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”.
You see why I called it a mud room? Best and handiest place in the house some times!
Congratulations! My Carolina "farm" will be a house near the ocean in OBX and I have about 5 years to wait! Sounds lovely and I wish you all the best. Good for you for following your heart.
Thanks for the wonderful laugh your adorable dogs provided! I soooooo have felt that way at the end of some days. What I like best about dogs is that they just don’t care if someone sees them pooped out laying on the couch snoring!
What a wonderful story! Oh, I so envy you and your family -getting back to the "simpler" way of life! Isn’t it funny how we were young we couldn’t wait to leave it, and as we get older we can’t wait to get back there!
Congratulations! Make lots of wonderful memories with your family!
i am in joyful & hopeful tears after reading your 7 things in 7 days about your move to carolinas.
this is a dream for me as well but for us it is in pemaquid,me by the ocean. and a home in west wareham by the pond.you have inspired me and hopefully we can brave out our dreams.thank you and your husband,in His provision,raquel (marion,ma)
Super~cool post! See, it’s all good. Even the fur people are content already!
Linda
Loved this post, Rebekah!!! Thank you so much for the 7 things in 7 days!!! Now that is the stuff of memories!!!And thank you’s for the great quotes!!!
My 3,800 sq. ft. house is scheduled to be auctioned in 6 weeks, & I haven’t yet found the next place to call home, I’m still looking! I have given away close to 1/2 of what I own, because I intend the next place to be considerably smaller & easier to manage. I can identify with your musings a lot! I know I haven’t dispersed nearly enough, but the further decisions are waiting for when I find "it" & know what I have to work with. My mother referred to me earlier today as "middle-aged", but I have a 43 yr old child, so……. I have come to understand the folly of thinking that life would ever "settle down" into sameness! Wish me luck!!
Oh Rebekah, how happy I am for you and your family. I love love love the pics of the dogs, and I guess I am probably just as happy for them to have such a nice large farm to roam on. They looked very content. lol. Be Blessed and happy days to you and yours on the homestead. Neta
I love this…I feel so connected to the words you just wrote! We moved to a rural community to what is now our little family farm on 5 acres from the city 6 years ago and I felt just like you did/do. I am not sure how old your daughter is but have her watch the movie "The Greening of Whitney Brown". My 10 year old loves this movie and it shows how the things we think are important really are not. What’s important is family! Enjoy Rebecca~ Thanks for all your inspiration.
Yay! And welcome! I was a move in from another state (in the really deep south) and though I sometimes miss the lazy Mississippi River delta and all that goes with it, you know, linen napkins, antique silver, wide verandas, perfect manners, cicadas, and all things Southern both real and imagined, I have embraced this unique mountain heritage as my own. I love (and claim!) the music, the stories, the pure art of the crafts and quilts, their deep knowledge of the healing herbs. If you’ve never read The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter you must!!
My latest endeavor is spinning. Now that I don’t have horses I have so much more free time and I’ve become addicted to my spinning wheel. On my latest trip down south I asked an elderly aunt if she had any memory of a grandmother or great-grandmother spinning. She looked at me blankly then replied, "Well my heavens no. Of course we didn’t spin." Haha.
Enjoy your new farm, pace yourself and keep us posted!
Rebecah: I just start to giggle when you talk about creepy, crawly things. It’s just part of farm life. Have fun girl and enjoy the outdoors, your daughter and your new farm. Bonnie
Hi Becka,You have water in your creek,we have no water in ours here in MO.It did rain today for the first time in months,and was cool all day today.Enjoy your farm,creepy crawlys and all,it is still worth it!We had our hay baled this past week,it looks beautiful out in the field,looking at fresh new hay is one of my favorite things.The air smelled wonderful after the rain,the mixture of the newly cut hay,and smell of the rain was wonderful!Have a nice week,carol branum,lamar MO.
HOOOT HOOOT RAY!!!! and CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Like most anything new in ones life, if one starts the experience with and open mind and heart, one will make it the best experience EVER. Thanks for the sniggers and grins – oh yes the mucky along the stream and having to watch for the snakes – oh no, I used to have a big ole plank I would take with when I went walking to go to the stream – Granddaddy drilled a hole in one end strung with a sturdy rope – so I could pull the plank along – when I found THE spot I’d lay the plank down to walk on and not get in the muck. I am so proud of you though and what a love you have for your daughter that you wouldn’t let a little muck stop your experience – ahhhh memories. God Bless
Welcome Home! It’s sounds like this is the adventure you were dreaming of. I look forward to hearing how things progress.
I had to take a moment to say thank you for the list. I am moving in just a few weeks and I honestly hadn’t even thought about #1. I had thought about packing a box with my bedding to go over with me before the move, but I never thought about including a few essentials for myself. Great idea.
I have been struggling with # 5 myself. No matter how many times I purge my posessions and belongings I still find I have too much stuff. I am an avid reader and collector of books, authors, etc. 11 years ago when I moved from California back home to Maine I reduced my books from 6 books cases to 4. 3 years ago I reduced it from 4 to 3 book cases and with this move I am going from 3 to 2. I have reached the point where I am now culling books from my shelves that I have allowed to define me. I brought them to a book store that buys back used books and the clerks were raving about my books and wanted to save them for themselves. As they crowed over each one, I was wishing I could bring it back home to live on my shelves, but I realized it wasn’t fair to the books. Yes, I loved them but to be honest some of them have not been read or used in 10 to 20 years. It was time they found new homes with people who would use them. Looking at the empty holes on my book cases as I get ready to pack I find myself missing them, but know that I made the right choice. Hopefully you can find a way to give new life to the things you love and no longer need or have room for.
I know I am looking forward to this new phase of my life.
What a great post 😉 🙂 I remember when my dad and I moved, we got rid of so much stuff…and I still have a lot, so I"m actually going to have a yard sale this weekend 🙂 🙂
OH, and the night before we officially moved from Oregon to California, we had everything packed. We were antsy to get out, so we literally just left our apartment…got in the truck and drove to a motel and stayed there for the night before moving. That was awesome…and it was really nice to be out of our old place.
I’m so happy for you that you have this great new farm to live on. What a blessing 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
So glad you are where you have always longed for. Sounds like it is going well and will only get better.
So very happy for you.
Happy many blessed FARM days to you and your little family including the fur kids! I’m overjoyed for the whole gang. It’s gonna be awesome to watch life unfold for all of you… Do I hear JT playing in the background? I thought so….Dry those tears girl… You are finally HOME!!!
XOXOX
Deb ( your beach bloggin sis )
I am so happy for you and your family! Sounds like heaven. Isn’t it amazing to unplug for awhile, very cleansing. The same goes for uncluttering and simplifying. Enjoy your new farm life. I look forward to more posts about your adventures.
My husband an I moved over the border to ME about 10 years ago now. When we moved ,just from NH, we too purged lots of things. (actually an amazing amount of stuff). Our mantra for our new way of living was…"a pound in, a pound out". Moving is tough, and we never wanted to have to sort through, give up the stuff we wanted, so now we are just very careful about what comes into our possession … A pound in a pound out makes one think before they acquire. Is it working? I’ll never tell.
I have lived in Western North Carolina a year now and I sure do envy your creek. I love following your move and I agree with all the post numbers you spoke of. I used to always put my bed linens and some clothing in my dryer but we sold that before we moved here. Our rental house has one for us.
I wish I owned the property but I am a lot older than you . My daughter is grown but you are living your dream in a good time.
Thanks for sharing, I adore your adventures! Smiles, Cyndi