The Little Farmers

"The Little Farmers" is the name I give the girls I taught about farming...........I shared my love of ponies........I braided manes, set up fences, purchased tack.........shared the miraculous sensation of cradling a fresh warm egg in your hands, straight from the nest.......... the amazing miracle of a bean sprout............ They are the girls I make sure have the best of everything: Jennifer Shearouse, Anneka Syvarth, Cassandre Griffin, Rebecca Wyckoff, Elizabeth Buzzard, Mary Griffin, Teal Wyckoff.........Dr. Tara Viechnicki.........I mention my nieces, Griffin Louisa Richards and Madelaine Boyer; I have no direct farm connection with them, they are Farm Girls, know their ways around manes and tails and compost heaps and pitchforks, and so are deserving of mention.

"Farm Friends: Big Girls": These girls that taught me about farming, are the backbone of my farming skills and continue to educate me by instruction and example: Chloe Richards Puzio, Gran Richards, Sue Oiler, Carol McIlvaine, Susan Marshall, Susan Shebelsky, Martha Stewart, Sammie Thompson, Dr. Mary Griffin, Heidi Secord, Patty Martin, Tina Conway, Sasha Vesti MacDowell, Judy VonHandorf, Beezie Patton, Nell Newman, Kirsten Oloffson..............Laura Ingalls Wilder............Tess McLeod's big sister, Clare.............the list goes on..............

"Farm Friends: Farmer Boys: Pop Pop Griffin, who raised rabbits on Knorr Street during WW2 to make sure his family could eat, when his brother and uncles were all serving overseas. Dan Canning,  Jim Wyckoff, Gary Swartz, Gary Oiler, Howard Canfield.........Pop-pop Griffin, John Hastings Richards.............and of course, my beloved father, Vincent A. Griffin, Sr. ..............not directly a farmer, but the skilled operator of a tractor, backhoe, and chainsaw, and certainly a guy who knew how to get things done and made sure others did as well.......not the least of which was the ability to swing a hammer...............unreasonable, emotional, and ineffective at times, but not someone you wasted much time arguing with..................Thank you!