I went outside this morning, after all the snow we got this weekend and took care of the chickens. Woo. Sure was cold. All of their water containers froze during the night, even the one in their house. Guess it got below freezing again last night. Sunny and beautiful and cold this morning! I love it, I love it, I love it.
THE VIEW OUTSIDE MY WINDOW SUNDAY MORNING
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”.
Great blog. I surely enjoyed the pictures and your midnight run…lol.
take care and stay warm,
Becky aka Rebecca. (great name!)
This made me laugh – it is always in the dark, cold, snow that we have to find our farm animals! 🙂 Never fails! Your farm in the snow is gorgeous. I’m super excited to see if the foggy mornings in August equal the snow events! I’m glad that isn’t the myth here in middle Tennessee as I think we had foggy mornings every day in August! – Dori, Ranch Farmgirl –
Such beauty!!! I can’t wait to take he first bean out of my jar; after reading your post about the beans and August fog I have 18 beans waiting to be removed. I love living vicariously through your farm stories and anxiously await for the next one.
Beautiful pics. The first one looks like a painting. I have an additional item you might want to put on your snow shelf – a favorite bottle of wine! Love your blog. N
Wish I could hang every one of your pictures on my wall!
Fall is hanging around here in the Ozarks, with beautiful trees in full colors.
Since we get ice storms that snow us in, we have learned to prepare for winter all year long.
Every time I buy groceries, I buy several things to stick in our “ice storm cupboard” for emergencies. Even cans of soups, cans of chicken, extra coffee and teas, are a huge blessing when you are very busy keeping in the warmth and keeping out the cold building fires and staying warm and cannot run to town to the store.
Go thru every room of your house and make a list in the fall and start buying.
You will be so surprised and thankful that you put away for a rainy, snow, icy day!!
Hugs from Noel, Mo, diana
Looks like you’re off to an adventurous start to winter with at least 14 more adventures to go if the beans are right. I’ve loved fall this year. All the colors and snow too!
Everyone of your snow pictures were worthy of being framed and hung. Some of the pictures actually looked like paintings. Truly amazing! Isn’t God good!
Rebekah I bought last year a heated waterer for my chickens from tractorsupply $50. It has an automatic turn on when the temp get 32 or below. Water never froze one time last year so my girls always had fresh water which is very important. I placed mine on top of a cinder block so it was not on the shavings as it does get hot. And also so the girls wouldn’t just kick the shavings all in their water. Hope this helps with your frozen water problem. As always the pics are beautiful and love your posts. Neta
AweSome Life You Have My Dear !!! Gettin a Tan down here n B| FL !!!
Thanks and Have a GreatDay / ThanksGiving !!! <3
AweSome Life You Have My Dear !!!
Gettin a Tan down here n Sunny FL …
Thanks and HaPPyDay / Thanksgiving !!!
Lovely reading about your snow day. Thank you for sharing pictures and thoughts. As a city girl, you gave me a beautiful insight to a different lifestyle. Good old USA, something for everyone!