A government with not enough to do, but lots of hungry mouths to feed
By Dave Duffy
Issue #130 • July/August, 2011
Most people look in the wrong places for threats to society, and their perceptions are easily manipulated by the mass media, which is often spoon-fed its stories by...
Annie on Everfree Farm, Part II
<!--
Annie on Everfree Farm, Part II
-->
By Annie Tuttle
(Most photos by Dave Duffy)
Issue #146 • March/April, 2014
Previous in Series
Most of the old fence around the garden was pretty well thrashed. Some was torn out to...
Stay clear of young wild animals
By Tom and Joanne O’Toole
Issue #86 • March/April, 2004
This spring and summer millions of wild animals and birds will be born. This is the new generation of wildlife, and their survival depends a great...
Do we need a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights?
By John Silveira
Issue #53 • September/October, 1998
Once again there is a storm of complaints from American citizens concerning abuses and harassment on the part of a government agency. In the past the offending agencies...
Solar system codes — Build it right!
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
Here, multiple homemade solar modules have caught fire and burned.
The further you go into the mountains or rural countryside, the more some people think building codes...
Shelves and benches
By David Lee
Issue #107 • September/October, 2007
Money doesn't buy happiness but it sure does buy a lot of stuff. If it is nice stuff then you need a place to display it. If it...
Beef & Wild Mushroom Lasagna
Recipe of the Week
Beef & Wild Mushroom Lasagna
Courtesy of
Gail Strong
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound assorted wild mushrooms (such as shiitake, oyster and cremini), sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1...
Khaki Campbell ducks — The other egg layer
By Amanda J. Kemp
Issue #126 • November/December, 2010
Spring brings the pitter-patter of little feet in the mud, games of tag, and raucous quacks. While traditional advice would have you with a yard full of...
Stairs — The next level
By Skip Thomsen
Website Exclusive • August, 2004
Any good carpenter can build a staircase. What we're talking about here is taking that staircase to the next level: beyond just a means to get from one...
Potato Latkes
Recipe of the Week
Potato Latkes
Courtesy of
Erica Bernstein
Ingredients
8 large potatoes (about 2-1/2 pounds)
2 medium onions
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 cup flour
Peanut or vegetable oil for frying
Method
Preheat...
Making Yogurt
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
When you get to the point where you're milking your own cow, you'll need to figure out what to do with the excess milk. One of the easiest...
Build your own battery charging station
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #142 • July/August, 2013
Completed charging station after sanding and painting
Let me guess the reason many of you do not use rechargeable batteries is that every time you need...
Simplifying simplicity
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
In the bustling 19th century, Henry David Thoreau urged us to "simplify, simplify, simplify."
In the even more hectic 20th and 21st centuries, writer, philosopher, and frugalista Wendy McElroy...
Buckboard bacon
By Tanya Kelley
Issue #131 • September/October, 2011
Last year, our family processed a hog for the first time. We made roasts, pork chops, bacon, Italian sausage, breakfast link sausages, and hams. All of the results...
Building and Using Wattle Fences
By Kathryn Wingrove
Issue #139 • January/February, 2013
Wattle fences are made by weaving material in and out of posts in the ground. They were often used on the small farms of Victorian England. In fact,...
Installing a propane heater
By Watt Jones
Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019
Even with a 12,000 BTU Mini Split System installed in our cabin, my wife and I have experienced some spotty outages with our local electric cooperative and numerous power...