Goodbye, Wretched Winter! The first “warm” day in New England luckily fell on my husband’s day off. I was sooo ready to get the Christensen chicks transferred from the garage to outside!
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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”.
Welcome to the chicken mama club Nicole… Or is that Mother Hen? Looks like your girls are settling in very nicely… They sure do have personalities of their own. And, they sure bring much joy to us backyard farmers don’t they? They are fun to spoil and so worth it for all those delicious eggs they ” gift” us! Happy Spring from your Beach Sister!
Hi Farmsister! Thanks for the welcome! I do feel like a Mother Hen! Happy Spring, to you, too. (Although we woke up to snow and ice this morning…did you? My girls were safe and warm in their hen house, though. I will definitely be looking into a heated chicken water dish next fall! Happy Spring and Happy Easter, Farmgirl hugs, Nicole
Sounds and looks like a wonderful transition into “Fowl Knox.” Everyone seems to be happy and secure. Congratulations!
Hi Adrienne! Thanks so much! We’ve had to make a few updates…like putting a few boards across the fence top to support the tarp when it rains. My husband is tall and was able to get all the water off before the tarp burst. Now, with support, it is easier for me to manage. The other day when it was warm, I made them a “chicken playground”: a cd hung from a string to cast light on the ground for them to chase, an old rotten log full of bugs and holes for me to hide treats in for them to find, and an empty water bottle with holes in it, filled with chicken scratch. Watching them bat the bottle around was like watching a soccer match! I can’t wait to make my deviled eggs for Easter this year, made with our own eggs! Farmgirl hugs, Nicole
Hi Nicole,
SO glad to read and see that all is going well with your chickens (and Roo)! They look great! You will find that they are addicting and before long you will want more and more!
One of my hens is a Silkie Bantam (they tend to go broody often, which was fine with me since she only lays tiny little eggs- we didn’t get her for egg production, but more for her good looks and sweet personality).
Well, she went broody about a month ago, so I decided to get some fertile eggs (since I don’t have a rooster),from a local farm, to see if she would sit on them and if they might possibly hatch out. I gave her 6 eggs to sit on, 2 Brahma,2 Speckled Sussex, 1 Aracauna and 1 Cockoo Maran.
Well, lo and behold, on Monday morning I awoke to 2 new baby chicks. Then yesterday one more. We are still waiting to see what happens with the other three eggs which are under her. It is simply amazing to see things happen in their natural environment! My daughter is loving it, as am I.
Of course, we take the risk that our chicks may not be hens, but roosters instead, so we will just have to wait and see what happens. But we are totally loving the whole experience.
I have her isolated from my other 7 hens, and she will have a separate coop/run area for her and her chicks.
I am so happy for you, that you are finally getting to enjoy being a chicken owning farmgirl! (and its hysterical that Audrey was “uncomfortable” about holding a “warm” egg!)
Enjoy your girls (and guy)!
Big Hugs to you!
Laurie
Hi Laurie! Oh, do keep me posted on your new babies! It was truly a memorable, special bonding time for me and Audrey, watching our babies. We will never forget our first little flock. I am just loving taking care of them so much. Big hugs right back to ya, Nicole
Hi Nicole! Could we see a full photo of your coop setup? I always love to know how others are arranging theirs. Unfortunately, even with a nice coop, ours looks like the Clampetts moved in. I wanted to give the girls room to roam, so their coop is inside a chicken wire and metal post enclosure, about 10×10. It’s ugly and I’d plant flowers around it to help dress it up, but those little devils manage to eat all the blooms, even through the fencing.
Hi Alexis! Will do…I am also in the middle of “dressing up” the coop. Of course, yesterday winter had to revisit a day and we woke up to snow and ice. It’s pretty much gone now, but everything is a bit muddy. Note to self…purchase an automatic chicken water heater before next fall! Thanks for visiting me…I will post a full photo for you. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I’m completely new to the farmgirl community and I love reading your chick-mom blog. I hope to join in on the fun someday.
Hi Stacey! Welcome! So glad to “meet” a new farmgirl. Make sure you join in on the fun at the Farmgirl Connection chatroom, too! Thanks for reading and commenting…hope you will visit me again. Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Nicole, that is the cutest, and funniest picture of the chickens lined up in the dog crate! Also the picture of Spot the Rooster really shows how beautiful he is. Very interesting to read about your experience with raising them. Love, Mother
Thanks Mom! So glad you enjoyed the blog. Can’t wait for you to “meet” the flock! Love you! -Nicole
Love reading about you chickens! so neat!
Thank you, Denise! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
well, I meant “your”, reading about your chickens! 🙂
Lucky you. I want some Buff Orpingtons but hubby says NO!