I’m calling you out!!!! On a roll … call, here’s where you can read about the amazing accomplishments of Sisters who earn Merit Badges. “Hear YE!”
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Sarah Hall!!!
Sarah Hall has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Horse Dreams Merit Badge!
“I live in an area where horses are not hard to find. My husband and I took a bike ride a few miles from our house and looked at the fields of beautiful horses. I really liked the American Painted Horses and swooned over all of the miniature horses!
I scheduled an hour-long ride near Rocky Mountain National Park and brought a friend along with me.
This truly turned out great! My first and only experience with a horse prior to this was at summer camp when I was a child. The horse stepped on my foot, crushing it, and I had many months of recovery with added complications due to my type I diabetes. I was traumatized by the experience but have always still admired horses (from afar). When I saw this badge, I knew that it was time for me to try to get over my fear of being too close to them (I do know that what happened to me as a kid was due to my inexperience and not the horse, but I was fearful none the less).
I was very nervous being near the horse and getting on it, but once I was in the saddle, my fear went away. The horse I rode was gentle and the ride was amazing (AND she was an American Paint Horse by chance). I really had the time of my life and would love the opportunity to go again! (I am in the white shirt with the huge smile on my face!)”
Winnie Nielsen says: Congratulations Sarah! What a great summer badge to work on. I love the mountain background in the photo with you on the American Paint Horse.
Terry Steinmetz says: Awesome, Sarah! I’m so glad this experience was better than your other one!
Laurie Dimino says: You look like a natural Sarah! Congratulations on getting into the saddle! Horses are amazing aren’t they?
You sure do look right at home!
Elizabeth says: That is awesome Sarah! The horse you’re riding looks beautiful & you look so happy. Was brave of you to give horseback riding another try & I’m happy to see it turned out nicely:-)
Karlyne says: I’m so glad you gave it another try! I got smooshed on as a kid, too, but I was lucky – it was only a Welsh pony, and he more or less slid down my foot and stayed there placidly looking at me with what I swear was a twinkle in his eyes, until I finally convinced him to move off. The dirt was soft or I might still be there to this day…
Sarah says: Thanks so much! It really was a wonderful experience and has totally changed the way that I look at horses. I am so grateful that it went the way that it did and I can’t wait to have another opportunity to ride. 🙂
Brian gave me certificates to sign for Sisterhood membership renewals recently and I was moved to tears when I realized we have Sisters who’ve been with us seven years. S-e-v-e-n years.
Noelle Miller #111, Vicki Meeds #120, Rene Groom #185, Mary Setzer #378, and Samantha Douglas #449, we would love to send you a set of our MaryJane’s Home organic bed sheets as a token of our deepest appreciation (not to mention our intense need to want to pamper you).
Please email Brian your bed size and color preference (white, blue, green, yellow) and they’re on their way, brianogle@maryjanesfarm.org.
Coming up on year seven in one more year are 27!!!!!!!! Sisters! I love you!
Elizabeth says: Congratulations ladies. Great idea Brian! It’s the personal touches MaryJane puts on everything that make your books~magazine~site so special.
Winnie Nielsen says: We love you, Mary Jane! The Sisterhood and the Connection have been great sources of learning, friendships, and connecting for me and all of us! Who would have guessed there were so many of us “closet Farmgirls” who just needed someone to say ; Farmgirl is a matter of heart. That is the only prerequisite. Sign me up!! It gave me the permission to start a collection of aprons to wear everyday and embark on some badges for fun and self study. Plus, I have made friends that are the unexpected treasures of the whole process. Priceless!
Laurie Dimino says: Congratulations Ladies! Lucky gals, to be Blessed to be a farmgirl sister for 7 years. Finding Mary Jane’s Farm, the sisterhood, and all the good that goes along with it, has been such a wonderful blessing to me. It has changed my life for the better, introduced me to so many great ideas, and positively affected my outlook on everything I do on a daily basis. Of course the amazing friendships I have made and the warm and caring sisters whom I have been fortunate enough to meet in person are priceless!
So THANK YOU Mary Jane, for bringing us together, and sprinkling our lives with happiness!
Thank You So much!!! It has been seven years of learning from the most amazing SISTERS a girl could ask for. Here is to seven more….
Mary Setzer says: Oh my goodness!! Thank you so much! The easy part is being a Sister! The hard part will be choosing which color to receive! 🙂 Thank you for seven years of laughter, love, and inspiration!
Vicki Meeds says: Wow! This is a great gift! I agree with Rene, it has been a great seven years and I’m still loving it!
Thanks MaryJane and Brian!
Noelle Miller says: What a lovely gift! I still remember finding MJF on the newsstand years ago and thinking, “I love the beauty and idealism with which Mary Jane lives her life– how can I do the same?” More than anything I think you inspire each of us to be a FarmGirl in whatever way we can, where we live. It’s so nice to be appreciated just for enjoying what you have shared with us 🙂 Thanks! Here’s to 7 more years!
The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,205 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—7,043 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …
For this week’s Outpost/Glamping Merit Badge, I steeled myself for an overnight with my favorite triplets. Midge’s kiddos are somewhere between the ages of 6 and 12, respectively. Hey, I’m a single gal: I’m not great with guessing children’s ages! I just know they are old enough to buckle their own seat belts, but not old enough to get a learner’s permit.
Anyway …
Midge needed an overnight sitter, so Yours Truly volunteered. Well, volunteer is a strong word … more like my deer-in-the-headlights look must have masqueraded as a pick-me look. I’d better work on that. But all kidding aside, I was psyched, amped up, phat, chillaxed, you know, to be the cool auntie for a night, plus it was the perfect opportunity to earn another badge! Which one, you might ask?
The ever-popular Glamping one.
Oh. Yes. Indeedy.
Though I’d heard of glamping, collected a Pinterest wall of glamping ideas, have friends who have done it, and daydreamed of all it entailed, I still hadn’t left my house.
My comfy, comfy house.
With that comfy, comfy bathroom.
Yes, I’m a wimp. A pathetic excuse for a farmgirl. I’ve said it.
But no more! I was going glamping. Even if it was just in the backyard.
Close to that comfy, comfy bathroom.
Don’t fret, chickadees, I don’t plan to cheat.
Unless completely necessary.
Elizabeth says: Hopefully the weather was perfect for your camp~over. The moon was said to be super bright & extra big last weekend & just maybe you & the girls got to see lightning bugs (one of my favorite things about being outdoors as night falls).
My first time camping it rained all night; our tent was…inadequate; rain water seemed to gush inside our tent & over us; our sleeping bags got soaked & so did we. It was chilly & to be honest a little bit creepy. And not one lightning bug was spotted all weekend long. But the weekend wasn’t a total washout as I won 1st prize for catching the biggest fish from the well stocked campsite pond (yep, we fished in the rain). My 1st prize choices were a new beach towel or a roll of 35mm film. And when the rain stooped & the sun peeked out we took a horseback ride through a long winding trail (my 1st time on a horse). I can still remember the horses name…& being reprimanded by our guide for lagging way behind because I allowed the horse to stop whenever it wanted & eat the surrounding vegetation until its giant heart was completely content & he was ready to stroll once more:-)
Winnie Nielsen says: I love how this Farmgirl just let the inspiration flow for a true glamping experience with the twins! I bet it will be a memory that none of them ever forget. One memorable night under the stars inspired by MJF glampers. Who knows what that one experience will create within the hearts and minds of those 3 children? I predict there is a Farmgirl growing inside one of them. Who knows, one of them might be buying one of the glamped up trailers from one of us older Farmgirls who have to downsize in our 70s!! Hahaha!! The beat goes on.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Sarah Hall!
Sarah Hall (mrssarahhall, #5223) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Birds Merit Badge!
“I spent a day researching birds native to my area and selected several I would like to see. I made a wish list that I hope I can attach here with photos of the birds I would like to see and some of the information I learned about them through my research.
I really enjoyed learning about the birds. I didn’t realize that a lot of birds look different while they are mating. I particularly enjoyed reading about the sage grouse mating rituals, called strutting. I bet this is where the term “Strutting one’s stuff” came from! Owls are my favorite animal and it was challenging for me to not make an entire wish list of owls, of course I had to include one!”
Winnie Nielsen says: We have several species of Owls that live here in the city. There is a Barn Owl who lives about somewhere and when he sits in the tree in the early morning, he is surrounded by a swirl of Bluejays protesting his presence. His big sweet face looks so innocent but that is not a descriptor the other birds would use!! When he tires of the heckling , he just flies away on that amazing wing span!
Winnie Nielsen says: Oh my! Stunning!
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Lisa Seaman!
Lisa Seaman (Red Dog, #5107) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Expert Level Aprons Merit Badge!
I love the design of the apron, and bonus points for using my Glamping fabric!
Laurie DImino says: Very cute idea to have the bib detachable like that! And, I agree that Mary Jane’s glamping fabric just makes the whole thing complete!
Nice work Lisa.
Hugs,
Laurie
Winnie Nielsen says: Cute, cute, cute! The reds make it so cheerful and summery. I also love the detail of a removable bib. That is very clever and unique. Lisa, you did a great job on the design and layout. Of course, the glamping fabric makes it Farmgirl perfect!
Lisa says: Thanks for the nice comments. It was really fun to make. Loved working with the glamping fabric.
Karlyne says: Really lovely!
Chicken Feather Earrings!!!! They’re the latest fashion statement. And now I have a pair, compliments of Sandi O’Connor, Travelin’ Sister #3956, made by her daughter, Emily Kate, of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Check out her Etsy shop, homegrowntrades. My pair came with a list of the “lovingly collected, never plucked” feathers from her flock of 26 chickens (my gift perfectly complete with the hens’ names who helped make the earrings—Olive, Grettle, Chloe, and Lady).
Laurie Dimino says: What a great idea, and so PRETTY too!
Have fun showing them off!
Winnie Nielsen says: These are so cute!!! I especially love the tag that goes along with them.
The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,205 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—7,043 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …
For this week’s Outpost/Knotty Farmgirl Merit Badge, I had an ulterior motive. You see, if you give a farmgirl a tree, then she’s gonna take notice of the branches, and if she takes notice of the branches, she’s gonna get the urge to swing, feel the breeze on her face, kick her bare feet up into the air, and lean back to let her hair tickle the grass below.
It’s true.
After all …
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside—
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown—
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!
Robert Lewis Stevenson (I like to affectionately call him Bobby) and I have a lot in common.
Anyway, before I could get my swing on and kick up my farmgirl boots, I had to learn a few things. Like, you know, safety precautions. Like, how to tie knots. Not just shoelaces, scarves, and curly-ribbon-bedecked packages, but real knots. This was going to involve
a) another Internet tutorial
or
b) a bored sailor
Being fresh out of sailors, I taught myself with a tutorial and several lengths of twine. I practiced and practiced until my practicer was sore! Not sore so much as tied up in knots. HA! Being extremely adept at friendship-bracelet-making back in the day, I think I picked it up quite quickly. But was my skill good enough to test my weight with a tree branch and a cedar board?
We shall see.
I gathered my supplies for my swing:
I sanded and drilled and measured and marked. I threaded and tied (here is where my knot-making expertise came to fruition). I secured and tossed and shimmied (the rope, sillies, not me)! I pulled and cut.
And then?
Well, then of course, I swang. Swung? Swinged? I did some swinging. And it was every bit as lovely as I remembered it to be. I leaned and pumped and admired the view over my neighbor’s garage. I kicked and felt the grass tickle my feet. I tipped over backwards for that indescribable head rush. I even did a fancy dismount (a triple axel with a half twist) and stuck the landing.
It was as good as I knew it would be.
Except I don’t remember my tushie hurting so much afterward.
Next up? Weatherproof pillow.
Winnie Nielsen says: I remember doing a knot badge in Girl Scouts so that we could make latrines and table structures in a primitive camping expedition. Today, I can’t remember a single knot so maybe I should consider re-learning them again. One never knows when you might need to know some fancy knot to save the day!
Karlyne says: Loved the picture, and, of course! the article! Might have to go locate a tree…
Terry Steinmetz says: I L-O-V-E to swing as well! Learning knots is lots of fun, too. Guess I’ll have to start on this merit badge soon.
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.
Those boots are adorable!
MJ, love this photo… you are such a clever farmgirl! 🙂
You must be on edge waiting for your new grand to arrive!
Hugs! Deb
Any day now and Ashley is still determined to show up in her attempt to get us ahead on recipes over under Growing Jane. Shes’ so very awesome! Can’t wait to meet Alina Kathleen.
What brand are those boots?
I bought mine about 4 years ago when they first started making them. They’re handmade. I just checked and they still exist. You wouldn’t think it but they are light as a feather and so VERY comfortable. I wear them often when I spend the day in airports and never have sore feet from walking after. Great arch support.
http://no6store.com/no6-clog-boots/leather.html