We’ve all heard how important it is to eat a diet high in roughage. Likewise, “roughaging” (spending time outdoors) is essential to our mental health. Even if it’s a settee on the porch, we need it, gotta have it. I aim to be the reason you pulled your bedding out the back door last night.
Winnie Nielsen says: Looking forward to your new book and reading all about this new and exciting adventure in dairy cows!
Elizabeth says: “If you’re writing a book about cows”~~~
Very interesting MaryJane & I’ll tell you why. I woke up wondering about milking cows…I’m not kidding/joking (sometimes you will post something that I was literally just thinking about~happens a lot!).
Anyway, since I have the *early morning riser thing down pat:-) I was wondering, if I had to milk a cow~by hand/s~about how long that would take & how much milk does a cow usually share for the day? Also remember hearing or reading somewhere that if you don’t milk the cow every day, bad things happen to the cow? Is the cow then ruined for future milking?
I take it that the young lady in this picture is carrying a cow milking machine? It looks rather heavy. How long does it take to milk a cow with a machine? What about hook-up time? Are these some of the topics you talk about in your new book? If so, then I will probably read it once it’s released:-)
Just so happens I have a great love for cheese, cream, milk & most things dairy:-) Oh & I’m quite fond of cows in general. And so is hubby~I can see us caring for a cow as a pet one day…along with an elephant & giraffe…but that’s another story;-)
Love the Milk Maid Braids!
MaryJane says: And YOU’RE the reason I’m writing the book. Your questions will be answered within its pages, already numbering 368 (lots to tell). I’ve been up several times in the night with a new baby calf. Mother and son doing well. It’s a first-time mother, so it was a little rocky for a while last night.
Debbie Fischer says: Oh I can not wait for the book either to add to my Mary Jane Collection. I love cows too especially the babies!
If you’re writing a book about cows, you of course get out your camera when your daughter, book designer, and recipe tester come to work in milkmaid braids. When Carol saw what we were doing, she piped up, “Hey, last night on The Voice, Christina Aguilera, as well as one of the contestants, had milkmaid braids.”
Here’s a clip of the contestant singing, then Christina (Voice judge), then our own three stars, Meg, Karina, and Saralou. Oh, and for our photo-of-the-day, former farmhand Samantha in milkmaid braids (from summer before last) after helping milk our cows.
Winnie Nielsen says: I love these braids! They are so beautiful and becoming to these young women.
Debbie Fischer says: Beautiful Models and their braids are fabulous!
Beth says: When we were watching The Voice I looked at my husband and said “I really like Christina’s hair”. And look at your girls (and my daughter)! They are beautiful!
Chrissy says: My momma braided my hair like that when I was a tow-headed little girl. She got the idea from two sweet, fiftyish, sisters that wore their graying, long hair in milk-maid braids. I have always been partial to the style.
Winnie Nielsen says: This is so perfect it almost doesn’t seem real! Wow, I have seen these fungi in stories of fairy woodlands but never have I seen a real photo of them. So beautiful!
Beautiful and sooooo very poisonous! We have many of them growing under a huge pine tree at my farm. They get as big as dinner plates. And one bite can kill you, honestly. It is the Amanita muscaria mushroom aka fly agaric , which is highly toxic and also hallucinogenic. In small doses it gives the sensation of flying and supposedly was used by witches for that purpose ./ Please never touch or handle them ! We mow them down as soon as they break soil, so no wildlife or the neighbor’s dog eats it. Just wanted to warn all those at MJF blog.
MaryJane says: Thanks Lisa!!! Everyone beware. These are only good for a photo!!!
Winnie Nielsen says: I love this covered bridge! The wooden details are so charming.
Sharon D. says: Winnie took the words right out of my mouth 🙂 Thank you for the beautiful photos Mary Jane!
Winnie Nielsen says: So beautiful! Idaho is just one of the most scenic states in our nation!!
Debbie Fischer says: Winnie is so right, Idaho is so very beautiful. I hope one day to return as I have not been there since 2007. Maybe next time I will be able to visit the farm and Mary Jane.
Hugs,
Debbie
Winnie Nielsen says: I am assuming that these photos are from your farm? Just breathtaking vistas! What joy you must feel when you look out your windows and see such beauty in all directions!!
MaryJane says: Karina snapped these photos toward the end of the day last week. We were buried in design work–magazine, book, photos, when we all looked up at about the same time and said, “Sunset!” Meggie called from her upstairs office to make sure someone had gone out with a camera.
Debbie Fischer says: Beautiful and so peaceful looking.
Karlyne says: We had the gorgeous sunset sky last night, but not the vista you have!
Terry Steinmetz says: Ahh, sunsets! I always take time to watch them. I am amazed at their beauties.:-)
Daniele says: Thank you for the beauty!
jenny says: Oh how pretty!
Winnie Nielsen says: These cows have the most beautiful eye lashes!!
Mary Jane Grellner says: LOVE this photo of the cow’s eye…it says so much about love and our relationship with animals.
Now that you’ve read my book, Glamping with MaryJane, you need to find a fabulous place to get your campin’ glam on, right?
We’re back for our 15th and final day of where to glamp in 2013, or well, 2014.
In some parts of the country,
where we’re already getting a taste of the season’s first snow …
Photo courtesy of George Tuli via Wikimedia Commons
we’re bidding adieu to the glamping season until next spring.
Photo courtesy of Besopha via Wikimedia Commons
But in the heartland, there’s still time to sneak in one last trip
(or, heck, maybe TWO if you’re a glamper with gusto!),
and I have the perfect destination:
Hoot Owl Hill.
Sounds like a hoot, doesn’t it?
Well, gather up a gaggle of girlfriends and head on out to the golden hill country of Paola, Kansas, because Hoot Owl Hill is gussied up and ready for glampers.
Photo courtesy of Hoot Owl Hill
“Imagine arriving at your campsite under the stars, entering your spacious bell tent set up with a comfy bed complete with linens and cozy quilts, a couple of chairs, some soft lighting enhancing the beautiful color of the tent,” invite Hoot Owl hosts Brenda and Steve Wrischnik. “Someone has already built a fire for you, and per your request, prepared a delicious garden-fresh meal. You spend the night under the stars, surrounded by the sounds of nature.”
Photo courtesy of Hoot Owl Hill
While you’re “on the hill,” you can also sign-up for a variety of classes that run throughout the year, including yoga, cooking, gardening, and crafting. Coming up in November, the folks at Hoot Owl Hill are offering The Heart Intelligence Code with Cheryl Wilken (November 10) and Papa Hoot’s Special Cracker Cooking Class (November 16).
Winnie Nielsen says: This looks like a Girl’s Weekend blast!! I would like to take the cooking class as I bet it has lots of interesting historical tidbits which would be fun to know!!
Karlyne says: Oh, my!
Winnie Nielsen says: Another hard working barn that helped feed a family, shelter the herd, and signify the place was where love and hard work reigned.
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
So pretty. I am imagining the fields are down for a long winter’s nap.
Seriously impressive view!