Author |
Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!: Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 23 2010 : 10:55:41 AM
|
Rusty McHale (Rusty, #1572) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Plant It Forward badge.
"I have been growing tomato plants and have them coming out of my ears. So last week I donated a bag of them to La Bodega at our local church.
They were very grateful." |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 23 2010 : 11:00:29 AM
|
Karla Visser (Karla, #1572) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an expert level Get It Together badge.
"My dad taught me to sharpen knives when I was 12. I have a stone & sharpen mine whenever they need it. It makes the jobs so much easier if you have a sharp knife.
I am able to sharpen my knives whenever they need it. A sharp knife actually keeps you from getting cut better than a dull one-you don't have to struggle with it! It justs glides right through whatever you are cutting!" |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2010 : 11:07:35 AM
|
Rose Lynn (christmasgal, #1486) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a beginner level Forage For Food badge.
"I sat and visited with our county extension agent, Chip, he gave me some names of edible plants in my area. Himalayan and evergreen blackberries grow everywhere here and can be picked in late July and early August. Wild hazelnut trees are also all over our county in the forests which was news to me because I didn't know we had wild ones; they are picked in late summer. Miner's lettuce grows on the forest floors picking is spring to early summer, morel mushrooms grow on the forest floor and after a burn are picked in the spring, and the Chanterelle mushrooms are picked in the fall. Cattails grow in swampy areas and along the river bank here and can be harvested spring through fall.
I enjoyed learning this and seeing the recipes in the outpost book, think I will go look for the wild hazelnuts." |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2010 : 11:15:22 AM
|
Jenny Bishoff (jennypb, #1686) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a beginner level Shopping Green badge.
"I purchased reusable shopping bags. I've had some, but not enough for a shopping trip. I was a bit self-conscious taking them in the store with me, but left with three reusable bags filled with my groceries!
I felt really good about doing this. I usually fill my little kitchen trash can with shopping packaging when I come home. I would like to get some reusable produce bags and sandwich/snack bags next, the possibilities are endless!" |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2010 : 11:28:06 AM
|
Giselle Borowicz (scotdeerie, #1659) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Connecting Growers and Eaters badge.
"At the riding barn where I volunteer, I taught the owner’s daughter, who never had a garden before, how to plan, plant and take care of a veggie garden.
Tina is 22 and she knows all about horses but no one taught her how to grow a garden. We started last year with a few packets of seeds and some hanging tomato plants. The garden was such a success – for the first time, she ate green beans straight from the vine! -- that this year she wanted a bigger one. She started collecting seeds in January, she was so excited.
So we picked out a new location with at least eight hours of full sun, we had the owner move some wonderful compost into position and we began planning and planting her garden. We had so many seed packets we did another smaller garden for the farm hand that lives on the property.
I gave each person a design layout of their garden so they could follow the progress and tell what worked and what didn’t work when we started thinking about NEXT year’s garden.
Here are some decisions I made while teaching Tina to garden:
- I don’t worry about weeding. The horses (50+) take up everyone’s time so I decided they should enjoy their gardens growing without worrying about weeds. As we proved last year, the garden produces just fine, weeds or not.
- I let Tina plant her seeds without worrying about straight rows. This worked well, too. Our rows may be crooked but they are producing already!
- When we look at the garden and discuss what’s happening there, I often pull “weeds” while telling both of them what I’m pulling and why, although it is often called a weed, it can serve a perfectly good purpose as an herb or other green. Tina is amazed that you can actually eat so much of what grows wild – although I have a hard time getting her to try things! :)
- As we plot and plan for the future, I tell them about composting more than horse manure and how mulching will help with weed and moisture control.
We are having great fun and our relationship has gone from being casual friends to good friends which is amazing considering there is 35 years difference in our ages!
I put an end date on this project because it is required but Tina is already planning NEXT year's garden. How wonderful is that?"
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2010 : 11:38:48 AM
|
Giselle Borowicz (scotdeerie, #1659) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level Horse Dreams badge.
"I know where all the horses are in my community. I always have. I have Horse Radar.
When I was eight, my parents gave me a book on horses (which I still have, btw) and I picked out the kind of horse I loved best and then I began waiting…
I can identify many, many breeds of horses but I can identify ALL the breeds within the type I love the best: drafts.
At 49 years of age, I bought my first draft horse, a PMU foal in North Dakota and had him shipped to me in Indiana where I had moved to have horses. He was nine months old. He became the love of my life. And with him, I learned all the things you have to learn to have horses: care, feedings, vet needs, first aid, training, breaking, fencing, pasture needs, hay quality, and loving, loving, loving.
All the horse people said, “You don’t want a draft horse!” I said, “Don’t tell me what I want. I’ve waited 41 years for him.” And I was right. Draft horses make my heart beat faster.
Wonderful. These are the best years of my life!
The photo attached shows the postage stamps I had made of D'argo, my draft boy."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2010 : 11:47:12 AM
|
Giselle Borowicz (scotdeerie, #1659) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Crochet badge.
"I knew how to crochet YEARS ago but it took a while to get back into it. It really bothered my Fibromyalgia when I first started again but, hey, that led me to start a Fibro Farmgirls Henhouse so that worked out okay!
I used soft twine to crochet a dishcloth which I then decided would make a useful grooming tool for the horses at the barn.
I also used the same twine to make a small plant hanger.
And I had one skein of yarn in my fav color so I designed a neck scarf that is held closed with a large mother-of-pearl button from my button collection. (This called for a regular stitch, a buttonhole and an edge finish of shells.) This will be great for winter at the barn where I need something close around my neck but long scarf tails tend to get in the way. It hugs right up under my chin.
I taught my mother how to crochet.
Good! My neckhugger snugs up right under my chin. I know a few people who are getting one for Xmas!"
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2010 : 11:55:14 AM
|
Giselle Borowicz (scotdeerie, #1659) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level The Secret Life of Bees badge.
"I’ve watched the trailer for “Vanishing of the Bees” and signed up for their email list. I’ve always been fascinated by bees and very concerned over why the hives are vanishing. I read “Secret Life of Bees” years ago and it started me off on a journey to study bees and their problems.
Now I plant with bees in mind and I joined The Great Sunflower Project (www.greatsunflower.org) to help track bees. This year everyone is growing Lemon Queen sunflowers to track bees and mine are just starting to set their flowers.
I also grow lots of Bee Balm, Purple Salvia, Balsam, Veronica, Nasturtiums, purple Clover and mints to give the bees lots of variation. Many people won’t come up my front walk because there are so many busy bees there in July and August but I have never, ever been stung by one of my garden bees.
I love it. I love all the flowers and all the bees and even lowly “weeds*” that the bees love are welcome in my garden.
*although I rarely call any plant a WEED – I think they’re all misplaced flowers."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 10:09:06 AM
|
Ruby Slider (narjay, #1663) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level What's Your Beef? badge.
"I prefer beef from local sources over grocery store meats. I just didn't know the 'mechanics' of why. When we (my husband and myself) looked into it we decided to purchase our own mini-starter-herd two cows and one bull (and now one calf). No hormones, no drugs, no stress. Healthier happier cows = healthier happier family.
We actually made these changes last year. This just confirms we made the right decision. I'm very happy with the changes we've made." |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 10:26:16 AM
|
Debra Swan (Debra Swan, #462) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a intermediate level In the Garden badge.
"It was a challenge to make something out of tin cans. So when my grandsons came up, we started to put a tin man together.
What a blast we had, building/putting together cans. We started with the arms,legs,body and head. We started stacking them together. As we were putting it together, my youngest grandson said, "Nanna it looks like a robot,"(when legs are apart more) the older one said. Once we put the legs closer together it started looking like a tin man."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 10:34:37 AM
|
Debra Swan (Debra Swan, #462) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level The Secret Life of Bees badge.
"Watched the trailer of "Vanishing of the Bees." I also signed up for their email newsletters.
Very interesting. I have grown up with bee's. I would go into the schools and share about bee-keeping. My dad had hives, and did all that bee keepers do. He passed away a couple of years ago and my husband has gotten into bee keeping. It is so fun watching him care for his bees and today he brought in some honey comb for us to sample. YUMMY!" |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 10:43:50 AM
|
Ruby Slider (narjay, #1663) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a beginner level Shopping Green badge.
"This is part of my bag collection, I've had them for years, and I'm ashamed to say that I have never used them for shopping - until now. The blue and red ones were free, the cow print bag was homemade and given to me as a gift, the bag with lions on the front I got at the San Diego Zoo in 1993. My favorite was a Christmas gift, (the bag in the upper left hand corner of photo)... this bag was made with heavy duty material, it folds out and has two small wheels on the bottom, so it is perfect for heavier items.
I keep them in my truck so I won't forget them when shopping. If I do forget them, a quick trip to the parking lot, and I'm back on track.
I love using them, it's actually easier to use my own bags."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 10:50:02 AM
|
Kathleen Lorentz (KathleenL, #1620) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Buttoned Up badge.
"I have a button collection that started years ago when I inherited a glass jar full of buttons from my grandmother. Over the years I've taken from the jar and added to it plus collected several other cards of buttons that I keep in a rubbermaid container. The other day, out of curiosity, I counted the buttons in the jar and there are 928.
It's convenient to have a collection of buttons so that when I need some I don't have to make a trip to the store." |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 10:57:26 AM
|
Kathleen Lorentz (KathleenL, #1620) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a beginner level Get It Together badge.
"I started out by going through storage containers and sorting out the odd pieces and ended up cleaning out the utensil drawers and food cabinet too.
I now have a much more organized kitchen." |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 11:03:10 AM
|
Kathleen Lorentz (KathleenL, #1620) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a intermediate level Get It Together badge.
"I really don't feel I need anything more for my kitchen. My cabinets and drawers are full and I always seem to have something that will do the job I need to have done. After cleaning out I donated some of the things I no longer wanted to a family that just moved into their first home.
Getting rid of some things lessened the clutter in my cabinets and drawers making it easier to find things." |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 11:09:34 AM
|
Kathleen Lorentz (KathleenL, #1620) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level What's Your Beef? badge.
"We haven't eaten regular store beef in years. I first became aware of the poor conditions of raising cows several years ago when I read the book "Diet for a New America". We've purchased a cow from a farmer a couple of times but since we rarely eat beef these days I usually just buy organic grass-fed beef at the local health store when we want it. I read the information at eatwild.com and it confirmed what I have already read from various other sources.
Reading about the way cows are raised and slaughtered totally changed my mind about the beef I purchase. My first reaction was to become a vegetarian but over the years I've started eating some meat but only from animals that are raised in a more natural setting without antibiotics, hormones or unnatural feed." |
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 11:15:47 AM
|
Ruby Slider (narjay, #1663) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a intermediate level Buttoned Up badge.
"I used small bright pink buttons between larger pale pink buttons, it was fun to make and I enjoy wearing it.
I think it turned out great. It's so cute, I'm going to make more in various colors."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 11:27:57 AM
|
Judy King (patchworkpeace, #932) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a beginner level In the Garden badge.
"I made a trellis from sticks using scrap twine to hold together. The tee-pee (for cukes) was made from tree limbs and secured at top with scrap wire.
I'm proud of making my own tee-pee and trellis but would love to know how people find perfectly straight limbs to make the beautiful ones shown in magazines. Darn it! My trees don't grow branches like that."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 11:37:57 AM
|
Judy King (patchworkpeace, #932) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level 3 R's Rule (Reuse, Recycle, Revive!) badge.
"I made row markers from tin cans attaching them to sticks with wire.
They look cute."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2010 : 11:43:02 AM
|
Judy King (patchworkpeace, #932) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a intermediate level 3 R's Rule (Reuse, Recycle, Revive!) badge.
"My scarecrow's face and body are made from two old pillows bound with rubberbands. Its "bones" are old curtain rods. Its arms are stuffed with straw. Its "hair" is dried grass.
It was fun making her. She startles us sometimes when we look out the back door - we think someone is in the garden."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2010 : 10:51:15 AM
|
Marcy Lundy (Marcy #170) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Farmgirl Gratitude badge.
"I bought a lovely journal, picked a day and started writing about things that I was grateful for.
I really enjoyed writing in it and I was thinking about keeping one going."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2010 : 11:05:29 AM
|
Linda Stark (rhinomom2, #237) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Embroidery badge.
"I was snowed in back in March and was looking for something to do. I came across this pre-made apron and thought I'd try some of my mom's old transfer sheets. So I ironed on the transfer to the "apron," chose my colors and began stitching. I used the embroidery stitches from Mary Janes book to help me do the correct stitches.
I think it turned out pretty okay. I think it still needs to be spruced up a bit more, but I use it in the kitchen as is."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2010 : 11:20:12 AM
|
Linda Stark (rhinomom2, #237) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Buttoned Up badge.
"I didn't know what I had until I was reading through the Merit Badge list. I've been collecting buttons for many years. I love to put them in old jars and use them when the time arises. I cut them off old clothes, buy them at yard sales, anywhere I can find them. I save them for all my projects.
I love the look and use of my button jars. I always have one ready when I need it."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2010 : 11:35:15 AM
|
Annie Wong (njaw09, #1736) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Buttoned Up badge.
"I have been collecting buttons for a very very long time before coming to the MJF forum. Thanks to my mom she was the first who taught me to remove the buttons from shirts, pants, and etc to save it just in case I need it one day. When I was a draper, technical designers or assistant and they were transferring to another location, they were throwing out buttons and of course I kept most of them. I was quite shocked of how much they were throwing out. I have other family members who gave me some of their buttons.
Not many people know how many buttons I have. Even to this day I've kept my buttons after all these years. I have lots of jars filled with buttons by colors or bags.
When I saw the task of how to earn a merit badge for collecting buttons I was quite excited."
|
|
|
MaryJane
Queen Bee
16456 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16456 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2010 : 11:40:39 AM
|
Annette Shaw (mamashaw, #1372) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a beginner level Shopping Green badge.
"I collected 9 reusable bags and use them everytime I go shopping.
I love my bags, they are stronger, have better handles, and hold more. I have even used them to transfer items for my girl scouts."
|
|
|
Merit Badge Awardees - Woo-hoo Sisters!: Farmgirl Sisterhood Merit Badge Awardees |
|