Author Archives: maryjane

Pig Island

Posted on July 21, 2013 by maryjane

If you have a family pig out in the pen,

you may want to cover her ears.

Photo by Alan Fryer via Wikimedia Commons

Here’s the problem:

Should farm pigs catch wind of the news I’m about to tell you,

the mud wallows of America won’t seem so satisfying anymore.

Photo by Mark Peters via Wikimedia Commons

And don’t put it past your pastoral piggy

to swim for fairer shores …

Photo by Stanley Marsh 3 via Wikimedia Commons

Welcome to Pig Island.

Photo by cdorobek via Wikipedia

Officially, this tropical paradise in the Bahamas is known as Big Major Cay Island, but in its residents’ native tongue, it sounds more like,

“Oink, oink, snuffle, snort.”

Yup, the island is populated by pigs.

Photo bycdorobek via News.com.au

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photo-of-the-day

Posted on July 20, 2013 by maryjane

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Celebrating 25 years!

Posted on July 20, 2013 by maryjane

Calling all friends near Oakesdale, Washington.

Join us in celebrating Old Mill Days today in Oakesdale. This is the 25-year celebration for Old Mill Days and a whopping 125 years that Oakesdale has been on the map.

It’s sure to be a hootin’, hollerin’, all around good time!

Castle house of Oakesdale; Courtesy of Washington State Library; Whitman Country Heritage, 1920s

Bert Belles in the cold storage area of his market, cutting meat for sale. Courtesy of Washington State Library; Whitman Country Heritage; 1937

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Cleopatra

Posted on July 20, 2013 by maryjane

How exotic …

I just learned that I am a distant relative of the great Cleopatra herself.

Cleopatra by John William Waterhouse, 1888, via Wikimedia Commons

Honest!

Do you want to know something else?

You are, too.

How do I know this?

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photo-of-the-day

Posted on July 19, 2013 by maryjane

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Hear Ye!

Posted on July 19, 2013 by maryjane

Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Missy Durant!!!

Missy Durant (OrganiGal, #5271) has received a certificate of achievement in Going Green for earning a Beginner & Intermediate Level Going Green Merit Badge! She did this using a copy of MaryJanesFarm “Nature Knows Best” special issue, no less!

Here’s what Missy did…

“I’ve been planning on doing this for a long time and I finally did it! I went through my entire cleaning cabinet and tossed everything that contains harmful ingredients and replaced them with safer products that aren’t harmful to the environment. As for the green journal, I’ve been doing this for a while now! I clip articles and store them in a black & white journal that is home for green ideas only. It gives me a focus and is handy for when I’m lost on what to do next.

To make my own laundry soap, I used MaryJanesFarm magazine, “Nature Knows Best” special issue, page 58, titled “Carol’s Herbal Liquid Laundry Liquid.” I purchased soap nuts from a seller on Etsy and followed the directions. I also made the “Herbal Dryer Sachets” on page 60 with some dried lavender I bought at my local Farmers’ Market.

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photo-of-the-day

Posted on July 18, 2013 by maryjane

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Outpost Gadgetry

Posted on July 18, 2013 by maryjane

Intrepid outdoorswomen, gather ’round!

I’d like you to meet …

Earl.

Photo courtesy of Meetearl.com

That’s right, Earl is a gadget,

not a guy.

(Really—who needs a guy anyway?)

Anyway …

Earl promises to be a remarkably handy fellow to have around. I can imagine when I lived year-round, 30 miles beyond the end of a dirt road, deep in the Idaho wilderness, how handy-dandy getting to know a guy like Earl would have been.

He … okay, it … is a brand spankin’ new off-the-grid gadget that could save your life.

More rugged and durable than any smartphone (and most guys), this little machine boasts:

a GPS to give you precise readings of your location, direction, and elevation
weather sensors to accurately forecast changing conditions in the most remote locations
a transceiver that connects to analog and digital radio frequencies up to 20 miles away
a glove-friendly infrared touchscreen with 3D joypad and gyroscope
a laminated solar panel that provides up to 20 hours of battery and charges in 5 hours with direct sunlight
a water-/dust-/shock-/mud-proof design

Oh, yeah.

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You’ve Got Mail!

Posted on July 18, 2013 by maryjane

How cute is this invitation I received?

Dear MaryJane,

Each year, to celebrate the last day of school and the beginning of summer, my daughters and I host a “Farmgirls” party for the girls at our Christian school, the Oaks (sister school to Logos, in Moscow).

Because you inspire us, we would like to invite you! We share an afternoon of crafts (homemade potpourri) and mingle with farm animals. We have a baby pig ready to make her debut.

Thanks for being a role model for girls to get back to nature and celebrate being a girl.

-Jackie Etter
Spokane Valley, Washington

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