The enchanting Chanterelle — Gourmet goodies free from the forest
By Devon Winter
Issue #101 • September/October, 2006
They're prized by the world's top chefs. They're served in the most elegant restaurants. You'll pay a pretty penny for them at farmers' markets. Yet they're abundant and...
Solar-powered water purifiers
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #146 • March/April, 2014
Most of us can stay alive up to a month without any food if stranded, but we could not live longer than three days without water...
Concealed carry laws reduce crime
By John Silveira
Issue #143 • September/October, 2013
This year, Illinois became the 50th state to allow the carrying of concealed weapons by law-abiding citizens. That's a milestone that heralds a lot of good news for...
How long should your gun’s barrel length be?
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #136 • July/August, 2012
The person new to guns is like the person new to timepieces. "How many of these things are there?" "In how many configurations?" "And they've been around for...
Getting logs
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Website Exclusive • March, 2004
Online Exclusive April 2003
Attention: Would-be loggers. There have been changes in policy at the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. I have just found...
Reflections on the Second Amendment
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #77 • September/October, 2002
A reader named Molly e-mailed a note to the office of BHM asking what the editor thought of Attorney General Ashcroft's recent affirmation of the Second Amendment as...
Plant Your Trees in the Spring
By Tom Kovach
Issue #61 • January/February, 2000
Winter is a good time to plan your spring tree plantings, deciding what and where you want to plant. When spring arrives you'll be ready.
Spring is the best...
Propagating Grapes
By Sylvia Gist
Issue #107 • September/October, 2007
As a kid in western South Dakota, I enjoyed picking wild grapes and using the delightful juice they produced, so when I eventually acquired property in Montana, I...
A lesson in respect
By John Silveira
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
When I was 10, Dad lived on a farm in New Hampshire with my stepmother and two of my sisters, and I went to stay with them that...
A river rock shower
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #77 • September/October, 2002
The finished shower weighs a ton
and cost about $800.
Cultured stones, made of pumice and portland cement, weigh about half as much as river rocks.
Notched-trowel texturing in the mortar...
Ham and sausage jambalaya
Recipe of the Week
Ham and sausage jambalaya
Courtesy of
Tom Barth
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2...
Energy class: Part 1
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #111 • May/June, 2008
Each fall when my dad took us to the State Fair, we could always count on this fast-talking salesman standing next to his car with a...
A survival key ring — Your everyday tool for emergency preparedness
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
If you saw the movie, "Castaway" starring Tom Hanks, you might remember that his character always carried a small pen knife with him. Early in the...
We built John Silveira’s chicken coop/garden
By Suzy Lowry Geno
Website Exclusive • April, 2007
I have what seems like mountains of great "fertilizer" from my barn full of English Angora rabbits. But between my work as a newspaper editor and caring...
Fail-proof white bread
Recipe of the Week
Fail-proof white bread
Courtesy of
Jackie Clay
You'll find this recipe and over 400 more in Backwoods Home Cooking.Click Here
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. honey
4 cups hot water
3 Tbsp. shortening
1 Tbsp....
Getting Ready for Deer Season … Now
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #155 • September/October, 2015
As summer blends into fall, "deer season" is on the horizon. In the United States, the deer is by far the most popular big game. When I was...
