Farm Girl Fit Check! #shackets

While the fashion world may not address the various styles that are seen on the farm, we farm girls know that we have a variety of shoes, boots, undergarments, pants, shirts, belts, hats, gloves, and scarves within our closets.

When choosing the perfect outfit(s) for the day on the farm, we not only need to consider how we look, of course, we need to consider biosecurity measures when dealing with various animals, the time of year and weather, the chores and tasks at hand, and the insurmountable laundry pile we will inevitably face at the end of the week.

Farm Girl Fit Check! 

What are the things we need to consider when choosing proper attire for our daily work?

The question seems simple, but here are a few things that non-farm living folks need to consider:

Boots / Shoes

- how deep is the mud / poop / snow?

- are they waterproof?

- will I need to drive or operate machinery in them?

- will anyone notice if we mix black and brown colors?

- will I lose a toe if a 1000 lb. animal steps on it?

- will crocks suffice?

Pants

- how accessible is the bathroom / bush / outhouse?

- are the pants going over the boots or being tucked  into them?

- do they have waist adjustment or overalls?

- how much can we layer under them or over them and maintain mobility?

Hats

- baseball hat, beanie, ski mask, or straw hat weather?

- sun protection necessity?

- wind protection necessity?

- when was the last time we washed our hair?

Belts

- do we need to hold up our own pants or our husband's?

- do we to tuck in one or four shirts?

- will we need to do a quick costume change from one job to another?

Gloves

- will we be in garden with pickers?

- moving wood with splinters?

- milking cows and avoiding stains?

- getting our nails done any time soon? (insert laughter)

- do we plan to feel our fingers later in the day?

Fashion Trends?

Have you been following some of the fashion trends the past couple years? There are some really eye-catching flannels and fleeces out there to turn a cowgirl's head.

Shackets on the farm?

The Shacket - a combination of the words shirt and jacket - is a hybrid crossover, oversized, flannel (sometimes with a hoodie) pop-culture, trendy take on a modern classic overgarment. Some confusion arises as to whether it derives from a late 20th century grunge era style or a long-time farm-girl's midwinter milking attire.

So - Who Wore it Better?

Picture courtesy of Amazon. This is how I like to THINK I look when I'm headed out to the coop and garden and barn; adorned in a trendy shacket and slick pair of jeans and pretty nails and hair.

However, this is often more on par for how I ACTUALLY look.

This article was just for fun. I adore all trends and fashion styles! I may even have to embrace some of them when I leave my house.

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Sore Muscle Syndrome: How Early Spring Gardening Gets Us!

One of the most relevant aspects pertaining to the start of gardening season that we rarely discuss is "Sore Muscle Syndrome!"

We Should Know Better

As seasoned gardeners - we should know better! But those warm days in early spring call to us like sirens to sailors, and they know we won't stay indoors and safe on our sofas.

It happens when we least expect it, because we're not thinking about it at all.

When we're armed with a rake and shovel, donning a hoodie and beanie, oscillating between tool cold or too hot, we leap into garden work like a child into a ball pit.

Only we discover hours later after a warm shower, that every muscle in our neck, upper back, middle back, shoulders, and arms are so sore, that we cringe at the thought of pulling a shirt over our heads and desperately search for our button up flannel.

Should Parents Choose Their Child's Sport?

I never thought I'd be jealous of a soccer mom until I walked out of the ice rink in the super-sized sports zone to warm my frozen extremities. I glanced over at the indoor turf field and saw the soccer players in shorts and t-shirts and their parents not wrapped in coats, beanies, or gloves, or shivering.

Now That I Have Your Attention

So, now that I have your attention, please know, I have never really been jealous of soccer moms! I have many friends whose kids play soccer and have sat outside at 7 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and weathered temperatures ranging from 90 degrees to 20 degrees! And that can be said for all parents whose children are in outdoor sports.

Why Hockey?

However, on that first day of ice hockey for my son, I discovered that I was not properly attired and prepared for the cold rink temperature, and this is when I began asking myself, "why has he chosen hockey?"

I am more than excited to watch my son truly in love with what he is doing. He lives on his roller blades playing roller hockey in our driveway and our pole barn. He watches hours of hockey and how-to videos on slap shots, plays, and teams. He has hockey sticks taped up and hockey vocabulary down to a memorized science. He talks to us about it every-single-day. 

While knowing how much he loves hockey brings me joy, there are other factors that weigh on my mind. Things such as the cost, the distance, the schedule, the possible injuries, and so on.

Why NOT Baseball?

His love of hockey has existed for years, but sadly, it never worked out for our schedule, so he has played baseball since t-ball and done both fall and spring ball. In fact baseball has been his second love, or at least the love he could focus on if he couldn't play hockey.

Baseball is easy - easier for mom and dad (this statement does not pertain to all moms and dads, especially those of travel players, but is relevant to my personal story). Baseball is much closer. It is more affordable. It runs fall and winter. It requires less equipment (for the most part), and it is a sport that can be played and practiced in our backyard.

When Should Parents Make the Decision for Kids?

I have asked myself this question in a somewhat serious manner, even though it makes me feel sort of awful at the same time. Is it ever my place as the parent to determine in which sport or activity my child partakes?

Does money play a factor?

Does age play a factor? Is there an age where children are too young to truly know they want to do until they've tried it? Do we as parents know better based on our own experiences?

Does having multiple children play a factor?

The Hex of Hemlock & The Lore of Queen Anne's Lace

At a Glance: Hemlock & Queen Anne's Lace

So many plants we encounter look alike and can be mistaken for one another. If you live in PA, one of those common mistakes is confusing hemlock with Queen Anne's lace.

Be aware though - confusing the two could be dangerous and even deadly.

Easy DIY Vertical Garden Structures

It Begins with Winter Garden Planning

Now is the time that many of us are getting ready to start seeds indoors and plotting our outdoor gardens.  Each year when planning, I like to go back through the years to review layouts and designs that were successful. One of the things I always reuse are vertical structures.

Benefits of Vertical Gardening

If you research vertical gardening, you will see information for DIY ideas and for purchasing vertical structures. The idea behind vertical gardening is to grow more and to save space. I definitely subscribe to these ideas in my own garden, and I like DIY in order to save money.

I have tried a few different structures over the years and found success with most of them. I've utilized cattle panels, window and door frames with both glass and chicken wire, skids, wire reels, 

and hand built trellises.

I suggest researching and determining what kind of space you have and what you plan to grow. Check out companion planting as well because this will help in the overall coordination and location of things.

How to Upcycle a Garden Cart or Roadside Stand

Roadside Egg & Produce Stand

Gardening has always been a long time hobby of mine, but over the years, I had the desire to turn it into a small business. I started with a roadside vegetable and egg stand last year.

Instead of building a stand from scratch, I wanted to upcycle something to save money. We decided to upcycle our unused rabbit hutch into a moveable cart.

How to Fix Splay Leg: One Little Chick's Story

One Little Chick's Story 

In my post on From Candling to Hatching: Chronicle of Our 2020 Hatchings, our super successful 2020 chick hatchings, I had a little babe suffering with splay leg. Splay leg is also known as straddle leg and is when a chick's little legs are spread too far apart or unbalanced and the chick has difficulty walking. You can read more about it here.

How to Fix It

Following instructions and suggestions I'd read about on other blogs and chicken sites, I decided to use self-adherent wrap and cut it to fit the legs of the chick.

I brought her inside and gave her a solid flooring in the tub to ensure she wouldn't slip. I used easy liner shelf grip from Walmart. 

I gave her a water feeder with rocks in it to ensure she wouldn't fall in and drown. I added some soft dusters so she wouldn't feel alone, and I brought in one other little chick to keep her company.

They both got plenty of attention and love.

Counting the two we brought inside, our first Mama had 7 chicks in total from the 2020 hatchings seen in Candling to Hatching. Only one baby had any issues and that was the splay leg.

I was so amazed how the wrap helped her walk normally. It was a learning experience, and I was lucky that it worked out for her.