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Here I am, working in my picturesque garden-yard. Birds are singing, butterflies flutter by and bees work as if they know they’ll never get ahead of their to-do list. They are at peace with that knowing. Oh, to be a bee.
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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”.
Oh how I know the feeling. A dear, wise friend says it is because it is spring after a long winter of not being able to do outside work, that we end up frustrated with such long to-do lists. And in our world, trying to fit the yard projects in around everything else is challenging to say the least. But when we walk around the yard and say "We built that fence, and that fence, planted those trees, built those retaining walls, made those rock/shrub beds," it does actually feel like we are accomplishing something. And so are you. Enjoy!
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You’re right! It pays to go back and revisit the results of things checked off of the to-do list. That’ll make me feel better :o) shery
Well my dear, you’ve certainly NAILED "writer." What a fine piece you’ve treated us to this morning. And your photos always make my heart just ACHE they’re so beautiful.
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Our fearless leader!! Thank you kindly Ma’am. I don’t know HOW you manage to do all that you do. I think you’d drag me death! ;o) shery
I make "to do lists" for each weekend so that by the end of the weekend I hopefully have crossed off many if not all items. Then I start another list for the next weekend! It makes me feel better by having one list down and not YET thinking about the next one I need to write out. Loved what you said at the end, SO TRUE! I love reading your blog!
Omg’s and here I thought I was the only one with a todo list that never gets finished nor stops growing. So many projects, so little energy, time and me. My guilt at all the false starts is almost as overwhelming as the to do lists. And there is the big issue of where I can create or work on small projects. Started in a closet, untill we needed the storage area back. Then onto a corner of a bedroom, then a adult child came home, bye bye corner. Then I thought I dont like the basement, but as the beggar I’ll not be picky. Now I have some stuff here and some stuff there and little more over there….I dont know where any thing is. And yet the garden is calling as is the never ending household work. Seriously need to go for that walk untill sundown TODAY.
Thanks so much for sharing with us, you did this heart good and I feel less lonely or guilty.
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Let us take a glass of wine on that walk. Oh, I assumed I could go. S’ok? :o) shery
Yes the to-do lists are a catch-22. The anxiety of getting to each item on the long list BUT also the awh… after it dwindles and has checked off marks.
Your photos are so beauitful!!
Hi Shery,
…and another one of your "wins" is this blog! I wait for it and am always thrilled when I see it arrive. So often you speak for me, as you did once again this month. Your contribution I can only imagine is reaching into some far corners of the earth where other women are also working to make a difference, to live closely to the land and to return to values that matter to them. I thank you.
Terces
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Oh Terces, thank you so very much for taking the time to share such kind thoughts. We may never meet in this life, but I felt that hug as if you were right next to me. shery
You inspire me to do more . . . although my hubby and I are quite DYI’ers and built our place up from the ground a few years ago . . . it is still in progress (you understand) but we are better gardeners now and work the tractor with more success. When I hit 55 I decided to stop and smell "MY" roses every day, watch the lambs and make planters out of "junk". Although I get weary at times, I love my age and this time in my life. Thanks for your insight into your day and heart.
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Oh Judy, I second your statement about liking the age. the body … welllll, not so much, but the state of mind at this age is the best. My father said he liked his 50s the best too. I get it now. :o) shery
Oh gosh, how I empathize. We have a working ranch and a house that is 113 years old. It was uninhabitable when we moved in 10 years ago and I promise it is habitable now but geez oh peez, it is always needin’ something done. We had to rehabilitate everything, trees, gardens, barns, pens…EVERYTHING. And what a joy it has been. You bet my list is gargantuan (spelling may be wrong, but you get the idea!) and for sure never ending. But still…..this ole dame is enjoying the accomplishments and lookin’ forward to more….besides! I’ve got girls to carry on the work! lololololol Glorious summer days to all!
Shery: What a blessing to HAVE a to-do list! So many people have no interests and nothing to do or physically can’t do anything. I’ve got a great suggestion for all of us: Make the to do list and then add at the top the thing that bugs you the most. It may not be on your list but I could almost guarantee that if you did that the rest will fall into place. Also, put a time and date on when you are going to do each thing. It gives you a mini deadline and you are more apt to do it. We’re all in the same boat girl, I just prefer to take a rest once and awhile. Good luck and never stop dreamin’
Hi Shery-
Great post. My to do lists continue to get bigger and my pace more frantic. I think im going to take your advise and worry over them less and just get to it more. i am a gardening gal and I was going to mention to you that I usually put the spent hyacinth bulbs in the ground. They like a well drained soil and not too much moisture. They’ll come up next spring and be beautiful. i plant them around daylilies. When they finish blooming the daylily foliage hide the yellowing hyacinth leaves. They make nice partners.
Thanks for the beautiful post. I enjoy hearing about your life on the high plains
OMG! If I ever see another ‘post’ or mix another batch of concrete… it will be way to soon! We just dug/poured & set 81 4×6 posts for the new corral and Thank goodness for Augurs & pnuematic nail guns,,,for setting the rails!
But on the plus side, what glorious weather for playing in our Garden of weedin’ not to mention perfect days for Glamping in our wee trailers & sitting around the ‘glampfire’ with great gal~pals.
hugz & Happy trails.
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81 posts…in concrete???? YIKES!!! Oh! I have a new campy term to use…’glampfire’…I’m so stealing it. :o) MY wee trailer is slated to go on her first glamping trip sometime in June …our maiden journey together. There ought to be at least 2 other farmgirls to hang with and our HORSES. Thanks for stopping in Grace! shery
My dear friend Shery, You’ve done it again. As I read each word I could see myself so vividly… starting right at the top with turning 50 and feeling that sense of urgency to start, finish and ENJOY! And, just like you I’ve stopped spending so much time thinking and dreaming up things to do and just doing them ( as I can afford and time allows ). My back, legs and arms sure do have my attention as I work to get my latest farmgirl dream off the ground and running… That’s ME in your top photo right now!!! This flower farmgirl is running herself ragged at the moment. I came in for a break and a cool drink to find your beautiful blog this morning! Once again, I loved every darned word of it…I think you need a change of scenery!!! Why don’t you hop a plane and come see all of my unfinished business here at home and at the cottage! We’d have loads of fun and it would make you feel better too! big farmgirl hugs!!!
Keep at it, but enjoy the ride… we only have today…:)
Much love your farmgirl sis from the east! Deb
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DEARest D-BOZ, I would lovelovelove to come visit, BUT, I have tooooo many darn things to do!! Thats my problem — a pleasant variety of misery. But, one of these days … ONE of these days!!! Trust me, that is not an empty threat. ;o) Looking forward to seeing your flower market. Yes, I know you’ve been working your buns off. Ya, know that has never worked for me though. Does ANYone really know ANYbody who has lost their buns via work? shery
AMEN!
PS. I share that same pleasant variety of misery with you! For the record, I still have every bit of my buns attached to a very tight, stiff lower backside! I also wanted to tell you how much I LOVED your Painting the West article! Great job!!!
You are not alone…and I am glad to know that I am not alone!
I just got back from Oklahoma so a I know a little about the wind. But, my, how I covet your junque! Wish I could find some down here in the piney woods of east Texas. I feel for you with your short growing season. I have already harvested asparagus, onions, potatoes and the tomatoes are about ready. My growing season is too long!! I love reading your blog because I am a farm girl at heart too.
Dear Sheri – truer words were never spoken about to do lists and ambitions for women of a certain age. I always have to remind myself of my age as my projects and plans always get ahead of my physical, not mental energy. Love your words of wisdom and gorgeous photos. Good luck with your gardening plans. Ann
Shery: I am working on this, but realized it a few years ago. I was getting ready for Christmas which many times is centered at our home. It is the most convenient for all family members. I work full time as well as take care of the financial aspects for a company my husband and I both own. I was getting very frustrated that things wouldn’t be ready in time. One evening while I was ranting and getting more upset about getting ready for Christmas, my husband looked at me and said " You know Christmas is gonna come anyway." As sour as I was at the time, I realized that I wouldn’t enjoy it as much if I was cranky. I loosened my hold and things went much better. You know this from riding. I am the queen of to do lists, but I just turned 60 this year and I am learning that maybe, just maybe our job is to learn when to be satisfied. For just a moment, be still and grateful!