2013 was my first calendar year living on a farm. Whew!
I ended the year feeling rather overwhelmed. Both my husband and I lost friends at the end of the year and it put us in a contemplative mood. (another way to say “in a funk”)
Man, we’ve got so far to go…
And then I started looking back at the photographs I took this past year.
And that made me realize that
Man, we’ve come so far…
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”.
What a beautiful tribute to all the work you’ve done and the lessons you’ve learned. The pictures are wonderful and the final lesson says it all. I have to remind myself to do that each day…..just enjoy the day and the moment.
What an amazing year you’ve had and the photos are a visual scrapbook that will last forever. Thank you for sharing!
Before I forget to ask, do you make your own pizza crust? A recipe would be great, since you are the MASTER…
A wonderful year for you, Rebekah! Your farm is beautiful….The best part is that you saved it and you are breathing new life into your treasure!
I also cry often, and am happy to know that I am not alone. We are ‘deep feelers’…
Love your journey. Love how you share it. Love you. Welcome back.
Beautiful, Beautiful! Your farm is shaping up just lovely! Thank you for sharing it with us.
What kind of pizza dough do you use/make? That pizza looks amazing!
We wish we could have chickens here. Maybe someday.
Oh, and the black snake…I would have had a heart attack and died!
Happy New Year!
Great blog I loves the picture journey.
You have done remarkably well. You’re not a city girl any longer. Congratulations!
,
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Dear Rebekah,
Thanks so much for sharing all the lovely pictures of your progress; they are so
beautiful! I know it has been a lot of hard work, but then I look at the pic of the
farm in the different seasons, and all the beauty that season brings, and I am so
happy for you! I, too, am looking for some piece of land that has a few hills, water,
and good soil. Maybe this is the year I will find it. 🙂 For now, I will take your advice
and enjoy my home at the present.
Trusting that 2014 will be filled with much joy and progress for you and your family.
Love,
Marilyn
What a wonderful post to wake up to and enjoy with my morning coffee! Thank you for the beautiful pictures and the sharing of your life with us — you always leave me with thoughts to ponder and put into practice. I may not be where I would like to be at the moment, but I have no idea what lies ahead so like you said, I will seek out the joy each day and rejoice in those around me. Love your horses too — I feel that way about a new rescue dog that we recently got — he rescued me as much as I rescued her — my dear, funny Lucy. May 2014 bring you even more joy in unexpected ways!!!!
Sounds like your dad is an intelligent man. You also. i love this post. i wanted it to go on and on. Thank you for sharing your first year on the farm with us. It was delightful. i can’t get over the barn. It went from drab and deteriorating to good on the eyes, functional, and full of spirit. My word for the year 2014 is enjoy!
i enjoy your blog very much! thank you for your time!
I am so overwhelmed by your pictures. So much has happened in one year. We have 5.5 acres that we plan to move to in a couple of years. Each year we add a little more to what we did the last year. It is so much fund. We have had chickens on our little farm that we go to daily now for almost 3 years and love them. My husband and I are truly looking forward to getting to enjoy our little farm as your family does. The only thing in Savannah GA we do not have snow…. what a bummer.
Your farm looks wonderful!
I’m always happy to hear about the animals, the building remodeling and all the other interesting things that takes place each month. Keep up the great work because its looking pretty darn good from here. 👏👏👏👏
That was BEAUTIFUL! Thank you, thank you!
Rebekah, this is lovely. I copied Learn to In-Joy into my homemade book of favorite quotes where I will continue to be inspired by it.
Love what your Dad says, too, and love Mary Jane for bringing all this to me.
Stunning record of your year!!! So happy that your farmgirl dreams are coming true.
Blessings to you and yours,
Dena
A year can make so much difference in a life. Thanks for sharing your year and helping me look forward – not back.
Thank-you for sharing your lovely pictures! I have really enjoyed seeing your dream come to life! Thank-you also for being so compassionate to animals and giving good lives to your dog, horses and chickens. Happy 2014 to your and your family!
Rebekah, this is so inspiring and joyful. What an amazing thing you and your family have done. Your farm is beautiful, and it shines with love. Thank you for letting us follow along on your journey. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this year!
Blessed with lots of hard work and imagination. Thanks for sharing. God Bless
What a Busy! wonderful year it was!!!
Connie
I cannot imagine all the work that went into your lovely farm…but I can see you are happy, grateful, and loving every minute of it. What a dream come true for you and your family. I love it when other people can live their dreams!! And it must have been a real treat to do old fashioned caroling. It is so frowned on these days in neighborhoods. We used to go around to different houses and offer carols. Some people gave us hot chocolate and some gave us warm smiles but never were we asked not to… What a lovely life, a warm hearted you, a handsome cowboy husband, and a beautiful daughter! Amazing Grace indeed…
What a blessed year you have had and what a blessing it is to read about..Thank You!! Will be following you in 2014!
What a difference a year makes! Your farm looks like a picture, so worth the hard work. I love what your dad said, which helps me to justify my endlessly long list of projects!
Thank you for sharing Rebekah. You are truly an inspiration to me to keep dreaming.
Your horses are beautiful!