As the old saying goes, “If it isn’t one thing, its another.” The cliche isn’t associated with positive “things” either. Trials and tribulation is as much a part of the human experience as breathing. And so it has been for us this calving season. Winter-like weather has cost us about 25 calves thus far. But, in the midst of wearying problems, you sometimes lift your eyes and help arrives via the hearts & hands of caring friends.
So it was one day last week …
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 lovely story of Amazing Grace. It is truly gratifying when you can help a little one along. We raise sheep and have had an opportunity or two to help them out. Amazing Grace is lovely in every way. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.
Shery: What a heartwarming story everyone. Grace is truly adorable. It was nice to meet Beth too. Shery,you have very special friends.
Minnesota is full of snow too. We all need sunshine and warm weather. It’s May, er, I think it is. Think warm.
I love what you all did for this baby and her name is so perfect. I’m looking forward to watching her grow.
I guess Grace will suck your fingers too, as a baby calf once did mine. She is, indeed, a beautiful bovine.
My my oh the memories of the farm/ranch life you have brought back to me. What a beauty she is – isn’t it something how some of them are so beautiful. We had snow/freezing on May 1st but it is mostly gone now and we are to get warmer soon. Looking forward to the popping up of the bulbs and being able to get outside. Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience. God Bless
This is an absolutely wonderful story! I can so identify with all your actions and feelings. Very similar here only with goats… I too lost about 25 kids when it didn’t get above freezing…terrible. BUT then you have those with births and the kids help to lessen the blow a bit. You put into words so perfectly how it feels to be a "farmgirl"! All the best to you and Amazing Grace!!!
Amazing Grace, Oh how sweet the sound
And the face! Love this happy ending. Since I grew up in farm country in Indiana I have a completely different picture when it comes to cows. My grandfather was a dairy farmer, I have probably said this before, but there was no open range just fenced in pasture areas. Spring has finally came to Michigan also. Just last week we got up to snow one morning. And the rain and floods in the Grand Rapids area were something else. We live about an hour north of there and our ponds are overflowing. But we will be glad of it this summer because one of the ponds waters our vegetable garden. I am ready for the warm weather and for the green grass. The hens have been out of the run and enjoying the yard and following me around which makes me smile. Your chair looks very inviting and a wonderful place to put your feet up at the end of the day with a good book or magazine.
My heart loves reading your post! I so miss my country home and 60 goats, my horse and chickens. I love the name Amazing Grace!!!! Thank you for shareing. Helps me wait just a little longer for home.
Donna
Truly loved this story! What a wonderful outcome. I’m so sad that you lost some of these previous babies. Hopefully Spring is here to stay! Best wishes to you as you progress through your calving season.
Amazing is LIFE, and we are so lucky to be reminded of this once a year during those magical months of calving!! We have also seen a few nice days up here just north of the border, enough though that an unfortunate grass fire broke out and burned 15, 000 acres of native prairie land, luckily no one was hurt and no homes were destroyed, Grasslands National Park will have an interesting summer as the animals return to the land and begin to rebuild their homes. Anyway I thought you might like to read about it if you haven’t already, as I remembered reading one of your posts last summer about the horrible fires!! Take Care, best of luck with the remainder of your calving season!!
Lacey
That is so sweet. Love spring and all the babies!
Oh my goodness what a survival story. Amazing Grace is a beautiful little girl – and yes, as all good country girls know – cows can be beautiful. So good to hear Momma decided she made a bad decision and was willing to take her baby back for a fresh start. Looking forward to stories of this Amazing Grace.
I always love love your incredible posts and this one takes the cake! Love that amazing little Gracie!
I’m teared up once again. Golly Shery! I always know your post are gonna be a tear jerker! Whether it’s for joy or sorrow, you get right to the heart of this ol’ farmgirl. I’ve raised many calves on the bottle. When they thrive, it’s so joyful and when they didn’t, oh my…don’t even want to think about it. I felt like I was right there with you gals, helping that baby stay in this world of ours. Thank you for another wonderful story from Wyo.
Shery,
You can not imagine how your stories touch me so deeply. Amazing Grace is amazing and Ribbon is adorable! You tell the stories of your life with such love and compassion. You inspire me in so many ways. I live in South Carolina on an island. Spring is a bit different here but we wait it for it with anticipation. Our winters are very mild but Spring still represents new beginnings in our garden and in our wildlife. The newborn deer are now emerging and they are adorable. I want to hug them. My favorite part of Spring is May when the Loggerhead sea turtles return to our beaches to nest. I am very involved in the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol and walk the beaches daily looking for new nests. When July comes, the nests start hatching and I head the inventory team collecting data on the hatched nests. Our little hatchlings are adorable – you can hold them in the palm of your hand. Someday they will weigh as much as 300 pounds! We have a dolphin pod which lives in our shore waters. Their babies are now appearing too! It is wonderful here and this island and its way of life is my passion. I look forward to more of your posts. Thank you so much for sharing them! Terry Fansler – Seabrook Island, SC
This story was oh so familiar! Here in Mn we have had rain rain and more rain. The mud was up to the cows bellies and was stickier then ever! While changing fences my husband and I can upon a calf stuck in the mud. I mean STUCK!! After pushing and tugging and shoving we finally got him out. Got him dried off and fed and settled in for the night. Back to the fence and wouldn’t you know a Mamma was caught kicking her twin baby off the teat. Another rescue and back to that dang fence! "Muddy Waters" baby is back with the herd and the orphan baby is still being fed and coddled. ( For now at least).Never a dull moment on the farm and always way too much work!