Miss Effie's and sports analogies.............

I need a cheering squad!!

I need my own version of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders but dressed in gingham aprons, straw hats and rubber gardening clogs. I'm not looking for glamour here ......... I'm looking for inspiration and enthusiam!!!

Why, oh why do I have the self-confidence of an earthworm???? (Actually, I do know why but that would mean explaining 19 years of therapy and a very dysfunctional relationship with same-sex parental unit! You don't have the time!)

Ok -- so here's the story. Five years ago or so -- I became aware of an organization called Silos and Smokestacks. Silos and Smokestacks is a National Heritage Area under the umbrella of the National Park Service. There are forty-nine National Heritage areas in the country and Silos and Smokestacks tells the story and the history of agriculture.

History .... Agriculture .......... I'm interested in that. So Candy Streed and Sue Pridemore sat down and talked to me about my participation in Silos and Smokestacks. Have you ever met kindred spirits and known it instantly??? That was my meeting with Candy and Sue. It was warm and friendly and fun ...... in spite of cold pouring rain. We sat in my kitchen and talked and talked and shared ideas.

And they got Miss Effie's. And they got Miss Eff.

Lot of people get Miss Effie's. But getting Miss Eff can be a whole 'nother story!!!

I'm a little farm. It's me and my Honey. And almost two little acres with a whole bunch of chickens. We don't have visitor center or a fancy gift shop. I plant the flowers myself. I paint the signs myself. I cook the jam myself. And I even designed the website myself........ ok ok -- I had the help of a few adult beverages!!!! But this is DIY all the way....................

And in a world of glitz and shiny and fancy ........... Miss Effie is rusty and wrinkled and gray. I have peeling paint and worn holes in my jeans. Nothing is new. Nothing is store-bought. We make-do and we do without. My cash register is a canning jar!!!

So would Miss Effie's fit in the partners plan for Silos and Smokestacks? For five long years, I would say ........ I'm not ready. I'm not up to snuff. And to quote a family member, "Who would drive down a gravel road to buy flowers?" But people did drive down that gravel road and I am ready.

Well ............ I'm walking to the plate. I may strike out ..... but the application is going in the mail today!

We all know that Babe Ruth held the record for the most career home runs for decades. But he also holds the record for the most strike outs. So if you don't try .......... you will never win.

I obviously don't know much about sports or I wouldn't have mixed baseball metaphors with football metaphors. (Yea ... I did know that much!)

But I do know about Miss Eff's and her mission to teach women's role in agriculture. And to explain the history of where we were and to tell where we are going. We are not well-behaved women!!!

So wish me luck ... cheer me on. This is going to be a long process. Hopefully by the end of next year ...... we will be part of the tale of American agriculture.