A couple of times when I’ve been knee-deep in a cookbook project, I’ve joked that maybe it would just be easier if we were all breatharians, capable of surviving on air alone. Well, I’ve found just that … in a plant. A plant that doesn’t need soil to grow, just air, and a quick dip in water every two weeks. Meet T. stricta ‘Hardleaf’ and T. aeranthos—only two of many varieties available, brought to market by three guys in Torrance, California.
The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,882 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,641 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 Farm Kitchen/Forage for Food Merit Badge, I started paying attention to my feet. That’s right, my need-a-pedi-stat feet, in my new Spring sandals. Why, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Because up until now, I have been committing plant-icide. And not just on weeds, no, no! I’ve been guilty as charged for the heinous murders of FOOD.
Yes, food. Now, color me innocent (a violet or pale pink, I believe) but I really had no idea how many plants can be nibbled, munched, cooked, and snacked upon. In fact – get this – it’s easier and smarter to learn which plants cannot be eaten, and go from there. When I started out earning this badge, I had my handy-dandy sticky note/memo pad at the ready. I thought that would be appropriate and perfect for my short list of a handful of edible plants. Wrong. Turns out I needed page after page of full size paper to keep a running tally.
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … CJ Armstrong!
CJ Armstrong (ceejay48, #665) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning an Expert Level Glamping Merit Badge!
“My daughter and I call ourselves the “4871 Glamping Farmgirls” and have taken our glamping setup on the road more than once. Our locations in 2012 were:
-Black Canyon City, Arizona, in March
-Priest Gulch, Colorado, in July
-Flagstaff, Arizona, in September
Each time, we set up a 10×10 EZ-UP canopy and glamped it with all kinds of pretties. We also set up a nice tent with a screened porch and glamped it as well, including lace all along the edge of the rain fly, around the edge of the porch opening, etc. Continue reading
Today’s NEWS from Oregon: 2 Teen Girls Save Dad By Lifting 3,000 Pound Tractor Off His Chest
Jeff Smith, at home recovering from a broken wrist and compression injuries, was saved by his 14-year old daughter, Haylee, and 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, and their amazing feat of strength. Jeff was pushing his tractor against a stump when his foot slipped off the clutch. The 1949 Ferguson tractor walked up the stump and flipped over backwards, crushing him beneath the steering wheel. “We heard him yelling. When we got there, his face was white, his eyes blood red, and he couldn’t breath.” said Haylee. “So we each grabbed an axle, counted to three, and lifted.” Jeff was able to get one precious breath of air. They lifted again. He was able to scoot over enough for his lungs to fill but his arm was still pinned. One of the girls went for help while one of the girls stayed with him, continuing to dig beneath him with her hands so he could continue to breath.
Go super-human-strength can-do will-do FARMGIRLS!!!!!!!!
CJ Armstrong, our Farmgirl of the Year 2010, is stitching and selling glamper-ific aprons using my newly launched Glamping fabric collection. You can bet I’ll be wearing one when I’m glamping this summer in my ’68 Airstream, Lily. With this giveaway, you can get your glamp on, too! Picture yourself in one of these. Now, picture your perfect trailer or glammed-up tent.
CJ sells these lovelies on her blog, Fresh Farm Aprons. You can also catch up with her on her business page on Facebook.
Here are some closeups of my “girls” that you see on the fabric above. Yes, they each come with their own personalities and names.
Sunny Brook—high maintenance hits the road
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.
