A view of self-reliance from a more timid perspective — A woman’s opinion
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #94 • July/August, 2005
My fellow Backwoods Home writer Jackie Clay is a domestic wonder woman who can do anything from can kumquats to butcher an elk.
Not me. Unh uh. No way....
Get out of debt, stay out of debt
By Darlene Campbell
Issue #67 • January/February, 2001
Decades ago it was advised of young high school graduates to deposit a set amount of money into the bank each month, and when they retired they would...
Funerals don’t have to be expensive
By Kelly McCarthy
Issue #95 • September/October, 2005
Being of Celtic extraction, I am naturally disposed to dwelling on the blacker side of life. I started to wonder what would happen to all the dead bodies...
Advice from second-time homesteaders
By Don and Patrice Lewis
In 1993, shortly after we got married, my husband and I took a leap into the unknown. We left urban California, left our jobs, left our families, and settled in...
Better wood heating
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Better wood heating
By David Lee
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By David Lee
Shop heater. This example is a 55-gallon drum and stove kit surrounded with leftover concrete blocks. I stack extra bricks, slates, and metal on the top to give...
Annie on Everfree Farm, Part III
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Annie on Everfree Farm, Part III
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By Annie Tuttle
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
Previous in Series
Me with Brownie, Cupcake, Red Velvet, and Flan (mostly hidden).
These were our first four goats, and are all Kiko x Boer...
Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I
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Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I
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By Annie Tuttle
Issue #145 • January/February, 2014
So here we are.
Truth be told, it was a complete accident that we found our farm. We weren't even looking for it. We...
The coffee mug knife sharpener
By Michael Cantrell
Issue #105 • May/June, 2007
Not too long ago, I watched a man open his pocket knife by pulling it partway open to a wide L-shape with his hands, and then push it...
Mosquitoes outnumber us and no one likes them
By Tom and Joanne O’Toole
Issue #80 • March/April, 2003
Mosquitoes are responsible for irritating bites, cause itching welts, can spread diseases, are a constant aggravation at picnics, and are ear-tormenting little beasts. No wonder they...
Harvesting the wild: Acorns
By Jackie Clay
Issue #79 • January/February, 2003
When I was just a little girl, I used to collect acorns by the boxfull as they fell in the fall. I didn't know why. They just felt...
Preparing for civil unrest
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #118 • July/August, 2009
The most remarkable thing about civil unrest is that there hasn't been more of it.
Politicians are making a hash of this country and much of the rest of...
Grandma will love this personal ‘Helping Hands’ wall hanging
By Sally Boulding
Issue #46 • July/August, 1997
Here's a relatively easy gift that you and your child can make together. The instructions here are to make a wall hanging or a lap blanket, but consider...
Picking your pressure canner — All American or Presto?
By James Kash
Issue #143 • September/October, 2013
The garden is in full swing and you have baskets of vegetables piling up; what do you do? You can them, of course. Your mother's old granite-ware canner...
Survival/utility vest
By David Eddings
Issue #144 • November/December, 2013
Editor's Note: Several readers have contacted us asking about the exact model number of the vest pictured in this article. We contacted the author and he replied:
The vest...
Intake and exhaust upgrades for better mileage and performance
By Len Torney
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
Well, it seems the price of oil and gasoline has peaked and plummeted, much like a lot of the rest of the economy these days. One upside to...































