Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life Review

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(More customer reviews)While I applaud the authors move to a "simpler" lifestyle, I really had a difficult time wading through this book. Filled with clichés and writing that would better suited for an overly sentimental greeting card, the pace of the book really dragged. It seemed to me that the editing could have been tighter, as the timelines were hard to follow at points, even though I tried to cross reference with their website. (Is the greenhouse finished, or isn't it?) Do I really care about the fact that they like to run around naked and are experts on all things cappuccino? If they have traveled all over the planet before "going green", they have already left a rather large carbon footprint (now they plant trees to offset their carbon production).
I found some of their math to be either hard to believe or nothing to brag about. If they are consuming fair trade coffee, Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream and Stonyfield Farm yogurt, plus buying most of their grains and dried legumes in bulk (all of which are good products in general), how can they be producing 70% of their own food? Bragging about their "super efficient" Sunfrost refrigerator having a payback time of 50 years (initial cost vs energy savings) - wow - either they or the refrigerator could be dead long before then. This wasn't going to have me running out to buy that fridge.
I did like their lists of sources and resources throughout the book, a few of which I had not seen before. I think this book would be good for urban dwellers who are just starting out "going green", if you don't mind a lot of extra verbage. I was born and raised in the country, lived in the city and suburbs, and have finally moved back to the country. I know a lot of people who have done more with less, and they're not being featured in USA Today and praised up and down by other national organizations. The authors are good at publicizing what they do, which is certainly am important part of running a successful Bed & Breakfast, I was just hoping for a more "down-to-earth" story.


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In the '60s it was called the "back to the land" movement, and in Helen and Scott Nearings' day, it was "living the good life." Whatever the term, North Americans have always yearned for a simpler way. But how do you accomplish that today?Blending inspiration with practical how-to's, Rural Renaissance captures the American dream of country living for contemporary times. Journey with the authors and experience their lessons, laughter and love for the land as they trade the urban concrete maze for a five-acre organic farm and bed and breakfast in southwestern Wisconsin. Rural living today is a lot more than farming. It's about a creative, nature-based and more self-sufficient lifestyle that combines a love of squash, solar energy, skinny-dipping and serendipity . . .The many topics explored in Rural Renaissance include: "right livelihood" and the good life organic gardening and permaculture renewable energy and energy conservation wholesome organic food, safe water and a natural home simplicity, frugality and freedom green design and recycled materials community, friends and raising a family independence and interdependence wildlife conservation and land stewardship.An authentic tale of a couple whose pioneering spirit and connection to the land reaches out to both the local and global community to make their dream come true, Rural Renaissance will appeal to a wide range of Cultural Creatives, free agents, conservation entrepreneurs and both arm-chair and real-life homesteaders regardless of where they live.Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko are innkeepers, organic growers, copartners in a marketing consulting company, and have previously published books. John is also a photographer. Former advertising agency fast-trackers, they are nationally recognized for their contemporary approach to homesteading, conservation and more sustainable living. They share their farm with their son, two llamas, and a flock of free-range chickens. Rural Renaissance also offers a foreword by Bill McKibben.

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Living Safe in an Unsafe World: The Complete Guide to Family Preparedness Review

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(More customer reviews)I first borrowed this book from the library and found it so useful I bought it from Amazon. I live in the Washington, D.C. area and felt very unprepared for emergencies in the aftermath of September 11. This guide helps you create a family emergency plan and give you tips on keeping safe in more routine situations. Particularly useful was their suggestion of a disaster supplies kit, which I now have. Some items in the kit were predictable--like a first aid kit, but others were not and make a lot of sense like a NOAA emergency radio, list of key addresses and contacts, extra prescription medications etc. While I don't expect to need it for an evacuation or terrorist emergency, these are supplies I would need in other emergencies from power outtages to storms etc. They recommend that you pack this in a carryall and take with you on trips as well.
Also useful was the idea of a family emergency plan--places to meet outside your home in case of an emergency. This would have been very useful on September 11 when all phone and cell phone lines in this area were busy and roads were clogged while people didn't have alternate ways to get home.
Other useful topics are in areas such as fire emergency, food related dangers, weather related disasters, dangerous encounters with animals and insects and a great chapter on home related emergencies.
I think every home should have a reference book like this one.

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Whatever emergency comes your way, Living Safe in an Unsafe World is your guidebook on how your family can survive it. You'll read about how to prepare for emergencies by developing "situational awareness," investigating insurance coverage, posting emergency numbers, designating family "safety spots," traveling safely, and more...."The American Red Cross believes that everyone should be prepared for any possible disruption in their daily lives that may be caused by disasters, from a home fire to something that affects the entire community. The content of this book can help you and your family be more prepared and safer should disaster strike. Most steps recommended in this book are simple and easy to do with little time and effort, yet will result in greater peace of mind for everyone in the family."-Rocky Lopes, Ph.D., Sr. Associate for Disaster Education American Red Cross Headquarters

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The Herbal Home Companion Review

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(More customer reviews)Even though I am an experienced herb grower, I very much enjoyed this book because it had so many new and fun ideas. The chapter on homemade cosmetics was probably my favorite. I have made the "Gardener's Hand Salve", "Lavender Cologne" and the "Bath Oil". They all were great! I gave them away as gifts too. Be sure to try the Chocolate Mint Pudding recipe too. It is to die for!!

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An outstanding sourcebook providing practical advice on starting a herbal garden, and on how to use 35 of the most versatile herbs in cooking, decorating, and preparing beauty products. Fully indexed for ease in locating a particular herb and its usages, here are tips on preparing syrups, scented sugars, sachets soothing facials, and exotic bath oils—all from nature's bounty.

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Commercial Poultry Nutrition: 3rd Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)A lot of poultrykeepers feel the temptation to invent their own chicken feed blend. Doing this successfully requires quite a bit of knowlege, and this book provides it. It's quite accessible to the interested layman, though it assumes you already know something about nutrition (for example, it doesn't explain what amino acids are or why you'd care).
Not as exhaustive as Ewing's massive and long-out-of-print POULTRY NUTRITION, but it's more up-to-date and far easier to use.

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Covering a variety of essential topics relating to commercial poultry nutrition and production—including feeding systems and poultry diets—this complete reference isideal for professionals in the poultry-feed industries, veterinarians, nutritionists, and farm managers. Detailed and accessible, the guide analyzes commercial poultry production at a worldwide level and outlines the importance it holds for maintaining essential food supplies. With ingredient evaluations and diet formulations, the study's compressive models for feeding programs target a wide range of commercially prominent poultry, including laying hens, broiler chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and game birds, among others.

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Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream For Pleasure And Profit Review

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(More customer reviews)Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream for Pleasure and Profit by Carol Ekarius is a collection of photos, "facts", and "helpful" tips for the urban adventurer looking for a new life in a rural farm setting. The book should be regarded as only Ekarius' opinion and not fact. It is based off of her experiences from living in a farming community. Coming from a rural farming background, I was appalled and disgusted with many of the skewed things Ekarius put in her book. Not only does it make the rural citizen seem backward (yes, she does use that word) but it comes across as being very condescending to the reader as well. Any farmer who reads this book is thinking, "She thinks I don't know about anything outside of the farm." Any non-farmer who reads this book is thinking, "She thinks I don't what a cow is."
Ekarius, apparently, is the only person who knows something about both the rural world and the urban. She considers herself to be "rurban"; a word coined by Ekarius and is used incessantly. Roughly it means something that is not entirely urban, but not entirely rural. Ekarius regards herself as an expert on the subject. She tells about a time when she set up an electric fence, something (she thinks) that farmers had never even thought of before. She made it seem as though her neighbor looked upon the fence like caveman looking upon fire for the first time.
She makes the farmer out to be a creature that has never had or heard of niceties found in "the big city." Ekarius tells her readers, "Rural people have long lived with different economic and social realities than their urban and suburban brethren. When they invite you for coffee, expect freeze-dried instant, not freshly ground beans or latte, and drink the former as though it were the latter".... Because farmers just don't know any better, right Carol? They've never even heard of Starbucks let alone tasted their coffee. Neanderthals.
The expectations Ekarius prepares her readers for are ridiculous. She says, "Get used to no privacy. Do you like to walk into a clean house, with shiny, polished floors and light colored furniture? Be prepared for mud and mess. Love to take in cultural events, like the opera or great museums? Instead, get ready for high school plays and cow-plop bingo at the town street-dance." Wow. According to Ekarius farmers are dirty, live like pigs and uncultured. This woman really knows her neighbors.
I have to ask the question, "Has she even met her neighbors?" Ekarius warns the reader, "Be prepared, also, for the social challenges of moving into rural or rurban areas. These communities often seem backward and closed to newcomers.... They are friendly and warm once you penetrate the surface, but penetration can take awhile." It sounds like all "rurban" people are stoic and misanthropic. If you had Ekarius as a neighbor you might be too!
I'd give this book negative stars if I could. Hobby Farm can be useful, however, if it used for kindling or toilet paper.


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Natural Cattle Care Review

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(More customer reviews)It is a book I refer to first for most situations. It is sometimes hard to figure out the dosage of copper,but the things I have tried have worked for us. The codliver oil for pinkeye worked.I do believe we would not have so many problems with our animals if they were getting the right dosage of the minerals. I would say it brings us back to the old time recipes that did work.

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Natural Cattle Care is a comprehensive analysis of farming techniques that keep the health of the animal in mind. Pat Coleby believes that how you farm determines the health of your livestock and she brings a wealth of animal husbandry experience to bear in this analysis of many serious problems of contemporary farming practices, focusing in particular on how poor soils lead to mineral-deficient plants and ailing farm animals. Encompassing every facet of farm management, from the mineral components of the soils cattle graze over, to issues of fencing, shelter and feed regimens, Coleby provides system-level solutions and specific remedies for optimizing cattle health and productivity. She covers strategies for improving farm efficiency, breeding issues, common ailments and remedies, land regeneration and maintenance, and much more. Long revered in Australia as an outstanding expert in her field, Natural Cattle Care is an invaluable everyday resource for everyone with sheep.

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The Non-Toxic Farming Handbook Review

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(More customer reviews)This book discusses how many current land management principles have created an imbalance in the soil, creating more problems than we realize. The authors discuss how we can use natural resources to deal with or eliminate soil erosion, and the need for herbicides and insecticides. The book explains how our soil is a living organism, and requires a good balance of nutrients to allow for proper energy transfer between nutrients, soil, and plants. The points that are brought up are very thought provoking; things that we often overlook. One such point is that weeds and insects are not so much pests, but indicators of soil and plant life. Being a cash crop farmer, wanting to know how to restore our depleted farmland, and get away from "toxic" chemicals and fertilizers, this book has been a great teacher, and no doubt will be referenced in the future.

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In this readable, easy-to-understand handbook the authors successfully integrate the diverse techniques and technologies of classical organic farming, Albrecht-style soil fertility balancing, Reams-method soil and plant testing and analysis, and other alternative technologies applicable to commercial-scale agriculture. By understanding all of the available non-toxic tools and when they are effective, you will be able to react to your specific situation and growing conditions. Covers fertility inputs, refractometers, weeds, insects, tillage, livestock nutrition, Moon cycles and subtle energies, and more. Extensive discussions of what's wrong with conventional agriculture, and the importance of proper soil testing and analysis and foliar feeding. The Non-Toxic Farming Handbook presents a lifetime of eco-consulting knowledge. The result will be an ever-improving soil fertility, healthy crops that provide their own insect and disease resistance, fields without the curse of weeds, and the satisfaction that you are a true steward of the land.

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Homesteading in the 21st Century: How One Family Created a More Sustainable, Self-Sufficient, and Satisfying Life Review

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(More customer reviews)George and Jane are back! Nash's classics "Renovating Old Houses" and"Wooden Fences", with photos by Jane, are standards in every do-it-yourselfer's library. Now these long-time homesteaders offer a how-we-did-it manual on backyard farming - everything from a small flock of hens to market-size production of eggs, veggies, cider, and other home-grown foodstuffs. It's a fun, colorful adventure, as George and Jane narrate their successes, lucky breaks, and disasters over decades of building their hillside farm; the message is that any newbie, with even the smallest backyard - or front porch - can reap the pleasures of self-reliance. This book is infused with humor, know-how, and love. Grab it and start digging!


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Not since Thoreau made his home in the woods at Walden Pond has the notion of self-sufficiency held more universal appeal. There's no question we're going through some tough economic times, but this book offers an alternative. It's a guide for anyone who imagines a better life—from struggling families tired of energy dependency to dreamers who always wished they could live off the land someday. This ultimate DIY guide holds to the premise that anyone can homestead, and raise at least a portion of their food themselves—even if they live in the city. This book is absolutely brimming with ideas on how to take control of your life by degrees—whether that means keeping chickens, growing a garden, or brewing your own beer.

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Hobby Farming For Dummies Review

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(More customer reviews)There is a lot more work to Hobby Farming than the one would think. This book gives you an idea of what is involved. It causes one to think, what else can I be doing with my hobby farm, from raising and caring for livestock, to gardening and preserving the harvest. The concept of taking the byproducts and reinvesting them back into the farm to promote sustainability is something we should all be more into. Even if you are not a Hobby Farmer, there are hints and tips here that are appropiate for any landowner.

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Do you long for the country life? Hobby Farming For Dummies is a practical guide that will show you how to handle all the basics of small-scale farming, from growing healthy crops to raising livestock and managing your property. You'll see how to decide what to farm, provide shelter and utilities, select plants, and protect your investment. It's all you need to dig in and start growing!
You'll get a real idea of what it really means to jump from your current lifestyle to a life farming in the countryside. You'll get the information you need to decide if the farming lifestyle is right for you and your personality. You'll learn everything you need to know about property and how to access a power supply. You'll get practical advice on which animals would work best for your farm and you'll learn how to acquire them and what you need to know about caring for them properly. You'll get help with all of the major decisions like whether you're better off with subsistence farming or a more ambitious project. Find out how to:
Make from change to a farm lifestyle
Get along with your neighbors
Find and buy rural properties
Select and maintain equipment
Raise and care for animals
Use and preserve food items
Avoid common farming pitfalls
Choose plans for your farm

Complete with lists of the ten unique opportunities for fun and the top ten misconceptions about farm living, Hobby Farming For Dummies will help you discover how you can live the simple life.

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Heloise from A to Z Updated Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a good resource for uncommon (but viable) methods of cleaning while also focusing on ways to save the earth, such as using non-toxic cleaning elements (alcohol, vinegar, baking soda, etc.) rather than chemical products that can harm children and pets. This is a great guide book when you have exhausted (or even before you have exhausted) your options and/or your wallet.

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From Abrasive Cleaners (what's safe, what scratches, what's sensitive) to Zzzzs (seven tips for getting enough sleep) this comprehensive home companion includes brand new hints, time-honored solutions, new twists on old favorites, and peerless advice on: Removing stains from clothing € Unstopping drains € Fixing squeaky floors Saving supermarket dollars € Child-proofing your home € Energy conservation Recycling € Removing static cling € Inexpensive skin moisturizers € Using and caring for high-tech equipment Featuring time- and money-saving checklists... Avoiding allergens € Preventing income tax mistakes € Selling a house Winterizing a car € Running a garage sale € Shopping for every purchase from groceries to clothes

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The Soapmaker's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques & Know-How (Natural Body Series - The Natural Way to Enhance Your Life) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of my favorite books I've found on the wonderful, newly found hobby of mine - Soapmaking!
The author does a brilliant job of combining the must-have step-by-step detailed instructions on soapmaking basics for beginners, with the best list and descriptions of all soapmaking ingredients!
Beginners and experts alike will enjoy the many tried and true recipes, even specialty soaps! It also covers the "Chemistry of soapmaking", including tables for making your own recipes! She even has a section on starting up your own business to sell your handmade soap creations! And it is all put together in an easy to understand and follow format, for us beginners, or "dummys" in soapmaking!
The only reason that I rated this book at "4 stars", instead of "5 stars" is because it does not include any pictures (and I LOVE pictures!)- only the hand-drawn illustrations in green ink, as is the print, featured throughout the book. She does use alot of fragrances & different oils in her soap recipes, but includes a list of buying resources in the back.
This, along with my other favorite book on soapmaking, "The Complete Soapmaker", by Norma Coney, (full of beautiful pictures!)which features mostly "hand-milled" or rebatched soaps, are the ones I find myself going to time and time again for reference and inspiration!

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Basic soapmaking instruction and specialty techniques like marbling, layering, and making transparent and liquid soaps.

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Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is written as if Steve Solomon is the grandfatherly type telling those who know nothing of gardening what's what. Initially, I was a bit put-off by this tone, but the author has earned a right to that tone and his opinions. I quickly became very interested in what he has to say, in that he rejects many ideas and fads on intensive, hyper dense garden production. Steve Solomon has been around long enough to have tried some of the high density, intensive gardening ideas and found them wanting.
I had to really chuckle when I read his rudimentary back to basics tool list consisting of a shovel, a bow rake, a hoe and a file to keep them sharp and useful. A simple wheelbarrow, buckets, knife and stone fill out his recomendations. He's so very right when he suggests that it doesn't take an armada of gadgets and do-hickies and specialty tools to make a very sucessful garden. And his comments on using some commonly sold garden gadgets make for humorous images for those who have suffered too short handles, stooped backs and the associated aches and pains. Many folks pondering the latest garden knick-knack catalog could do well to remember Solomon's basic tools will get the job done advice. Admittedly, he does sound like what MY grandfather would've said in the tool chapter. ("Put down that dreambook, pick up that hoe, and get to doing something useful." ... )
What I particularly thought useful was the idea of returning to planting based on choosing plant spacing not for intensity of harvest if thoroughly irrigated, but rather choosing less dense spacing based on potential for drought. In the drought chapter, Solomon makes the case that earlier gardeners more concerned with crop survival than sheer bulk of harvest knew to choose spacing that allows for stronger, more durable plants that better survive droughts. There's a lot more to it than that. I'm oversimplifying his points to make a point, and that is that there is something useful in this book for everyone; from those who've never dug their hands in dirt to those who think that they have a "better way".
I'm currently recommending this book as a good solid intro to veggie gardening that will produce the produce for those interested in delving beyond the picture books. Frankly, I've got lots of gardening and permaculture books and yet this was the first that I've seen fit to review, as I think it bears some recommendation to a wider audience.

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The decline of cheap oil is inspiring increasing numbers of North Americans to achieve some measure of backyard food self-sufficiency. In hard times, the family can be greatly helped by growing a highly productive food garden, requiring little cash outlay or watering.

Currently popular intensive vegetable gardening methods are largely inappropriate to this new circumstance. Crowded raised beds require high inputs of water, fertility and organic matter, and demand large amounts of human time and effort. But, except for labor, these inputs depend on the price of oil. Prior to the 1970s, North American home food growing used more land with less labor, with wider plant spacing, with less or no irrigation, and all done with sharp hand tools. But these sustainable systems have been largely forgotten. Gardening When It Counts helps readers rediscover traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food.

Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world except the tropics and hot deserts, this book shows that any family with access to 3-5,000 sq. ft. of garden land can halve their food costs using a growing system requiring just the odd bucketful of household waste water, perhaps two hundred dollars worth of hand tools, and about the same amount spent on supplies — working an average of two hours a day during the growing season.

Steve Solomon is a well-known west coast gardener and author of five previous books, including Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades which has appeared in five editions.

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Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game Review

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(More customer reviews)Put bluntly; killing and butchering animals is not a pleasant business. Anyone who has hunted or helped slaughter on a farm can attest to this. You just have to jump in and do it.
Ironically, or perhaps most fittingly, this book was written by a veterinarian. I had a couple of chuckles about that fact.
This is a very "how to" book, so is really not meant to be casually read. The information provided is practical and well presented to make the process easier.
The author handles what some may consider a sensitive subject with honesty and straight-forward thinking. He also provides numerous tips and how-tos when it comes to handling and butchering several different kinds of animals.
While every hunter may not need this book, it sure provides a lot of help and suggestions. If you are going to be butchering a wide variety of animals (pigs, cows, deer, etc.), this is definitely the book for you.

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This is the book for anyone who hunts, farms, or buys large quantities of meat. The author takes the mystery out of slaughtering and butchering everything from beef and veal, to venison, pork, and lamb. The text is clear and easy-to-follow. Combined with 130 detailed illustrations by Elayne Sears, the reader is provided with complete, step-by-step instructions. Here is everything you need to know:
At what age to butcher an animal
How to kill, skin, slaughter, and butcher
How to dress out game in a field
Salting, smoking, and preserving
Tools, equipment, the setup
More than thirty recipes using all kinds of meat

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Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands (Vol. 1): Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life And Landscape Review

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(More customer reviews)Note that the title of this book includes the words Drylands. This book is primarily about catching rainwater for use outside of your house, i.e. watering the plants. The illustrations and descriptions are based on life in Arizona. There you want to catch all the rainwater you can get and get some use out of it rather than simply letting it flow down the street. At this purpose, the book is excellent. This is the way it should be done but rarely is.
My own experience with catching rainwater is quite different. I was living out in the swamps in Louisiana. We had plenty of water. In any direction you cared to go there was water. Average rainfall was about 65 inches per year. In fact when we went to town we went by boat.
So why rainwater? Pollution. The water that comes to Louisiana has come down through a thousand miles or more of agricultural runoff, sewage treatment plants that may not have been working so well, feedlot runoff, and God knows what else.
We used a system kind of like his drawing on page 71, but there were certainly no cactus plants around. But note carefully item number 4 in his components, what he calls a first-flush system. This is a system to vent the first few gallons of water off the roof away from the storage cistern. If you are going to drink the water it's best to get rid of the bird droppings and other stuff that accumulates on the roof between rains.
He doesn't describe the first flush system but from the drawing it looks like it might be some kind of a commercial device. Ours was a home made affair. A two foot long piece of gutter was hinged so that it stuck up in the air, held there by a spring. When this gutter was up in the air, the water dumped into a bucket. When the bucket got full it pulled the gutter down against the spring and then it directed the water into the cistern. After the rain stopped you emptied the bucket and it sat there waiting for the next rain.
Great book, not only about how to collect rainfall, but about the general problem of the shortage of clean water.

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Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life and Landscape is the first volume ofthree-volume guide on how to conceptualize, design, and implement sustainable water-harvesting systems for your home, landscape, and community. This book enables you to assess your on-site resources, gives you a diverse array of strategies to maximize their potential, and empowers you with guiding principles to create an integrated, multi-functional water-harvesting plan specific to your site and needs. Volume 1 helps bring your site to life, reduce your cost of living, endow you with skills of self-reliance, and create living air conditioners of vegetation growing beauty, food, and wildlife habitat. Stories of people who are successfully welcoming rain into their life and landscape will invite you to do the same!

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