The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,130 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,150 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life…
For this week’s Out There Kids/Whistle While You Work Beginner Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, I took little Piper by the hand and off we went to frolic merrily in the field behind my house.
When was the last time you frolicked, my peeps? A day, a week, a year, or ten years? I heartily recommend a little frolicking at least once a month. It’s good for the soul, the legs, and you can soak up some Vitamin D. It’s a win-win, that frolicking.
Woman in a Meadow by Grace Hudson via Wikimedia Commons
Anyway, where was I? Right: in a field with an exuberant small fry. We weren’t here just for the pasture time, no, we were here for something serious. Something badge earning. Something I call Grass Whistling.
Never heard of it? Well, I’m hardly surprised, you anti-frolicker, you.
The glorious squawk of a grass whistle is one of the most giggle-icious sounds you’ll ever hear in the great outdoors, and anyone who can pick a blade of grass can. do. it.
Here’s how:
I know, I had you at ‘giggle-icious,’ am I right?
We got to honking so loudly, a flock of geese stopped by and invited us to Canada. Of course we had to decline; we were having too much fun.
photo by Laslovarga via Wikimedia Commons
It took some practice, of course, and Piper got the hang of it before I did, naturally, but we became so good we thought about starting our own two-person band. We already had Emmaline, the Bovine Princess, thoughtfully staring at us as she chewed her cud, so we were pretty sure we could drum up a respectable audience (even if half of them were barnyard animals and honking fowl).
Not only is grass whistling good for keeping you young at heart and on tune, but it’s a handy-dandy trick to know at boring parties, or when you’re waiting for your little brother to end his soccer match, or just when Mom tells you to go outside and play and your bike tire is flat. It’ll gain you friends and influence people. Okay, maybe that last one was a bit of an exaggeration, but still. It’s a life skill, chickadees.
Quite frankly, it’s right up there with frolicking.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Cyrie Wilson
Cyrie Wilson (Pixiedustdevil, #6941) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Expert Level Tatting Merit Badge!
“First I made a bunch of snowflakes from 2 different patterns.
A friend of mine commented on my tatting; she knew how to tat with a shuttle, but not a needle. She made the suggestion that I teach a basic tatting class.
To make a long story short, an announcement was made that I would be teaching needle tatting. Ten people signed up. I made copies of the instructions and wrote an easy pattern for them to learn.
In the end, 6 people showed up (those who couldn’t made appointments), and the class lasted 4 hours!
It was difficult to teach a class, but luckily, my friend was in it, picked the instructions up quickly, and helped me walk around and help people who were lost. I didn’t have time to take pictures.
They requested that I teach 2 more classes on how to tat a snowflake and starch the snowflakes. I haven’t set a date yet.”
‘Tis the season for gathering firewood …
Tallman, who lives with his wife near the small town of Monarch, was “discovered” by the Great Falls Tribune a few years ago and featured in this snowy snippet:
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist the owlish humor.)
Gary, who was 82 in the video, told the newspaper, “I started building them just because I enjoyed doing it—and to take a picture and send it off to the grandkids. It surprised me people are fascinated by it.”
His wife, Marilyn, was not so surprised, saying, “Everybody doesn’t notice how many tones in the wood there are. He sees beauty in all kinds of things. We’ve always admired our woodpile. We both like watching for what’s interesting in the earth. And an awful lot is.”
Well said.
According to Gary, his woodpile mosaics take around 20 hours to complete (after he sketches his design and sorts the logs by hue). After his work is finished, though, it is soon destined to disappear—much like the ephemeral art of a snowman. When the Tallmans need the wood, they harvest it from the masterpiece. A perfect balance of poetry and practicality.
And, speaking of poetry …
Few of Gary’s firewood fans realize that he is also something of a cowboy poet. He published a book of poetry in 2011 called Montana Paths, which features a photo of one of his wonderful woodpiles, dubbed “Montana Hooter,” on the back cover.
Ready to wield an axe and create your own wooden wonders? Check out my handy tips, techniques, and tool list in my first book, MaryJane’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook.
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.
