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.
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”.
MOLTING is good. I would love to and am working on it.
Hugs and happy molting.
Kay
Thanks for this information, and all the nice pictures. Some of my chickens are starting to molt also. I knew what it was when I saw it, but I didn’t know that it was stressful for them. I’m new to all this also. My husband grew up with lots of farm animals, but I grew up a “city girl” in California, so this is all new to me. I feel like we are in a Green Acres scene most of the time! But I love it!
Those are some healthy-looking chickadees. Congrats on being such a great chicken mom. And the MASH house? Hilarious. Snakes shed their skins also. Or do you avoid any knowledge about snakes:) I’m sure if I molted, I’d hide under plywood, too. BTW, hubby says he religiously reads and enjoys your blog posts. You have a guy fan out here in Idaho. Gives us something to talk about over morning coffee.
Rebekah, I always feel so sorry for hens when they are molting… I used to think they “hid out” in the hen house because they felt so vulnerable without their feathers. I agree with you – I think we should all molt. I’ve never thought of it the way you wrote it though and I loved it. I do try to shed some of those things that tend to burden me down… and when I’m in the process I usually hide out in my kitchen. That happy place, you know! 🙂 Thanks again… I loved this post! – Dori, the Ranch Farmgirl –
Molting and Gratitude. Two very good things 🙂
Love to read all the chicken news. Our chickens are molting right now too, with their bare necks they look a lot like turkey vultures. I bought some Nutrena Feather Fix pellets for the chickens the other day. Supposed to have extra protein to help them grow their feathers back and with cold weather on the way, they better hurry.
Yes Rebekah, I like your idea about molting too. Wow, a mental and emotional release of old clutter from within. Thank you for great ideas.
Lovely chickens you have there, they are so lucky you care so much. MOLTING – yes that is what I am going to try to do. Because I have no feathers to release, I am going do a MOLTING journal, what a great idea you had, thanks much. God bless.
I love the idea of molting away all of the negative stuff in our lives. We should make it into a ritual just like the chickens do. Hide out for a few days. Alone with our thoughts and just molt. I’m molting I’m molting! ( say like the wicked witch of the west!)
Cindy Bee