This is a very thorough collection of materials for anyone who wants an introduction into some of the how to's of running a homestead ("living off the land").
What I like most about the book:
- fantastic photography
- covered a wide variety of material; raising poultry to making a windmill, wild edibles to building your own composting toilet, how to shear a sheep to when to plant tomato seeds indoors
- it inspires me
- most of the book is helpful, but not too complicated (though I will admit that the engineering portions were a little above my understanding, without being able to put my hands on the items being described)
- it is very practical
The only element that I did not like:
The last chapters of the book introduced a few New Age ideas (meditation, and Feng Shui). I do not see what purpose these serve in a book about homesteading, but maybe I am not "broad minded" enough.
Still, even with that one element that I disapprove of, I still highly recommend this book. Whether you are completely new to the idea of modern homesteading, whether you are a master gardener, or whether you have been living off grid for years - I think there will still be something in the book for you.
I am very inspired and very excited about what our family could do in the future! Paul is not so fond of the idea of the composting toilet... but he is all for me getting a llama (though he would prefer an alpaca). It is fun to have dreams, so long as they do not become obsessions. If at any point my dream for an agrarian lifestyle conflicts with the work I am here to do for the Lord, then my dream takes a backseat. This is an important point for me to consider right now, as we are praying and waiting to see where the Lord will take us.
I hope you will get your hands on this book and let your imagination run wild!
4 comments:
I have actually checked this book out from the library before, but never got around to actually reading it before it was due back. I was definitely inspired just thumbing through it though!
April, We seem to have similar tastes in books, but not always in music. :0)
Go check it out again... it is fun to be inspired!
Just read your reply. :) Out of curiosity, what kind of music do you normally like? As long as it's not super-twangy country or heavy death metal, I'm sure we could find a few songs in common. :)
Remember when you used to have that "in my library basket" widget? Well, you had some Christian contemporary stuff that I don't care for. I have KLOVE and local contemporary Christian stations preset on my car radio, but I often switch them off. Ohhhh, the blog fodder I get from a few minutes of that stuff...
And, you are right, I do not listen to country music. It used to have a fierce hold on my mind, and I will not allow that to happen again. It "ain't" about the twang, because I *do* like a lot of Southern Gospel, it is about the lyrics. (BTW, some Southern Gospel has terrible lyrics!)
Anyway, hope that answers your question.
Bethany
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