What is the definition of Farmgirl to you?
Ever since becoming the Ranch Farmgirl for MaryJanesFarm, I’ve had that question going through my mind.
Is it eagerly awaiting the arrival of your first calf of the season – and then not being able to keep your eyes off of it once it’s born? Continue reading
There’s a wonderful resource that sometimes goes untapped. Here’s a hint…it started nationally, has gone international, and is over one-hundred years old! It’s an original “social network”…where kids ages 7 to 19 can have fun, learn new skills, feel like they “belong”, and adults can volunteer. Have you guessed? I’m talking about 4-H! Generations of families have participated in 4-H clubs, a positive source still relative to today’s world. It’s had an impact on my “young farmgirl” daughter and friends!
There’s a wonderful resource that sometimes goes untapped. Here’s a hint…it started nationally, has gone international, and is over one-hundred years old! It’s an original “social network”…where kids ages 7 to 19 can have fun, learn new skills, feel like they “belong”, and adults can volunteer. Have you guessed? I’m talking about 4-H! Generations of families have participated in 4-H clubs, a positive source still relative to today’s world. It’s had an impact on my “young farmgirl” daughter and friends!
Dear sisters,
Where did October go? It seems like we just turned the page on September and here we are in FULL fall feathering mode! What does that mean for the Beach Farmgirl exactly? In this case, it means cleaning the chicken coop! This is one of my FAVORITE farmgirl chores! It makes me feel good inside to know my girls will be safe and warm should the weather take a sudden turn for the worst. It is hurricane season in New England, after all. Come on in and visit with the girls and I while we clean and cluck through our fall feathering chores.
Here they are coming up to say hello and see if I brought any kitchen scraps with me. Our flock has shrunk to only 6. We’ve lost a couple or our sweet girls this year. One of our senior citizen hens died of old age and another was frightened out of the chicken run by a coyote that was rushing fence in the wee hours of the morning. We heard some unusually loud clucking noises and by the time we were out of bed and dressed to go downstairs all we could see were Liza Jane’s feathers scattered all over the back lawn. Our run is over 8 feet tall and was only partially covered on one end at the time. We’ve since remedied that! Losing one of our special girls was a hard price to pay for not finishing that chore when we started it.
Our coop has one entry door located on the inside of the run. The bottom of our coop is covered in vinyl flooring that has been stapled to the plywood floor. All I need is a rake to pull out the pine shavings. Then I sweep out the floor and get the cobwebs out of all the nooks and crannies with a broom. I have to shoo the girls out of the coop before I can rake out the shavings which always ruffles their feathers a bit. I get it! I don’t like being shooed either! You can tell by the looks of the litter in the photo above that it’s time. It’s wasted down to a couple of inches and loaded with feathers. I change it out every three months rain, shine, or snow! We have a large run so I just rake the old shavings right out onto the ground, away from the coop entry and move it to a far corner where the girls can scratch in it and it will compost further. Then, come springtime I go in with a shovel fill my wheelbarrow with fresh compost ready to be mixed in to soil for my container gardening, raised beds or spread atop my established perennial gardens.
I like to use a full bale of pine shavings each time I replace the bedding. It gives the girls a nice deep bed to take their dust baths in on wet or snowy days and it soaks up the droppings in the rear of the coop under the roosts. Plus, it insulates the floor keeping them nice and warm during the colder months.
During the hottest days of summer I open the door do the coop and let it air out all day until the girls put themselves to bed at dusk.
I get a kick out of how cautious they are about going back inside the coop after it’s all clean! They stretch their necks to they can see inside then turn their heads from side to side before jumping back in. So cute!
The nesting boxes hang off the back of the coop with a flip-top roof that makes collecting eggs easy!
Here’s Lacy Lou ” nesting ” on a clutch of eggs destined for a yummy quiche or baking.
Once I have the inside of the coop cleaned and replenished with fresh shavings I like to add something festive to decorate the front of the coop. It’s the least I can do for the girls after all those delicious eggs they provide for our family! I do something a little different each year. I’ve used silk flowers in the past because they add a nice pop of lasting color on the window but this year I decided to go native and create a fresh seasonal arrangement from my garden. I cut some branches from my oak leaf hydrangea, a bridal white hydrangea blossom with the first blush of faded purple on the tips of the petals, some autumn sedum joy that is already a beautiful deep purple color and a few feathery ornamental grass plums. I tucked all of the cuttings into a mason jar filled with water and then put the jar inside the container.
There! Now it’s time to relax around the fire and have some hot cider!
My hubby got the wood ready for us, but it’s been raining for three days so we couldn’t light it. 🙁 We’ll just have to pretend it’s lit and warming our tootsies while we drink our hot cider.
We love Trader Joe’s Mulling spices for making our hot spiced cider.
Here’s our family recipe!
BOZ GLOG
Have you ever stopped after a seemingly simple moment and thought to yourself, “I think my life just changed”? I had this feeling last week, and it was such a distinct feeling…I was immediately in awe of how my future could have been drastically (okay, I’m being a bit dramatic) different had this one second of life not happened. I hope the following doesn’t come off as too creeeeeeepy…maybe Halloween has an influence on this post!
Mmmm, look at that fatty goodness!
Several things occurred in building up to this moment. First, Evan bought me a new chef’s knife. He’s super into techie websites that find the best of everything without being painfully expensive. So, he found this knife and got it for me because I’m always complaining about our dulling knives. The first thing I cut with it was a big four pound rutabaga, and with the first effortless slice I let out an audible gasp.
You see, I have been envious of those with great knife skills for a long time. It is so impressive to see expert chefs break down a duck or perfectly fillet a large salmon. The knife appears to find the perfect spot to slice through. When watching a good knife handler dice onions or even cut an apple, their skills are apparent…but I’ve discovered that a lot of this skill is in the knife! Now that I have used a truly sharp, nice knife, I am not intimidated by whole chickens or thick skinned winter squash. The beautiful halibut fillets I’ve butchered in the past will be no more. Squished tomatoes will be but a memory. I will no longer be intimidated by whole meats and other foods!
Thank you, amazing new life changing tool.
The height of this epiphany came last week when I decided to finally roast a pork belly I’ve had in the freezer for awhile. It was from a pig that I helped raise a little bit–a nice fatty heritage breed. I’ve been a lifetime fan of bacon, even going so far as to be one of those lame vegetarians who still eats bacon! However, I’ve heard here and there that a well roasted pork belly is superior in many ways to the salty deliciousness that is cured bacon.
{Commence drooling}
To prepare this pork, I had to score the fatty side of the belly. It was AMAZING to do this with the new sharp knife. The responsiveness of it was incredible, I could feel where the fat layer ended and the meat began, allowing me to score it deep enough but not too much. Writing this out now makes is sound kind of silly or weird–but it really was one of the more illuminating moments in my life. I think my culinary possibilities have multiplied many fold, and I was already pretty satisfied with how I handled myself in the kitchen.
Is it torturous to roast pork belly in the presence of my canine friends?
So, I have this new knife…and other life changers.
I used a pressure canner for the first time last week–major life changer! I love having home made broth, and I usually just freeze it. I also keep all of my vegetable trimmings in freezer bags. By the end of the farming season, my freezer is usually overflowing with onion tops, beet peels, carrot tips and all sorts of various veggie parts. We don’t have a large chest freezer or anything, so it was taking up precious freezer space. So, I borrowed a friends pressure canner and now I have many pints of vegetable, chicken, duck and beef stock. YUM. I plan on expanding my pressure canning repertoire in the future but thought I’d start this year with broths and stocks.
Hi Ava! Sing it!
Another life changer: Ava’s mobility! She is now able to get to where she wants to be in a relatively fast manner. She didn’t crawl for a very long time–instead she scooted backwards or did this silly sit, lean forward, move one leg forward, sit, lean forward, move one leg forward kind of thing that took forever to get anywhere. Now she’s a crawling and cruising machine! She’s even standing unassisted for about twenty seconds at a time. Her new favorite activity is splashing all of the dog water everywhere and getting soaking wet. She is no longer a little baby (sigh…) and is well on her way to being a toddler. Time goes so quickly.
Not dog water…but other spilled water. So fun.
Before I know it, she will be using a truly sharp knife for the first time…and other life changers.
Have any relatively “normal” things happened to you lately that have changed your life for the better? I think every Farmgirl has or should have a truly sharp, responsive chef’s knife and access to a pressure canner (as for a newly toddling toddler…probably not a necessity!). What tools of the trade do you think belong in every Farmgirl’s repertoire?
I hope Halloween next week is fun for all and that you have a sharp knife to expertly carve those Jack and Jill-o-lanterns!
Until next time,
Sending Peace and Love from Alaska,
Alex, the Rural Farmgirl
I have never witnessed anything like it before.
The molting of my chickens.
But now that I’ve seen it, I think we should all molt. What a wonderful thing a yearly MOLT is. Drop our “old” ideas, prejudices, hurt feelings, grudges, chips on our shoulders, negative emotions. Molting is a painful, stressful process, sure. And yes, we must take extra special care of ourselves during it. But when we come out on the other side? Woo! Growth. Freshness. Power. Newness.
It’s apple picking season and all I’ve been able to think of lately is home made Apple Pie!
I just happen to love making pies and I think possibly Apple Pie is my favorite to make.
So this week when I grabbed my pyrex bowl and my ingredients, I grabbed my camera too so that I could share my recipe with all you other Farmgirls.
It’s apple picking season and all I’ve been able to think of lately is home made Apple Pie!
I just happen to love making pies and I think possibly Apple Pie is my favorite to make.
So this week when I grabbed my pyrex bowl and my ingredients, I grabbed my camera too so that I could share my recipe with all you other Farmgirls.
Everyone should be so blessed that they experience four distinct seasons at least once in their lifetime. Having grown up in a climate where shorts are worn year ‘round, in New England, I never tire of watching the transformation from season to season. We’ve been blessed this year with a perfect fall…sunny and relatively warm, perfect for late harvesting before the garden’s put to bed for a winter’s nap. While things aren’t as lush and green as summer, there’s still so much beauty, and still so much to do!
Dear Sisters,
Welcome to Part 2 of ” our ” Fall Junkin’ Junket! When we parted ways last time we’d made our way through most of the fabulous booths at The Vintage Bazaar in Salisbury, MA. and The VIP Vintage Fashion Show was about to start! If you missed Part 1, Click here to catch up! Come on! Let’s go! Continue reading
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”.
Weekly Blogs and Recipes