Author Archives: maryjane

Author Portrait: maryjane

GIVEAWAY: “Patch Abilities, Dancin’ in the Rain”

Posted on February 28, 2016 by maryjane

WINNER SELECTED, 4/17/16
 And our winner is  … Sandra Winkles (see winners’ post here).

For a chance to win a free mini quilt pattern from Patch Abilities, tell me your favorite stitching pastime in the comments below. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner sometime mid-April.

patchabilities

Find out more about Patch Abilities mini quilts in the April/May issue of MaryJanesFarm.

Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways. If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.

Author Portrait: maryjane

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 27, 2016 by maryjane

farm-romance_7263

Author Portrait: maryjane

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 25, 2016 by maryjane

I have probably 40 birdhouses around the farm made using farm finds. During the summer, they almost always have a family of birds living in them.

Author Portrait: maryjane

birds on a wire

Posted on February 25, 2016 by maryjane

Sure, birds make music. Tweedle-lee-dee-dee, tweedle-lee-dee-dee …

Photo by Andy Morffew via Flickr

But Brazilian composer Jarbas Agnelli discovered a unique melody orchestrated by birds (and it has nothing to do with their songs). “Reading the newspaper one morning, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires,” Agnelli said. There were, he noted, five wires—the numbers of lines in a musical score. “I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.” This was the rhapsodic result:

“I just erased the birds for effect at the end, but didn’t change their positions at all. What would be the point?” Leave it to nature to compose such sweet sounds. If you love this, listen to music that manifests from the rings of trees.

Author Portrait: maryjane

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 23, 2016 by maryjane

This particular B&B unit at my farm is what we refer to as “Tent 4.” If you walk 20 feet up a steep incline behind it, you find yourself on top of the world with a view that lasts forever, extending all the way to the Seven Devil Mountains.

farm-romance_9658

Author Portrait: maryjane

Winner!!! Project F.A.R.M. Giveaway: Clothespin Queen

Posted on February 23, 2016 by maryjane

The winner of my “Project F.A.R.M.: Clothespin Queen” giveaway is: Brenda Wheeler, who said:

“That bag is as cute as can be! A little trick I learned to keep blue jeans from fading so fast is to hang them wrong side out. Also, I to undo the button and zipper. It doesn’t take so long for the placket around the zipper to dry and it also lets air around the pockets. Another thing I do is to only put the clothespin on socks from the top and through only one layer of fabric. I have found that thick work socks dry faster and it doesn’t seem to stretch the tops. I have been hanging my clothes out for at least 43 years now. Love the smell, and they last so much longer. Thanks for all the previous tips, ladies.”

Read the original post for the GIVEAWAY (thank you to the 69 women who shared their favorite laundry tips).

Author Portrait: maryjane

GIVEAWAY: “Dancin’ in the Rain, Soil Sisters”

Posted on February 23, 2016 by maryjane

WINNERS SELECTED, 4/17/16
 And our winners are … Michelle, Kellie Eggers, Catherine Harris, Annette, Phyllis Mogensen Kochert, Alicia Winkler, Terry Steinmetz, Denise, Becka Gagne, and Laurie Scott (see winners’ post here).

For a chance to win a free copy of Lisa Kivirist’s new book, Soil Sisters: a Toolkit for Women Farmers (we have 10 of these wonderful books to give away!), tell me something you do that makes you a farmgirl in the comments below. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner sometime mid-April.

Find out more about Lisa’s book in the April/May issue of MaryJanesFarm. Launch your farm dream, soil sister!

Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways. If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.

Author Portrait: maryjane

GIVEAWAY: “Dancin’ in the Rain, Soil Sisters”

Posted on February 22, 2016 by maryjane

WINNERS SELECTED, 4/17/16
 And our winners are … Michelle, Kellie Eggers, Catherine Harris, Annette, Phyllis Mogensen Kochert, Alicia Winkler, Terry Steinmetz, Denise, Becka Gagne, and Laurie Scott (see winners’ post here).

For a chance to win a free copy of Lisa Kivirist’s new book, Soil Sisters: a Toolkit for Women Farmers (we have 10 of these wonderful books to give away!), tell me something you do that makes you a farmgirl in the comments below. I’ll toss your name into a hat and draw a lucky winner sometime mid-April.

Find out more about Lisa’s book in the April/May issue of MaryJanesFarm. Launch your farm dream, soil sister!

Stay tuned for more magazine-related giveaways. If you’re not yet a subscriber to my magazine, MaryJanesFarm, subscribe here for $19.95/year.

Author Portrait: maryjane

photo-of-the-day

Posted on February 21, 2016 by maryjane

My adorable Lacy Lou (due to calve in August) wants you to know there’s only 27 days until spring.

Farm-Romance_6093

Author Portrait: maryjane

Hear Ye!

Posted on February 21, 2016 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 … Erin McBride!!!

Erin McBride (Notathreatinsight, #3762) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Know Your Roots Merit Badge!

“I’ve been working on putting together a family tree, so I talked with my grandma a couple years ago about this. She helped me with some information about her grandparents and where they came from originally (Poland and Austria). I also have some pictures of her side of the family that are pretty old, and she helped me with some of the names of relatives in those pictures.

The family tree is an ongoing project that I’m only still in the planning stages of. Some of the pictures I have are hanging in my upstairs hallway. One is of my great-grandmother in her late teens or early 20s. Another is a wedding picture of my great-great-grandparents. The picture here is one that I have on a bookcase in my living room of my grandma, the one that I discussed family history with. I’m not sure where this picture was taken, but probably on a beach in Chicago, since she lived in Chicago all her life.”

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