Hey Farmgirls! A few weeks ago (well, maybe more like two months ago…) I teased you all by saying that I would share some fun news with you in my next post. Welllllll, a few posts have gone by without any news of this news. However, I’m ready, now.
Are you ready?
Drum Roll, please!
Evan and I are moving into the round. That is, we are moving into our very own…
Jiggity, Jig! For this post, The Rural Farmgirl is returning to her roots as a Suburban Farmgirl, but we’ll see that I can’t stay away from rural places for too long. I have been spending the last week in my home state of Minnesotaa–for the first time in over a year! Speaking of not being able to stay away from rural areas, I’m actually writing this from the grocery store, using their free wi-fi, because I am “up north” (as we say in the midwest) with my mom and nieces, spending some time at my mom’s internetless farm. Before my arrival, Minnesota had been experiencing weeks of rain. Fortunately, it has ceased and has left everything so green and beautiful! It’s good to be home, and my schedule has been (and will continue to be) jam-packed with big milestones and fun celebrations.
My mom and nieces getting ready for a nature hike at my mom’s farm near Crosby, Minnesota. Notice their outfits? These are true Farmgirls–want to stay stylish but keep out the wood ticks at the same time!
bonnie ellis says: Alex: I wish I had known you were coming. You could visit our farmgirls. I live in Minneapolis and I was an environment teacher on Lake Minnetonka. I am so glad you are having a good time. Family is the best. Bonnie
Once upon a time there was a late twenty something Farmgirl living in Alaska. You see, in Alaska, time changes in a way that is foreign to much of the world. It seems to be the only thing people can talk about sometimes, especially farmers and those who spend a majority of their time out of doors (many Alaskans fit this bill). This changing time comes from the tilt of the Earth and how the sun plays across its surface throughout the seasons. Growing up in the Midwest, the winter nights were long and the summer days seemed endless, but she had never been to Alaska.
This Farmgirl writes about the length of days and nights often, and how quickly she and other Alaskans lose or gain daylight hours. It seemed that she was just an observer her first year in Alaska, but she became entrenched in these changes her second year…this tilt of the Earth directly influencing her Circadian rhythms.
Maybe seems unphased by Ava and Ronan (A couple of my Farm School Students)–perhaps he would like to take over one of my jobs?
Whew! What a day, Farmgirls. I’m finally home and sitting after a day full of: new jobs, new homes, escaped critters, dog walking in the mud in formal clothing, a wonderful evening with some friends, and late night wading through vernal pools…
It may just be the lingering vibe from a “glam rock” themed party I attended last weekend, but David Bowie said it best “Ch-Ch-Changes/Turn and face the stranger.”
Come see some of the strangers this farmgirl has had to face recently…
My bees
What an adventure! You tell it so well, I could imagine myself in your shoes, er, your fancy clothes. In fact, I hope you take pause to realize what an amazing life you’re living. Dream come true, right? Can’t wait to see pics of your next residence. In the meantime, enjoy your house-sitting job.
Pam deMarrais says: Wow, you are soooo adventurous! Taking the bees in your car, in the dark, in the water. Amazing. Crazy, but amazing! I am glad that you were able to stay safe. I love reading your in depth blogs. Thanks for sharing!
Hi farm girl,
I always wanted to be a farm girl too. But I was born in Brooklyn,New York . Not much country,all city. Maybe on the outlines.I sometime go for rides down the country,it is like a slice of heaven.Peaceful,You only hear the sounds of running water,animals,birds,trees in the wind,thats life.Have a good day,God Bless. Lorraine.
Hello all you fine, friendly farmgirls! It’s finals week here at Alaska Pacific University, and because of that…I’m sleep deprived. It happens to the best procrastinators among us year after year, generation after generation. When some people say they are sleep deprived, they are probably surviving off of just a few hours of sleep here and a few hours of sleep there. Since I’m fairly child like, sleep deprivation for me means that I’m getting less than eight hours of sleep per night for several nights in a row. The least amount I’ve slept has been five hours, and I kind of feel like a zombie. I know, it’s rough. How can I hope to be a farmer some day if five hours of sleep leaves me feeling less-than-human? I don’t know, that’s a question for another day.
Anyway, I digress. One reason for this sleep deprivation is some forced civic dutiness I was assigned to complete for a graduate level environmental law class. We had to write and submit an official public comment to a governmental agency regarding our stance on some bill, act or other decision that is recently being decided upon. Of course, this had to be regarding something related to the environment.
Evan and I enjoying a spring ski. It should be a civic duty to enjoy state and national recreational areas on a regular basis.
Thank you for this thoughtful, important post. When my children were young, I took them to many a public hearing on any manner of things. When it was my turn to read my prepared comments, my children would get out their crayons and coloring books. Looking back 30 years, I do in fact know, our voices made a difference, and my children now benefit from some of the decisions made because of the efforts so many of went to back then. Let our thoughtful, educated voices be heard!
Tina Hart says: the words ‘super weed’ freaks me out and scares the heck outta me alone!
Adrienne says: I live in California and was very unhappy that Proposition 37 didn’t pass because Big Ag threatened labeling of GMO foods would raise prices on produce. Monsanto is the culprit leading the fight for their Roundup-ready seeds and I fear the farmer who raises food organically will be forced to use their seeds. My friend has been suffering from pesticide poisoning after-effects and there is no cure. Thank you for what you’re doing to inform and enlighten.
It’s the winter that keeps on giving. Maybe it’s just the winter that needs the last word, when everyone is too caught up in the impending spring and summer to retaliate against the shoveling and plowing anymore. We just give in. We put on our boots and cram our heads into our hats and head out into the white abyss without a dismissive word about the darn winter or cursing the yet-again snow-covered porch. We’ve become complacent with the winter world around us.
The only animals that seem to be protesting are the chickens. They have left their coop exactly once per day for the last five days to eat and drink. Egg laying has all but ceased.
The spring tease a few weeks ago had me excited about sitting on the GREEN grass, hiking in the GREEN wilds and strolling through the farmers market, checking out the GREENS. Im supposed to start a new farming gig in a few weeks, and it seems like the season may be off to an extended indoor start.
To compensate for this lack of natural green, this Farm Girl has been taking in some green news. Some of it has been great, some of it has been not-so-great; but the most interesting of it has been GREEN.
Does a green filter make this shot (from April 6) seem any less wintery?…No. The answer is no.
Joan says: Well now Alex, I can somewhat relate with your winter. I live somewhat on the plains of CO. – WIND/DUST/DRY/BEAUTIFUL. We haven’t had nearly as much snow – sure could use some wet but oh my the COLD and WIND have been our nemesis for many months – now that Spring is here – well so we are told – we are still having blizzards/whiteouts and the bulbs are very buried. BUT hope is always in my thinking and soon all this cold will be gone and I will probably be mentioning how HOT it is. Hope your weather clears soon and the GREEN will follow. Well best get back to one of the quilts I am making – I do hand sewing mostly and all hand quilting so it takes me a long time. God Bless
Merrilyn says: This is absolutely a very long winter. I thought when we moved to Soldotna from Palmer it would be warmer. The major difference is we still get lots of snow but no wind to blow it away. How have the winds been this year? Keep your chin up. Everywhere seasons go through their up and down cycles. We just seem to be in the down cycle for the last couple years. We can always count on Alaska being beautiful in the summer. We live in a beautiful state. Keep writing..
Your Alaska sister
Merrilyn
Thanks for the post. It’s great that you don’t let the white weather lower your positivity. Keep it up.
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility of our future.” George Berrnard Shaw
Our pasts, however much we want to think of them as static things, are ever changing. Think of the word ‘recollection.’ Every time we look at the past we are re-collecting, or collecting again, thoughts and memories of times past. There is no doubt in my mind that this act of re-collecting continually results in changed versions of memories and the uncovering of thoughts long unthunk. How have I come to this point in my life of dreaming of being a farmer? As a kid, farming wasn’t even a consideration. What happened between then and now to influence these present dreams of farming?
I’ll have to take a trip down memory lane…
How in the heck have I found myself immersed in Alaskan agriculture?
Diana Henretty says: Loved all your beautiful pictures this morning of your life’s journey in so many places!
Im not on a farm, even though it is in my blood and in my dreams to live on one,but for now, we take back roads for country drives to soak in all their beauty and it does the trick for me in the hills of the Ozarks.
Growing up in San Diego Calif, I can remember holding my little newborn son and looking out to the mountains thru the city’s buildings, and knowing someday I would be raising him away from the city life and into the country!
And we did just that, moving far from family and the noise of the city to the mountains of Montana to live our dreams of learning how to raise huge gardens, canning, and milking goats!
Yay for the country life, sometimes it takes a little while to get what you want, but it’s worth it all looking back on the journey!
Hugs from Noel, Missouri, Diana
Marion says: I love your posts and this one in particular gives me hope for our world and for women. Keep exploring and being appreciative of all that you have and all you can be. I know you will help other women to achieve their dreams and stand up for their values.
Pam deMarrais says: Alex, this has been a great journey with you. How blessed you have been to have all of these great experiences!
I was blessed by having a grandmother, Pasqualina, who built her life here in America after leaving her home land of Italy. She was so resourceful, raising a family of 9 children during the depression. She had a big garden, fruit trees, cows for milk and cheese, chickens, and an admirable sense of farmgirl frugality. I learned a lot from her, and, like you, I realize all that she empowered me to do when I look back upon the impact she had on my life.
Spring was here! for a few days, it was here, I swear. The skies were clearing up in the afternoons, the icicles broke from our house, and that distinct smell of snow melting and gravel roads thawing tinged the air. It seems to have all been a tease–but what was I expecting? It’s March in Alaska after all. Last year at this time we still had thigh deep snow on the farm, and growing up in Minnesota I would be expecting at least one more big snow fall.
However, the daylight hours are increasing, daylight savings time means that the afternoons seem even longer, and spring really is just right around the corner. With this increased vitamin D comes a jumpstart in our farmer-wannabe attitudes and motivations. Sigh…what a wonderful time of year!
It’s Spring Break for teachers and students alike! I headed south with a friend and spent a few days in Homer, enjoying the spring tease.
Hey Farmgirls, Guess what? I have now been lucky enough to have shared a year’s worth of some exciting and not-so-exciting stories with you all. That’s right, it is my one year Rural Farmgirl-iversary. The year has been full of ups and downs, wrongs and rights, and straight down the middles; and I can’t THANK YOU enough for joining me biweekly for a whole year. I love writing for Maryjane and you, her audience of amazing women (and some men, too!). Thanks for sharing your own anecdotes and providing some great advice for all situations.
I wanted to make this post an extra special one. However, I was having trouble getting past the stage of blabbing about what has happened over the past year–if you really want to read that, there is a list of my writings over there—–> somewhere on the side of the screen. Be my guest! Otherwise, I have composed some poems as a sort of lighthearted thank you to you all.
So, come on in for some various high school level poems inspired by 366 days (2012 was a leap year!) in Rural Alaska as Mary Jane’s Rural Farmgirl.
I’ve learned that skiing (and other winter sports) is a wonderful complement to farming! Plus, back country skiing is free!
Pam deMarrais says: Happy One Year Anniversary Alex! I have enjoyed your articles, and delighted in your news of your engagement. You are very much a farm girl, and what’s even better, you started a lot younger than I did. Keep doing what you’re doing, and keep inspiring us!
Rachel says: Puppy haiku!! Congrats on your one year!
Oh my goodness, reading your post this morning just MADE mine farmgirl AWESOME! All of us farmgirls (at THE farm) love and value your every word, trials, ups and downs, wrongs and rights, and straights down the middle. Looking forward to everything you share and teach us in 2013. MUCH love.
diana henretty says: Mornin from the Ozarks,
We watched the movie "Into The Wild" last night, and thought of you my dear!
It’s a beautiful story of a young man searching for his life thru the mountains of Alaska!
I can see the "loves of your life" in every picture and hear it in every word on your post this morning.
Thanks for sharing your life and your dreams! ~Hugs, Diana
Laura says: Thank you for your year of ‘service’. You are an inspiration!
xo
from hudson valley, ny
Sounds like this past year is cause for celebration. I’m a country girl too so of course I’m looking foward to more of your stories. Happy Anniversary!
Jan says: Great job! I love Moki Dugway, as he(she?) reminds me of my Blue Boy dog. The sweet and innocent brown eyes, with the ability to chew into and out of any situation in life! Watch out for the baby bunnies…
It is nice to see a young woman enjoying life and nature in such wonderful surroundings…
Lorrie MacKenzie says: Your poems are cute! You made me laugh. It has been an incredible year and I’ve enjoyed reading your posts. It’s wonderful that we’ll get to share another year. Your life is very different from mine. It’s so interesting to read about your experiences and see your pictures. I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska and now I get to! Thank you for giving me a glimpse into your world.
Adrienne says: Thank you for your poetry and your year of service. I’ve enjoyed all the adventures you shared with us and I wish you much success in the future.
First off Farmgirls, Happy Valentine’s Day! For some reason, the holiday has eluded me this year. Yesterday, a few moms of my students asked if it was alright if the kids brought in cards or treats for our class, and it took me a second to realize why. Then I realized–oh yes, we are studying hearts and the circulatory system today for a reason! It is the heart happy holiday. The best thing that came from today was finding out, through the grapevine, that one of my cute students has a crush on another–he displayed his love by proudly giving her a candy heart that had “awesome” etched into it. He can’t read very well yet, so he had to ask me what it said (he’s seven). “Because you’re awesome,” he sweetly proclaimed as he handed it over. Ah, young love!
My stepmother collects heart shaped rocks for little decorations, I’ve taken to snapping pictures of heart shaped boulders.
While my love and I won’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year, our love is still young and this post is about a thing that we love to do together…Repurposing found and otherwise cheap objects. Have you ever heard of repurposing or upcycling? It entails taking another person’s trash and transforming it into something useful, possibly beautiful, and definitely better than it previously was.
Kathy says: Our local school district was replacing their wooden bleachers with new plastic ones and we managed to snag the wood from those bleachers. We cleaned the boards up, sanded them down and used them to replace all of the trim boards in our house and put up wainscoating in our living room. Pretty much most of our remodeling has been with repurposed material and items bought on clearance.
Your ladder idea is awesome! I’m on the hunt for tree-vees to make my own coat rack like yours. Brilliant idea.
Karen Pennebaker says: If you want to tear pallets apart or take up a wooden floor, etc, buy a tool called a "Gutster". We have one and I used it to tear apart a deck that had been fire damaged. That tool makes a quick job of tearing up anything nailed together! We got ours at Harbor Freight but I would imagine other places have them.
Repurposing sewing is my game in the south….why throw clothes away when something else can be made of them….my blog show what I’ve made and where I sell…www.cabinfever228.blogspot.com….
I’m also on Facebook at Mel’s Designs ‘n Harmony page….
I enjoy your postings of your recycling and heart shaped rocks and your farm…best to you in Alaska!
Brilliant! Thank you! I love both of these ideas, and though we don’t have much birch around where I live, we do have a lot of other kinds of trees (and hopefully some old ladders!).
: > Sippie
Deb Barkman says: My husband made two, one small and one very large, chicken coops out of pallets. He can be very creative when he has time. I always scout around for old jewlery or trinkets to add to my cards and scrapbook pages that I am making. We also love to collect old things, just for the sake of history. It always brings awe to my being when I come across old, used, loved, items.
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”.
Sounds like "yurt" will have a happy home there! Enjoy. My niece lived in a two story 900 square foot house in San Francisco for years. Less space=less stuff!
;D
Congratulations! We looked at yurts too. We were living in our fifth wheel on my husband’s family ranch. In the photos they look so spacious, but when I measured it out on the ground, it spooked me. So we moved into a mobile home. Living in a small space is doable though. I used my fifteen foot travel trailer as my closet, and stored the bulk of my stuff. Good luck!
Oh how exciting and what wonderful friends you have – gee must mean you are wonderful friends too – for sure. I have had some experience with a small roundish cabin type facility – we put news paper up and decorative/very useful blankets at the walls in the winter – kind of like in a tepee that has a liner on the lower half to help keep warmer. We also invested in a inside portable/self containing disposal toilet – does that make sense – those cold mornings/nights were no fun running to LULU. Yes you are going to have lots of great times and I for one can hardly wait to hear about it all. Congratulations and thanks for sharing.
Alex, I have always wanted to live in a yurt. My husband & I traveled from California to Oregon to visit a yurt manufacturer there. The models were so wonderful!
I will enjoy living vicariously through your experiences!
Best wishes in your new home, CHris
How cool!
I have always wanted to live in a yurt! I will love to see the photos and hear more about your experiences.
Try looking at Tiny houses . There are lots of ideas there for storage and living off grid. Even some plans for building that may give you ideas. Good luck!
Hi.. wow, you are so brave. I’d like to visit a yurt.. we have a place in Marfa TX that has a campground with yurts, teepees, and refab’d trailors. Can’t wait to hear more of your new adventure.
I lived in a 850 sq foot house with my husband 3 children and 2 dogs, and my daughter lived in about 500 with husband and 2 children. It can be done, especially if you have a plan to move out someday.
Sounds like a lot of fun, yes fun. Living mostly off the grid. Alaska is a beautiful state, my husband and I are hoping to visit there within the next year. He wants to live there, I’m not so sure because of the cold winters. Good luck to you two in your adventures.
I am 61 years old and I love Yurts. Why? Because they are different. There is a dealer about an hour from us and I love to go by there. I would love to have one as a studio/playhouse. My husband thinks I’m crazy, and that’s o.k. Who wants to be totally "normal". Good luck and enjoy.