Everything You Need to Know

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (10th edition)

This book was a generous gift from dear friends when we moved out to the country many months ago. We've been flipping through it and reading various entries ever since. (I'm pretty sure Kansas Dad has read the whole book by now.) It's nearly one thousand pages long and overflowing with information, everything from giving birth by yourself at home to skinning a bear.

Chapters on grains, vegetables, trees, berries, poultry, bees, cows and more contain definitions, descriptions, instructions on how to grow and care for the plants (or animals) and recipes for enjoying the fruits of your labor. The recipes include food to eat, herbs and oils to treat and products to use (like soap).

Through it all, Ms. Emery shared her experiences, her joys and triumphs and even her sorrows with her readers. It is as if she is a neighbor, stopping by with a bit of wisdom and some freshly-gathered eggs. As the book was written and revised over the course of many decades, the personal reflections are disjointed, but sincere.

We have a variety of homesteading and self-sustaining farming books, all of which are excellent resources (a great advantage of previewing books from the library before purchasing), but I think this one is my favorite by far.

Kansas Dad and I used to joke about how we'd survive if the end of civilization as we knew it meant we couldn't get toothpaste and penicillin at the store any time we needed it (jokes begun with my brief obsession with the show Jericho and continued in the midst of the present economic conditions). We don't really anticipate the end of readily-available toothpaste (and I've got about a year's supply of that thanks to MoneySavingMom anyway), but I do find a certain satisfaction in stocking our home library with books that would give us the information we need to muddle through in such dire circumstances. Given a few healthy animals and this book, I think we'd be just fine.

The Books That Changed Our Dreams

** This review was originally written and posted back on July 30, 2007, but I found it while perusing old reviews and thought it worthy of a rerun.

First, a confession: I haven't read Mr. Pollan's book. I imagine I'll read it eventually, but there are only so many pages a working mother of two [three now!] can get through.

I did just finish the Wendell Berry book. Kansas Dad urged me to read it now that he's become a great believer in the small family farm, including convincing me it should be our family goal. I have no problem with the small family farm; perhaps because it's already in my genes, but I agreed to read the book because he was so excited about it. I found it a convincing argument against commercial agriculture at the expense of the small farmer. I can understand how Kansas Dad feels because having read it, I'm now anxious to begin our little family organic farming experience, complete with draft animals. (The desire for draft animals may die down, though we have discussed keeping a horse once we're established, for riding and other fun.)

I'm not going to write much here simply because I haven't the time, but if you're interested in the our family dream, these books will give you an idea where we're headed.

Excitement

What we're reading now:

Don't worry. We'll be working to avoid one of those pesky pandemics.