Barnheart

Reading is one of my passions and I love the unique voices of those who both love and live a country life.  Last October, my mom and I made the trip to Upstate New York to meet author Jon Katz and his better half, fiber artist Maria Wulf, of Bedlam Farm.  For several years now, Jon has chronicled rural life in his wonderful blog, http://www.bedlamfarm.com/.

It was while reading Jon's blog that I first learned of self-described farmer Jenna Woginrich, who writes eloquently -- and earthily -- of the longing for a farm of one's own.  In her new book, Barnheart, the Incurable Longing for a Farm of One's Own, Woginrich aptly paints a heartwarming, sometimes humorous portrait of her journey to farmerhood:

"And when you find yourself sitting in your office, classroom, or cafe and your mind wanders to dreams of the farming life, know that you are not alone.  There are those of us who also long for the bitter scent of manure and sweet odor of hay in the air, to feel the sun on our bare arms.  (I can just about feel it, too, even in January, in a cubicle on the third floor of an office building."  Even though we straighten up in our ergonomic desk chairs, we'd rather be stretched out in the bed of a pickup truck, drinking in the stars on a crisp fall night."

Woginrich's farm, Cold Antler, is the site of many how-to workshops -- everything from mountain music, to poultry 101, to disaster preparedness for small farms.  For those who are unable to travel to Cold Antler, Woginrich offers a subscription webinar program.  Check out both Barnheart and the Cold Antler Farm web site at http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/.

CONTEST!!!!  Send me a short essay -- say no more than 1,000 words --  by this coming Friday, January 6 at midnight, saying why you love or long for a country life.  I'll ready through all the entries and award an autographed copy of Jenna Woginrich's Barnheart to the winner.

Fiber artist Maria Wulf's blog, Full Moon Fiber Art is equally compelling, a sort of life in the country through an artist's eyes.  Be sure to spin by her site while you are out tooling around this big beautiful worldwide web:   http://www.fullmoonfiberart.com/.

Happy reading, country lovers!