Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … April Choate!!!

When a Farmgirl Sisterhood member earns a certificate of achievement in the Farmgirl Legends category, it is a really big deal. That means that this Sister has taken on a particularly monumental farmgirl task and met the challenge head on.

April has earned a certificate of achievement, and the honorary title of – Chapter Guru. The requirements for earning this distinction takes a lot of planning and work. Here is how it is listed:

• A Chapter Guru is a Farmgirl Sisterhood member who shares her expertise on at least three subjects at chapter meetings. She must create a lesson plan and projects for her Sisters to engage in to ensure her knowledge has been successfully conveyed. The Guru can teach projects that fulfill requirements for Merit Badges or create a lesson of her own devising.

So what does April do?

Over the last 3 years April has hosted TEN meetings. That’s more than 3 times the effort required and deserves a standing round of applause! Here’s the full report…

“Presentation Number 1
The second meeting that I held after the startup of River Valley Farmgirls in 2010 was on Square Foot Gardening. I could hardly believe the attendance! There were 13 of us in my small living room. I took them through the basics of what Square Foot Gardening was using Mel Bartholomew’s book as my guide. I had a handout for them to write notes on and everyone had a bazillion questions. It was a super successful and fun evening of learning about the ins and outs of Square Foot Gardening. From that one meeting, 7 of the ladies started their own Square Foot Garden in their backyards and still have them today!

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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!)”

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!

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

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.

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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!”

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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!

Continue reading →

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).