A GATHERING we will go~

Image from  Wiltsi Bridge Country Store " New " vintage inspired wire baskets.

It won't be long and our basket will be over flowing  with more eggs than we can handle! I've been collecting our eggs in a bright red bucket for a few years now, but lately I've had my eye on what you might call the " real deal " for collecting eggs properly and safely.

Wire egg baskets were designed in such a way that you can stack many fresh eggs inside with out the worry of breaking them before you get them inside and into your next delicious egg dish. The blue one above is a new model from Lehmans. It mimics antique wire baskets in shape but it has has plastic coating to prevent rusting.

These are primitive wire egg baskets I found at an online antique store.. I rather like these. They are so cute you could collect and store them in one container!

This one is adorable and available through amazon with faux eggs inside for decorative purposes, but I think you could ditch the fake eggs and use it for collecting.  

This fellow is handsome and would make a nice addition to your farmhouse kitchen! You're sure to run across some antique wire egg baskets in your local antique mall, antique stores, and online at Ebay and Etsy too! 

What do you collect your farm fresh eggs in?  

A FLOCK of FARMGIRL friends

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one”

You might be wondering if this blog has gone to seed with all this farmgirl talk lately!? In fact, it's quite the opposite! It's GREAT FUN and so very INSPIRING to meet and greet fellow farm friends and farmgirls in blog land isn't it? But  there's something to be said for  real life " farmgirl connections " too! Oh now, don't go gettin' your feathers ruffled dear bloggin' friends.You know what I mean!

Do you have a flock of farmgirl friends to call your own? The kind of friends who " get " why you LOVE the things you do SO MUCH!
 I'm certain you do... But, just in case you find yourself  in a new town, city or neighborhood yearning to make some new friends or expand your circle of old ones, I'll let you in on a fun way to gather a flock of your own.

Women have been gathering together since the beginning of time for Quilting bee's, sewing circles, book clubs, Garden clubs, knitting groups, crafting parties, food co-ops, investment groups, mommy and me, homeschooling groups, church groups, Red Hat club, Tea Parties, etc. Homesteading groups are on the rise, sprouting up in urban/rural communities everywhere. What we are really doing is planting the seeds of friendship in hopes they'll take root!

 Depending on your interests and phase of  life any of these groups might fit your " friendship needs" at the time. Gathering farmgirl friends is just another excuse  reason to get together with kindred spirits and have fun while you support each other in learning new things and share the tried and true. Besides, who else are you going to talk sour dough starter, baby goats, chicken runs, homemade perfume and yogurt with?

 All you need to do is make a list of your most fun lovin' girlfriends and invite them over for a " catch the farmgirl fever" gathering. If you have a new neighbor or know of someone new to your area include them and ask your guests to invite friends too. I recently held a gathering to introduce my friends and family to all things MaryJanesFarm. Here's how it went! I sent out an email invite well in advance to get my pals all fired up. On party day, I decked out the dining room with MJF books, magazines, sisterhood info, a copy of the monthly cluck ( you get one every month with your annual sisterhood membership) and yummy organic snacks. Everyone brought something to share!

Find out more about why chapters are called the Farmgirl Sisterhood in Mary Jane's book and  here. 

*If you're a member of the Sisterhood you are eligible for earning Merit badges and can earn one for hosting this type of  gathering!

                                                      A basket of Mary Jane goodness!

Yummy treats!

                                                " The GIRL'S getting to know each other "
I put together" farmgirl "goodie bags for each girl as my way of saying thanks for coming!

I filled them with Garden themed note cards, a journal, coupon holder, chapter member info and an extra dose of farmgirl spirit... Just enough to hold them over until our next gathering...


Did you know you can start a farmgirl Chapter of your very own or join one in your area? Go here to learn more.

I'll see you ONLINE  Friday for THE NEXT Farmgirl/ Farm Friend Friendzy!

Until then, here's to FRIENDSHIP!




I'm going to dosado on the Homestead Barn Hop #7   and Farmgirl Friday of course! 

Organize your Pantry~ Farm Style

I try to spend some time each week getting to know my followers and friends better. I know I will always find a new idea and when I do I like to share.

This week,  I was inspired by Caroline's ( of  Boho Farm and Home )  Farm Pantry Make Over! 

She's a clever girl! Using glass jars for storage and chalkboard paint as her labels she gussied up her pantry farm style. I had been thinking along these lines myself and I just needed a visual to get me going! I don't have an open pantry shelf but this idea would translate well in a closed cabinet situation too.

Go visit her blog for more great photos and details. I think you'll be inspired too!

 I'm off to Target for glass storage containers and chalkboard paint!

Thanks for the inspiration Caroline!

Happy organizing everyone!
Deborah Jean

A Warm Winter Day

 Yesterday, the red bird of winter told us us it might be warm enough to go for a long walk along the Cape Cod Canal and he was right!

This is me turning my back on winter!

Refreshing doesn't even begin to describe how great it felt to be outside and NOT freezing! Hurray!

Coming Soon!  Spring blossoms, herb gardens, baby chicks, long walks on the beach and WARMER WEATHER that lasts for more than one day!

Let the thawing begin!

Until next time!
Deborah Jean 

A Heart for Helping Horses

Have you met Murphy? 

There comes a time in every horse lovin' farmgirls life when she has to put her money where her mouth is! That's right! I'm talkn' about little ole me! Finding my way back to horses has been on the forelock, I mean forefront of my mind for a few years now. You can read more about that here.

In the mean time, I've been doing some pokin' around locally looking for a horse rescue that is convenient enough for repeat visits and I found it last weekend not too far from home. 

Darlene Nickerson has a heart for helping horses. She owns and operates Black Feather Horse Rescue in Plymouth, MA. She is clearly a woman of great faith, commitment and drive, but it’s plain to see no one woman can do what she does alone. She never married nor had children. God did not bless her with the life of wife and mother but she's all HEART when it comes to nurturing her horses and other animals at the rescue. 

They are her family. 

She cared for her mother who had Alzheimer’s until she left this earth and her 96 year old father still lives in the house on the property where she runs the rescue and a small trout farm. Although, to hear her tell it she’s just an ordinary woman who is greatly blessed and gets to live with horses everyday.  She has help from volunteers, and horses get adopted too but there's still lots of work to be done! She raises funds with Barn Dances a couple of times a year and that helps with the high costs of running the rescue.

Murphy is her miracle horse. He came to her as a very sick horse after getting an infection in his guttural pouch. I learned that this type of infection leaves 99 percent of most horses unable to ever swallow again. Darlene tirelessly nursed him back to health never doubting for a minute he wouldn't recover. He can eat, chew and swallow all of his food and water now. Apples too!  

With the help of family and friends, Murphy's New Home ( the first of a series of Children's  books written about Darlene's EARTH ANGELS ) has become a reality and is for sale now to raise awareness of the kind of care and funding it takes to keep a horse rescue not just alive but thriving in these often  challenging economic times.

 A second book is in production now about this handsome fella! 

As we visited and fed the horses apple snacks, Darlene shared her vision for the rescue with us. She has a deep belief in the healing power of horses. One of her goals is to eventually partner with Children’s Hospital in Boston so children can come see the horses in person or via  a web cam from the hospital to motivate them to get well enough for an in person visit to the rescue. 

If you're new to volunteering, or just plain shy about giving it a try, start with a passion near and dear to your heart. It just might lead you to a place where your help is much needed! Start in small doses to get the feel of things and in time you'll see just where your talents can be of use.


Here are some ideas for places you can help ~

• Food Pantry
• Church
• Horse/Animal Rescue
• Nature Center
• Boy Scouts of America
• International Order of the Rainbow Girls
• Elderly Neighbors
• Council on aging 
• Where else? 

Do you have a Heart for Helping Horses too?  Pop on over to Black Feather Horse Rescue and meet Darlene, Murphy, Billy the goat ( I'm not kidding) and the gang. You'll just feel better. I promise! We sure did! 

Read more about Murphy the miracle horse in Darlene Nickerson's words here and get your very own copy of Murphy's New Home. Every little bit helps! 


Till next time,
Deborah Jean 
PS. Two more days to enter my book give away for SUNFLOWER HOUSES by Sharon Lovejoy here!  
The lucky Gardner/winner will be announced January 16th.

BOOK~ ish Delights and a GIVEAWAY!

“The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books.”

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

Winter is the perfect time to settle in with your best of " book friends" old and new!
Did Santa bring you any new books for Christmas this year? Are you yearning for a new book or two to drink in over the coming winter months?
 I want to tell you about a couple of intriguing  (and well propped ) books that caught my eye in my friend Sharon Lovejoy's  Christmas post.

This book titled Writers' Houses

  had me right from the start and inspired my blog header photo for this month too! 

It features a brief biography on some of the most famous writers of the last 100 years with beautiful photos of their writing spaces and stories of how they chose and became so emotionally connected to their homes. Hemingway, Twain, and Faulkner to name a few. This is a book to savour and I'm taking my time with it!

The Writer's Brush was another book that caught my eye in Sharon's post. I'm awaiting it's arrival as I write! 

 I emailed Sharon around the first of December to ask her about each of these books. We ended up going back and forth on how fun it is to decorate with books whether they be stacked, piled, shelved or propped  here and there about the house. Then Sharon emailed and said, " Lets's do a co-op BOOK Post in January like we did for An Honest COTTAGE Kitchen back in August. Here's Sharon's honest kitchen post too.

 Naturally, I said YES!'

 So, let's ring in a New Year of  DISCOVERY, learning, and READING together!

  Grab some tea and put your feet up!  

You're in for some  BOOKISH DELIGHTS! 

A house without books is like a room without windows.  ~ Heinrich Mann

( sunrise photo taken by my dearly beloved) 

Talk about sequestered nooks! As I went around our house I noticed we have quite a few of them in nearly every room of the house. Oh sure, I fantasize about one room being set aside some day as our own personal library with a roaring fire, large over stuffed chairs with soft aged velvet covers, a hand painted ceiling with aged celestial maps and angels hovering over head from each corner playing violins. Large crown moldings, brightly colored Turkish area rugs, hand painted occasional tables, English china tea cups at the ready, and music playing softly in the back ground with a view out to the garden.

 my birds and butterflies garden  

sweet white peonies

 What's that you say?  You think I've been reading too many books on English Country Manor's? Perhaps you're right, but one can dream and winter day dreams are just as sweet as summer day dreams in my book!

The books we keep on our personal book shelves speak volumes about who we are and about who we'd like to be too. 

( birds nest found in a horse barn stuffed with chicken feathers)

As I went around taking these photos I realized it's just not possible to cover all of them in one little ole blog post, so I am highlighting our favorites old and new. 

My Mary Jane's Farm Kitchen recipe book is my latest favorite because it's  filled with easy Organic comfort food recipes on a farmgirl budget. 

 I return to Susan Branch's Vineyard Seasons year after year for her yummy Lobster Bisque recipe ( a long time Christmas Eve tradition) and a few treasured others too! 

Another gem !

 Our interests vary widely and with two home-schooled children in the house we have our fair share of BOOKS on Art, nature, classic literature, music, poetry, photography, gardening, farming, horse keeping and hen keeping, picture books, home building, homeschooling, home making, home cooking and homesteading.  

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.  

 ~Anna Quindlen, 

 We keep some of our Drawing books with in reach on top this hand painted dresser. Some books we grow out of and give away to friends or donate to the Library. Others will be with us until we grow old and dusty together or passed onto the next generation of book lovers!

 Books that have been given to us or our children from loved ones remain a fixture on our shelves, taken out and re read cementing the memories of the time when they were given and by whom. 

  I painted these book shelves bright colors because I love the way the covers look against them. Many books have brightly colored covers and they just sing against a colorfully painted back ground. 

 A few classics tucked in behind a hand painted sign on drift wood.

 My treasured  signed copies of Sunflower Houses, Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars and Roots Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy are right at home on this shelf with the rest of our nature/gardening books.  I was so happy to attend her last workshop on her most recent book tour in Falmouth, MA. last June so we could meet in person!

We also love to add our twist on the decorated book shelf idea... This cherished wooden bird house painted by our daughter when she was young is right at home on the shelf next to some of our nature books and field guides. Sticks, birds nests, antlers, sea shells and photos are some of my favorite " foundlings" to place among our books. I think they add a bit of  tangible texture to the books and shelves.

In her room another sequestered nook with a hand painted ( by her ) wooden storage container for keepsakes 

and a sketch book just in case the mood strikes to draw. One thing I've noticed is that we don't have any books about books... I did notice in my recent Pottery Barn catalog every styled room prominently features BOOKS in all shapes and sizes and various forms of display. I found it very inspiring! 

Who says a china cabinet can't move to a bedroom and become the perfect book case? 

Lady Violet does a wonderful job of holding some of my most treasured books and trinkets given to me by my mother, husband our children and those I've given to myself too! 

I / we  love BOOKS plain and simple.  I love knowing that if there is a topic I'm interested in I can search and find a book to help me learn more about it. And we can't forget the Internet and so many wonderful blogs to help us along in our discovery of new books.

I believe books help us build a better life for ourselves and others. They inspire us to reach beyond our dreams when we see that others have already accomplished theirs. 

( photo credit Mary Janes Farm ) 

These three are on my list to add to my home library. I' am a certified Farmgirl and sister #1199 and I can't get enough of Mary Jane's Farm back to basic farmgirl ways. I love any book that takes me back in time and inspires me to act on the very ideas I've just read about.

This winter I've made a promise to myself to visit my local independent book stores more often. There's nothing quite like hanging out in a book store on a cold winters day, except perhaps sitting in the comfort of your own home with your favorite book of the moment in hand in quietude.

Our daughter made a special book/notebook for me for Christmas... She said it was for writing Dandelion House. I often write in the lobby of the conservatory where she takes piano twice a week and I've been known to write on small scraps of paper or on the back of the printed flyer's lying on the table there. I had just gotten myself a red leather bound book for writing and I was really enjoying it, but my heart simply melted when she gave me this one. 

She decorated the cover of a plain notebook with various scrapbook papers we have here at home. I added the sparkley letters for the title. The pages are blank and the year is young. Words and ideas  still sleeping will leap onto these pages... all in good time ~ 

 To celebrate the wonder of books and the simple JOYS of reading, ( and my 100th post ) I'm starting off the New Year with a wonderful give away for you!

I've chosen the book Sunflower Houses written and illustrated by, YOU GUESSED IT,

  As I've gotten to know Sharon through her blog and emails these past months I've come to believe that she is the dear sweet Grandmother we all wish we had and the one we'll always remember if we did. She's the one who touched our hearts and ignited our imagination. The one who always had a little something magical up her sleeve and taught you things with out you even knowing it's happening...She calls her friends ( from far and wide ) dear, and that's just what she is to me...


Spring is ever so slowly on its way. NOW is the perfect time to curl up with a good, inspiring gardening book and make some plans for your garden. This is a book to share with the children in your life and re-kindle that same childhood wonder in yourself. 


 For a chance win Sunflower Houses leave a comment on this post or send me an email.  I'll randomly draw a name and announce the winner in my next post on January 16th. 


GOOD LUCK!

 I wish you a world of  BOOKISH DELIGHTS in 2011 

A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.
Henry David Thoreau


Happy Reading 

Deborah Jean ~ who is off to find more sequestered nooks for more books!  


PS. Sharon's writing and illustrating a new book about Birds . I personally can't wait! And if you've ever wondered what it would be like to take a vacation where there was more than the usual  hard  hotel bed and a room service menu, you must check out Sharon and Jeff's little apartment in Maine  Comfort Found Literary Lodging in Damariscotta, Maine.
The name says it all!