighted to see your Collection’s in the magazine. I loved the piece and your can do attitude that came with it.
July is the month for my Garden… I have been sticking close to home, watching it unfold daily. It’s also the time of year we look forward to our extended stay at the cottage… It’ll be here before we know it!
As for the small simple pleasures of July…fresh cool watermelon, crisp salads, smoothies and iced coffee, fresh blueberry pie, peach cobbler, and watching our children grow taller and wiser…What’s not to love about July? I can only think of one thing…HUMIDITY… Thank goodness for Air Conditioning…
Thank you for the trip through your busy July! I loved it!
Deb
Terry wright says: Is it possible? You have such a way with words. You say it all so articulately, but with so little effort. I can smell the thunder clouds rolling in, and the fresh green fern under the trees. Bless you.
Your photos are beautiful…you are very talented with a camera. You should offer some of your photos as cards or
something…I would buy some! Also, love your jewelry.
Julie A. Weaver says: Dear Shery,
As I read your article this go-around…my tears fell. I have always wanted to live in the country on a farm. I, too, have a love of horses. But it is much more than that. The way you express and describe your life and the way you live it is just beautiful. Though I may never have that lifestyle as my own…I pledge to work toward a more simplistic way of life and one that has more meaning to it.
Thank You,
ClaireSky
MJF #399
Your blogs are my favorite! I get so excited when I open the mail and there is a new blog from you! Just like receiving a letter from an old friend and catching up on what is new!
Joan says: Because of your wonderful blog – I am typing through joyous tears of remembering the Sunday drives and the comforting feeling of your writing. I can always feel myself right there with you, smell the new mown grass, hear the sounds of the machinery and MY LIFE comes flooding back over me. Yes I had that life as a child into early 20’s but then – well a new life began – now I am in between the two lives, near enough to a town that it doesn’t take but all day to do things and close enough to the sweet smell of God’s earth. And I love your jewelry, collecting – I too am eclectic, started when I was a small child finding treasures that no one wanted any more. Shery you are a blessing in my life and by the way I have the latest issue of MJF – as I call it and I bathe in it each evening. Well I had best get going – my home/yard is on the local Garden Club tour tomorrow and there are a few tweeks to be done. Again THANK YOU!!!
Julie says: It’s almost as good as driving over for a visit, Shery. Love you artful photos, as always—dripping with honeyed color, succulent and fresh. Refreshed. Thanks for the virtual visit.
Julie W
Hello again my farmgirl friend…someday we will have to meet. I always so enjoy reading your blog and wishin I was riding through that spectacular country with you… (when was the last time I was on a horse????) I ooh’d and ahh’d over your article in MJ’s magazine…. being a collector since I was young I appreciate that in you and loved how you said "I prefer items that once worked for a living"! I know what you mean. Where DO you find all that stuff. Loved your jewelry too… I think my daughter would probably buy you out if she saw it. Looks just like her. Anyway… take care and hope your farmgirl arts & crafts show goes good. You girls sure are talented back there!
Megan says: What a great post!
Your photos are absolutely gorgeous!
I live by the ocean, so we don’t get to see such lovely clouds most of the time. We do get to make hay though, but it’s earlier in the season.
I love your jewelry, especially the color combinations. Is that carnelian and turquoise? Beautiful!
I’m looking forward to my first cucumber!! It hasn’t gotten warm enough here for tomatoes in the summer for the last two years. (a mile away from the ocean makes for a mean marine layer, but the 68 to 75 degree weather is nice) September and October are a whole different story though!
Oh Shery,
Thanx for letting me mentally slip in the back kitchen door & sit a spell…
As alway, it was delightful to hear your musings….so much of what you have said has (as it always does) touched my heart…..for that I Thank you…
Enjoy the remainder of your Summer as I will do so to…. in fcat, I just might grab my Maryjanes Farm magazine, my 2 kitties and go out to my vintage trailer to relax and read my magazine.
Happy trails….
>^..^<
Jena Giest says: I love your pictures, I can close my eyes and imagine being there in the cool grass and open plains. I loved your piece in the latest Mary Jane on all your collectibles. It was wonderful. Keep it all coming!!
Jena
Lisa Bascom says: Shery, I used to be a Jespersen from the Henry Neil side of the family. Maybe we were related!
I am happy to see that there are women out there who are doing what they love to do and share it with those of us who would love to be having such a wonderful life. I am on seventeen acres of land by the Mojave River in Victorville, California. This place has been an enigma to me. I do not own the place, my elderly Mother in law does, my husband and I take care of her. We are artists, well I keep the heartbeat going at least. You could look up Earl Bascom and see that he was a true cowboy and sculptor. We are a mess around here, life is interesting though. Maybe one day I will be able to paint a nice picture of what it is through photos like you are doing and be able to write about it. We have had some real problems with lawyers, siblings and such. We pray that we will hold onto it and make something more of it one day. I am very imaginative and can see what can be instead of what is. I do like creating and sharing a good cooked meal with family and friends. We are musicians and jam often. We used to have horses, now we have five grown dogs, two pups we have to sell, a rabbit, beta fish and a crab. My garden is out the front door of Mother Bascoms house, it was the only way I would get it done. Oh, I know that I’ve gone on too long for this to be a comment, anyway, keep up the good work!
Hi Shery! It has been a busy summer and the end of July brings a wedding in our back yard. Our youngest daughter is getting married on July 30th. I have been planting, painting and trying to keep everything alive. The Japanese Beetles found my roses up front without me knowing it. Now I am keeping watch on my back arbor, just one more week…..I just read your article a couple of days ago. Got my new issue last week but it got set aside until I had some time. I love the cottage look also and like you it is sometimes hard to bring it to life in a more modern home. We live in a modular home that was brought in and set upon the basement in 3 pieces and then the insides finished off. I would have picked an old farmhouse any day but slowly we are changing what was left by the previous owners and making it ours. Love your collections. Enjoy the rest of July!
Laura Twaddle says: Dear Shery,
I love your pics (what an eye!), your blog (you make me cry!) and your horse (nothing feels better). I would be your neighbor in a heatbeat! Then we could trade piles of collected " stuff"
I’m looking for information on the picture that I saw on page 80 of the Aug/Sept 11 issue of your living room. The picture of the cabin on the lake sitting above a large, wooded framed mirror is identical to one I remember in my Granmothers house. Can you tell me who the artist is or the title of the picture. I’ve seached every antique/resale/junk store I can find to no avail yet. However, if I had something more concrete information maybe I could seach on-line.
Thanks for all you do. Please don’t stop writing! ~ Laura
Rene Foust says: Your blog is the best!!!! I love to read your poetic words and live vicariously through your beautiful pictures. Thanks so much for sharing!
Those who live in a northern region understand front to back and top to bottom what the arrival of summer means (plants, animals and humans). Winters on the Great Plains are especially long and severe – it seems like springtime will never come. June is, to us, a breath of Heaven. To get a feel for what I’m talking about, read on and ride with me out where the deer and the antelope play.
Karin says: As always I love your blog. I know life on the ranch isn’t easy, especially these days. But your stories tell me how wonderful it really is. Thanks again for sharing.
Karin
Farmgirl #2708
Just beautiful Shery! June is a wild month for everyone it seems…so much to catch up on and new things to begin too.
Thanks for sharing your Seventh Heaven…I think most of us can relate to the long awaited warmer temps, blue skies, wild life, blossoms and a change in the wind…Summer is the PERFECT season to appreciate of all of these.
Sending love and a farmgirl hug!
Safe and Happy Independence Day to you and yours!
Deb ( your blogging sister from the shorelines)!
I live in Moscow, ID and recently heard of MaryJane’s farm and so signed up to be in the Sisterhood. I was looking at your blog through her link and read about where you are from and your post about going to the Green Bean in Belle Fourche! My family lives in Belle Fourche and the I have a small jewelry business. One of the places I sell my jewelry is at the Green Bean in Belle Fourche! What a fun and small world. 🙂 I grew up in Upton Wyoming and love your pictures and blog. Can’t wait to keep following you.
Joan says: What a wonderful blog!!! I feel like I just spent time in your chest pocket – that way I could see it ALL, smell it ALL, love it ALL. Hang in there on the soap box – seems like ‘those’ who think they know – don’t and even since I was a little girl – still no change in their listening to those who do KNOW. I am so in love with the joy you bring to your blog – makes me feel like I am part of your ‘sisterhood’. Thanks again, God Bless you,
and
God Bless America
Joan
Brenda says: Love love this one. Made me feel like I was right there with you and it also made me realize I need to get out and enjoy the things around me more. Your pictures are beautiful and I can’t wait to try the slaw and the cake.Thank you again.
Lisa Price says: I wish I lived there, you are so lucky.
martha cook says: Shery, I thought I was the only one who dressed like that to go shoo something away! One night, I slipped out of bed to shoo away a herd of elk, which I could hear running by my bedroom window. Afraid that they would reach over the 6-ft. cage around my 4 year old crabapple tree, I went outside in nightgown, rubber boots, jacket, with flashlight — as I neared the elk, I wondered what I would "spook" them with, just "shoo" wasn’t going to work, and I didn’t want to wake my family by yelling aloud. I was chuckling about how silly it was to go out there with no tool of self-defense, but the elk did "shoo" – they must have been very surprised. It is quite private at our rural place, so often I am out dumping the compost bowl, in my p.j.s and robe, some outside shoes, and a big straw hat! Remember Maudie Frickert? Wasn’t that one of Red Skelton’s alter-ego’s? Thanks for a wonderful article!
Jeanne says: I get so excited when I see a Ranch Farmgirl Blog has arrived in my inbox. It is like an old friend has shown up to take me away for a little break. Thank you for sharing your slice of heaven each month. I look forward to reading your blog and seeing your pictures. Dolly is so beautiful. All the horses that are pictured are so ultimately groomed. I live in a little town in Colorado and the only place in Wyoming I have seen that is so beautiful was up near Yellowstone and Jackson. I use to travel Interstate 80 frequently and enjoyed the little towns but it is not as beautiful as your neck of the woods. Keep sharing Shery. I can’t wait to try the slaw recipe. Happy Fourth of July.
Snowy says: Hey, subtle must be your middle name. Great post!
Rene Foust says: I absolutely love all of your pictures! They make me feel like I am there!
Cheri says: LOVE you blog as always. Do you ever sit down? Doubt it- but yet you seem to have a great sense of calm and appreciation. Quite a few years ago, I was cleaning for the arrival of my in-laws, and noticed that both barn doors were open. The thoroughbred and 2 ponies were in the FRONT YARD. UGH. I got 2 of them back in, while big ol’ Jake ran off down the road to see what he could find. WELL- I grabbed some grain and a halter/lead rope and jumped on my daughter’s bike. I was dressed in my FAVORITE pink nightshirt MAJOR LOL. Took us about 20 minutes to get a halter on Jake and I had a great NEIGHBORLY conversation about my not so appropriate attire, but just like the country – she said- looks just fine to me.
I think most horses know how to act with little ones- lol she is a blessed little girl.
cora jo says: Shery, I have been without a computer for 2 months…if I thought I could easily live without it, I was wrong…I missed your blog very much. I love your taking me "home" to Wyoming every time. Thank you, my friend. As my granddaughter would say…"you rock". cora jo
After many months of winter and then recovery from knee surgery, “I’m Back In The Saddle Again”…quoting the old cowboy song. Come along for a springtime ride on the Plains.
O.k. Shery! Now you’re just messin’with me! All of this post is wonderful and your photos just spectacular, but here’s the deal from here on out… if you’re gonna post pictures of sagebrush you better be prepared to send me a snip or two in the mail! One thing I didn’t mention in my previous BEACH BLOG post was the fact that one of the gals in my chapter hails from Wyoming (Once upon a time, she stumbled upon a handsome Yankee in her travels too; she’s a transplant like me) and carries sagebrush in her truck. She brought it inside during our meeting to share it with the other gals "who haven’t been to the West." She and my mom and I had a little sagebrush love fest that night in my kitchen! We just kept sniffing it and saying Ahhhhhhh! Nothing beats the smell of the high desert after a gentle rain… dirt and sage and fresh air mingle together creating the most refreshing scent. Hey, we need to make a perfume out of it! Now, on to the horsey pics!!! Lovely… especially ‘yours and his’. Thanks for this inspiring visual of your cherished ranch life and congrats for being " back in the saddle again "…
farmgirl hugs!
Deb (your beachy farmgirl blogging sister)
P.S. I’m not kidding about the sagebrush… I’m emailing you my snail mail address RIGHT NOW! 🙂 🙂 🙂
The yellow cabinet: I love your idea of sanding it and aging it a bit with antiquing glaze. There are also waxes available that are tinted that give a similar effect and leave a matte finish which is nice. The door: I like decoupage too and can picture some vintage images (which you love and collect)or some of your photography adhered in a collage fashion, perhaps with some inspiring text incorporated on the door. Red cottage roses would be pretty and romantic! Anything that would inspire you in your new creative space! Have fun! The yellow it is now reminds me of our kitchen at the cottage!
xo
Deb (MJFBeachfarmgirl)
Rene Foust says: I love it!!! The pictures are so wonderful, they make you feel like you are there. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you are all healed and living the life you love in the saddle. I lived in the city for so long that I never think about going out the door before getting dressed for the day. I think I miss a lot sitting inside with my coffee before hitting the blow dryer and dressing for work. Here I live with the woods between us and our neighbors. I think I will take my coffee out with me in the morning and sit on my deck in the morning and read my devotional outside. Your pictures are lovely. Love ‘his and hers’, love it. I live Deb’s idea of decoupage on your cupboard.
Su says: I love the pictures! There’s no comparision to the country life.
Terri says: I look foward to reading your postings and enjoying the photographs. Both take me to places that I have never experienced and they always enrich my day.
Thank you.
Terry wright says: The fuzzy little things are called "pussy-toes"!!
Rachelle says: Love, love, love your photos! Ah I can just feel the cool breeze! What we would give for some chilly mornings here in Texas! Here everything is just about dried up. Gave up on the garden, it is burned to a crisp. No grass for the horses or cattle around here. So it is very refreshing to see your pictures and read your blog. Glad your surgery went well and you’re back in the saddle. :o)
MartiBee says: So were you sore after your first day back?
I want your life. Ranching is soooo much more different here in the State of Florida.
And, of course there are horses in heaven. That’s why it’s called heaven.
Keep up the great blogging. I always look forward to your entries.
Joyce Wiley says: Ok, so you made me homesick for Daddy’s ranch in Wyoming! I live in Colorado now, but used to get to do all those things on Daddy’s ranch. It is a good life!
bonnie elllis says: Shery, You did it again. What a wonderful group of pictures of your life. I can get back in the saddle again after my broken femur. I am SO glad you are able to ride also. You share your love of your life with all of us. Thanks
Bonnie
What wonderful pictures! We farm here in Nebraska, lots of flatland, (between Grand Island and the big town of Chapman)! I love the wide open spaces and love my horses! I own three gals (mares)…Sherri, Georgia and Mia. Mia is in
training (she is 3) with me. I wish I had the plains to ride her in instead of "roundpen" time. Anyway, again, your pictures are devine! Thanks for sharing them.
Dirtduchess says: Beautiful pictures. Your life is a lot like mine in Texas. Our roundups are a bit smaller than yours. But the work is the same. I have been off my horse for over two years. A mama cow didn’t like my closeness to her new calf. She attacked me twice. I received two splintered bones in my right leg. I am up and walking. But I haven’t had the nerve to get on my horse. I know how happy you are to be back in the saddle.
Brenda says: Thank you for sharing part of your days, the pictures were all beautiful and you made me feel like I was right there. Hope you aren’t too sore after getting back in the swing of things; makes me wish I lived near you. I have horses and because of things in life happening I haven’t been able to ride much but maybe someday.
I love your blog, it is so uplifting. You certainly know what is important in life.
I just wanted to give you my two cents about your yellow cabinet. I think it would look beautiful with little drilled holes in it that make a design; like a pie safe. That’s what I have been wanted to do to my bathroom cabinets.
Double nickels plus one for me soon; and probably knee surgery :-/
Life is good tho!
Michelle Hoyt says: As always Shery, your photos and comments/ wisdom from the saddle and your view of life and loves on the range inspire me and make me feel kind of lazy! You walk the walk and talk the talk gal. Give Dolly a kiss on the muzzle from her ND friend.
I like the idea of Chevis and Dolly images on your yellow cabinet…such sweet and touching photos, and you said she is a fav of yours…why not remember her on this chest?
Herbs and Flowers from your native soil could be added for special touches…have lots of fun with it!
Debbie Strong says: It is always such a pleasure to look at your wonderful pictures and read your upbeat words, Shery. Thank you so much for sharing your art.
I am just now coming back from a horrible case of heat stroke. I even had to go to the hospital, but I knew the family was taking care of the ranch. I am glad I get to go back out there now, so I really understand how great it feels to get back in the saddle again.
All of us farmgirls have much in common, don’t we? Even though our lives, locale and lifestyles differ, we share some key ingredients.
Oh geeze Shery,
Pass the dang hanky over this way would ya? I’m right there with ya on all points… even the comfy slippers part to match my chennile robe! I have found true enrichment and experienced such happy growing pangs since I found Mary Jane and the sisterhood too! A lot has gone into the making and shaping of each and everyone of us farmgirls and discovering MaryJanesFarm just puts the cherry right on top OF OUR farmgirl goodness doesn’t it? Aren’t we all blessed to have " EACH OTHER"?
Thank YOU Shery for this touching and uplifting post today…
If I had to sum it up in one word it would be PERFECT!
LOVE and a big farmgirl hug!
Deb
Nicole Christensen says: Shery, Love it! Especially your quote on how we are dumplings in the simmering soup of a busy life! My life is so enriched from the sisterhood, for sure! What a great post. Farmgirl Hugs! Nicole, Farmgirl Sister #1155, Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
bonnie ellis says: Shery: What a lovely way to put it. And you always have JUST the right photos or memorbelia to go with it. I live on the ranch through you. Thanks farmgirl. Bonnie
Sherry,
Your words and photos you always share with us are so original and comforting. I just am in love with your recipe for a farmgirl. Thanks for showing us!
Smiles, Cyndi
Sara says: Amazing!! I just joined the sisterhood and have been enjoying it so far. But today I was feeling a little woe-ish. This was just what I needed to read today. Thank you for helping me see what I should be aspiring to be, what I already am, and being a great inspiration.
Thank you!!
Judi says: For those of us who cannot expess our thoughts and feelings in such wonderful words, thanks so very much for sharing.
KimberlyD says: Got any more clean hankies? I enjoy reading your blog, I look forward to it every week. I could live all summer in that tent!!! Love the pictures you found. Those dolls, guess they look to me like rag dolls, are they in your house, did you make them? Or just found the picture. I had one kind of like them, that a sweet older woman made for me, I gave it to my niece when she got older, to pass on to her daughter. Had yarn hair, and a red checkered dress and a white apron.
Some day some of us out here in blog land just might show up. I lived in Utah for a few years and loved it there. But my family is here in Michigan and my mom passed away a few years ago and my dad’s health hasn’t been so good so I moved back home to take care of him. I plant a few flowers and a few veggies for thats all I have space for. But when you eat those home grown tomatoes you just want to savior them, and cry knowing soon they will be gone and you have to eat those store ones in your salad soon. When I do have to buy them from the store I do let them sit out for awhile and they get less waxy tasting. But you have to do this a few days before you need them.
Thanks Shery for your blogs!
Shery…I am soooo glad we met and I am glad to call you my farmgirl… You fit all the descriptions to a tee and more …God has blessed me with faithful and true friends indeed!
Cindy Perkins says: I have enjoyed reading your blog, and past posts as well. It’s nice to read about things going on in other areas, and see these delightful photos. Thanks for sharing!!!
Shery, You’re so sweet…I realized that myself after Joplin, MO had the terrible tornado, that I shouldn’t think of myself so much, your blog is awesome! pass the hankies, carol branum
Terry wright says: Now if I could find sisterhood in the forests, cornfields and soybean fields of Indiana. I NEED it!!
Hi Shery, You said it all and I love to read your blogs. Yes, I have found a friend indeed with the Farmgirls. I like to come into your spaces and read about the different things everyone does and I feel a close connection with all the farmgirls. Just love everyone, You brighten my life too. HUGS from this Farmgirl #1020 Needy
Donna Robinette says: Poetic description..beautiful…not everyone understands an "earth girl" . I’m proud to be one and you have described it to a tea.
Beautiful…and out of all the pics (which I LOVE them all) My absolute favorite is the "Out of Africa" tent…..I Love it…
Love you..Love your horses…
Annette Mack=Barnett says: Very well done, Sherry. I so enjoyed reading this, you hit the nail on the head. I would love to have some of your photos or know how to find them. Nothing better than being a farm girl. As my Daddy always told me, I have dirty blood just like him. I reckon I was born that way.
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”.
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….
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.
Now tell us about hats. Some of you pictures show them, some don’t.
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.
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!!!
The pink cowboys caught my eye. Can you tell me about those boots?
——
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