With commonsense planning, you can survive hard times
By Jackie Clay
Issue #55 • January/February, 1999
Today, many people are afraid that hard times are about to descend upon us because of the Y2K computer date problem, also known as the Millennium Bug. Others...
Garden injuries Part 2
By Joseph Alton, M.D.
Issue #141 • May/June, 2013
In the last issue of Backwoods Home, we discussed some of the hazards encountered by the homesteading gardener. Burns, cuts, abrasions, allergic reactions, and certain insect stings...
Food security 101: part 2
<!--
Food security 101: part 2
-->
By Rowena Aldridge
Issue #139 • January/February, 2013
Last issue we talked about some things you can do to stretch your food budget and make great use of every bit of food...
Caveman walking stick
By Jim Van Sant
Issue #108 • November/December, 2007
The lake near our rural home has a long hiking trail that winds around its shore. We walk on this path in the morning through the oak...
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...
Saving money on the homestead
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #148 • July/August, 2014
I come from a "penny-pinching-and-proud-of-it" family background and I learned the importance of saving a buck at an early age. Throughout my journey toward a self-reliant lifestyle, I've...
Making maple syrup
By Marcella Shaffer
Issue #59 • September/October, 1999
The art of making maple syrup is generally attributed to the Native Americans. Early settlers arriving in America learned the skill from them. They then went on to...
The saga of Benjamin, the backwoods, homeschool boy who wanted to get a job
By Margaret Wright
Issue #37 • January/February, 1996
Raised in the woods of Northern Idaho, home schooled by loving, protective parents, he was a happy, carefree child for the first sixteen years of life. The sixteenth...
City boy, country boy
By Margaret Wright
Issue #33 • May/June, 1995
Anyone who has read or heard the story of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse knows the difference between a child from the city and a child...
Roasting coffee on a wood stove
By Lorinda McKinnon
Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019
In hard times, comforts are important for morale. Some might stash a jug of whiskey or a case of cheese puffs, but for me, comfort is a steaming...
Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I
<!--
Annie on Everfree Farm, Part I
-->
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...
Small Town America: Thermopolis, WY — Horses and hot springs
By Emily Salinger
Photos by Richard Coffinberry
Issue #85 • January/February, 2004
When Nate and MaeCile Brown amble down the main street of Thermopolis, Wyoming, everybody recognizes them. They're old friends, honored citizens, and local characters. They...
Choosing a chain saw
By Steven Gregersen
Issue #119 •September/October, 2009
Winter will be here soon and along with winter comes cold weather and high heating bills. Obviously there's nothing new about any of this but with the current economic...
Jackie’s tips for hardcore homesteading
By Jackie Clay
Issue #62
Many of us have a garden and enjoy fresh vegetables during the summer and fall. Maybe we even have a few chickens for eggs and meat. But many of us may...
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...
Seed art — It’s fun to collect the seeds and create these unusual pictures
By Alice B. Yeager
Issue #42 • November/December, 1996
Seed art is an old craft going back to long, long ago. Where the art of turning seeds into pictures first began is obscured by time, and...































