I’m not at all reluctant to confess that I’m as “corny” as Doris and Mitzi. How about you, are you as “corny as Kansas” too?
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Debbie Bosworth
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.’”
Rebekah Teal
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.
Cathi Belcher
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
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.
Mary Murray
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.”
Alexandra Wilson
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!
Nicole Christensen
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 agree! I think corn is very under appreciated. You must explore the Corn Palace in South Dakota. Absolutely the icon of corn. Being a new "FarmGirl" with a newly purchased 5 acre spread with a barn, I can’t wait to sprint to plant my first garden & try heirloom varieties, blue corn being on the list!
What great article, Thanksgiving is for me a very special day. By reading the article on corn you brought memories for me as a young child. I remember grandpa growing the corn in South Mexico, where I was born. We left South Mexico when I was a young child (2) to migrate to this Great Nation. Returning every year when grandpa harvested the corn, I remember grandpa, grandma, great grandma, mom and my sisters all sitting around helping him grind in this round handmade wheel made from dried corn cobs. I can remember grandma with her long braid gather the corn to make homemade tortillas, on a large round COMAL (griddle) with firewood. They were spectacular and delicious not to mention her tamales. Those days are gone, but the memories live on…and for me close to my 60’s, I am proud to say that I’m so happy for those memories and guess what? I now have a long braid just like grandma. Thank you for this article it made my day! Maria
Shery, gorgeous piece on corn! Thanks for all the lovely pictures and history.
Who would have thought corn would have such an interesting story! Thanks Shery for the great read and images. I love Thanksgiving and I love corn–a wonderful match.
I wonder if the first Indians that planted corn would know what an impact they would make on the world.
What a cool blog! I live in Minnesota and we actually have two water towers shaped like corn. Also there is a farmgirl here who grows corn and does programs about the importance of it. She makes corn bracelets too. We do grow lots of corn. Thanks, Bonnie.
Who knew there was so much to know about corn? When we drove through the heartland of our beautiful country a few years back in late summer I thought we would never see the end of corn fields and that was after two straight days of driving across Kansas through what seemed like endless acres of sunflowers in bloom. After that drive I "got it" about how much we rely on the farmers of the heartland and beyond. The uses and products that come from just those two crops alone are mind boggling…
When my hubby and I were first dating we shared a family meal where we served corn on the cob. It was sweet corn and from a local farm, but apparently my husband hadn’t had corn that tasted so good in a while because he took one bite and exclaimed, " I haven’t had corn that good in three years "! We all burst out laughing and to this day whenever we have sweet corn you can guess what we all say…That was 23 years ago!
I love using corn stalks in my fall decorating outside. This year the squirrels had a field day with them. I had stalks loaded with corn cobs and with in just a day or two of putting them out they had gone missing and all that was left were traces of corn on the ground!
We are big fans of blue corn chips in our house and that blue corn cake recipe sounds tasty with the blue berry sauce on top!
Thanks for a wonderfully complete lesson in corn and for the great recipes too.
As always, you have a way with words and images I so enjoy!
Deb (who had no idea she had so much to say about corn)!
I love your lesson on all the wonders of corn. I really loved to see the picture of the corn water tower. In Rochester, MN, it is in the center of town and I often have to use it as my landmark for directions. I love all the work and research you put into your blogs, thanks so much for sharing them with us.
Love and Blessings,
Jena Giest
Yes, you must see the "Corn Palace" in Mitchell, South Dakota. Every year the exterior is recreated with corn forming the different pictures honoring one central theme. We were able to see and photograph the building in all its colors celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Lewis & Clark expedition. WOW. The interior is the local area’s indoor arena.
33 years ago while living in Spain, there was no corn on the cob available. There was feed corn, but corn was not consumed by the regular population. 3 yrs of no corn on the cob, I can know enjoy it as a meal all on it own.
Great informative post on corn. The one veggie that my girls would eat growing up without any bribes. I love it myself. My grandmother always made a corn casserole at every family dinner. I make one but it is quite the cheater kind with a box of jiffy corn muffin mix thrown in, but good anyway. Hubs lived in Arizona for a few years and one of his favorite foods is tamales. My sis makes them, but has not taught me and I think it is an all day project. The blue corn cakes and blueberry sauce recipe is getting printed out as I write. Have a wonderful week!
This made me remember just a few weeks ago, when our son (7 years old) suddenly realized that "HIS" corn plants (volunteers by the front door ) were READY TO EAT! He got to pick and shuck, and we did not even cook them, we just ate them raw and sweet as summer ever gets! Thanks for the reminder, I’ll treasure this one for a LONG time!