If you’re writing a book about cows, you of course get out your camera when your daughter, book designer, and recipe tester come to work in milkmaid braids. When Carol saw what we were doing, she piped up, “Hey, last night on The Voice, Christina Aguilera, as well as one of the contestants, had milkmaid braids.”
Here’s a clip of the contestant singing, then Christina (Voice judge), then our own three stars, Meg, Karina, and Saralou. Oh, and for our photo-of-the-day, former farmhand Samantha in milkmaid braids (from summer before last) after helping milk our cows.
The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,558 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—7,822 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 Garden Gate/Horse Dreams Intermediate Level Merit Badge, I delved into and researched one of my favorite animals: horses.
I must admit, my knowledge of horses didn’t run deep up to this particular point. Oh, I could categorize them, all right:
Pinkie Pie
Rainbow Dash
Applejack
Fluttershy
Twilight Twinkle
Rosedust
Sea Shimmer
etc.
But … turns out there are more to horses than the oh-so-majestic My Little Pony. Hey, gotta cut this farmgirl newbie some slack: I spent half my life in a toy store, you know.
Anyway, I lugged home a stack of library books the size of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, each and every one regaling the merits of equestrians and their noble steeds. To earn my Intermediate Level Badge, I only had to pick one.
Just one.
But that’s like picking your favorite child! (Which I totally was, right, Mom?)
I had to narrow down my choices, but how? While I was pondering over the intimidating list of my new four-legged friends, I dribbled a small bit of yellow mustard from my pita sandwich on the image of a golden Palomino, effectively highlighting it, you could say. I took it as a sign.
The Palomino would be the source of all my horse knowledge from here on out. I polished off my pita, took a napkin to the mustard-hued page, and began to learn about everyone’s favorite blonde, the grand and splendid and delightfully pretty Palomino.
Incidentally, Applejack, I do believe, was a Palomino. She was a good friend; remind me to ring her up soon. She’ll be impressed with all my Palomino facts.
Like:
No one knows for sure how old the Palomino color is, or where it originated from, but it’s mostly believed Queen Isabella of Spain is responsible for bringing them to America since they were her personal favorites. Thanks, Izzy!
Pegasus, the winged horse from Greek mythology, was a Palomino.
So was Mr. Ed (of course, of course).
So was Mr. Rogers’ horse, Trigger (and Trigger, Jr.).
In order to be registered on the Palomino Horse Breeders of America list, your Palomino must be as close as possible to the “color of a newly minted U.S. coin” and have a white or silver mane and tail. No brunettes or strawberry blondes, I’m afraid.
A Palomino is not a breed, it’s a color. Palominos can be many different breeds, actually: American Quarter Horses, Arabians, Morgans, Missouri Fox Trotters, Thoroughbreds, Tennessee Walking Horses, Morabs, Quarabs, Paint Horses, and even some solid-colored Appaloosas (that one surprised me, I confess). Applejack was a Hasbro. Haha! Get it?
Sorry. Back to research.
I fell in love with the adorable and spunky Palomino.
This badge did nothing for the little girl inside me who really, really, REALLY wants a pony.
I can see me now … hair blowing in the breeze as I ride through the meadow on the back of my Palomino … I shall name her Buttercup.
We’ll find one another someday. You can’t stop destiny. In the meantime, I’ll see if I can find Applejack’s phone number.
I went looking for a word I’ve shared here before. A word I can say when my lips are pursed (it’s been one of those days), when I have that LOOK on my face; when my leg is being pulled or my arm twisted.
Piffle.
For those of you who think this is just nonsense, you couldn’t be more right. Piffle as a noun is trivial nonsense. As a verb it means to talk or act in a trivial, inept, or ineffective way. Piffled and piffling are acceptable variations.
Piffle is not only a word to know and to write, it’s also good to SAY. Put your nose slightly in the air and say it with me. Piffle.
“The chickens are hungry? Piffle! They’ve been scratching in the wheat field all morning.”
When speaking to recalcitrant teenagers one could say, “Stop piffling; the cow will not milk itself.”
Piffle is a ton-of-fun to say and is the reason TVs get turned off and politicians get tuned out.
I encourage you to know your piffle, to call out, Piffle! and share your piffle with me if you’d care to. Let me know what you find to be … piffle!
Ready to rock the radish?
Photo by thebittenword.com via Wikimedia Commons
Well, okay, maybe I’m not quite hip enough to make that question work,
but the Gery Girls sure are.
This dynamic and darling duo of sisters Lillian (10) and Lyla (7) is “rocking” fruits and veggies from the orchard to the garden in their own snappy CDs.
Under the guitar-picking guidance of their dad, Nashville musician Douglas Gery, the Girls are out to get other kids groovin’ to good food by making get-up-and-dance music.
So, don’t be shy … “Root for the Radish!”
Or, grab a potato sack and get ready to hop your heart out …
Whew! These gals will get your blood pumping.
The Gery Girls also have a Christmas CD that will tickle kids’ funny bones with tunes like “Santa’s Getting Buff.”
Listen to more songs and order CDs (all 4 for $15) at www.gerygirls.com.
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.
