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A Backwoods Home Anthology — The Twelfth Year
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DEPARTMENTS
6  Publisher’s Note

7 &nbspEditorial: How environmental ideology hurts the solar energy industry

20  Ask Jackie: Hazelnuts, affordable places to live, market gardening, water systems, baked beans, sauerkraut, and more

64  Energy Works

45  Think of it this way:The Coming American Dictatorship, Part IV

26  Ayoob on Firearms:
Picking a holster

56  Irreverent joke page

92   BHM books

78  Letters

89   Advertiser Index

44  Book review: Veterinary Guide for Animal Owners

84  Classified ads (pdf)

84  Classified ad form

91  Subscription Info

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Cover 69
ABOUT THE COVER
This issue’s cover is a copy of a photograph from the 2000 Midwest Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair hosted by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. This is the Fair’s 12th year and it will take place in Amherst, Wisconsin, June 22-24. In 1999, more than 15,000 people from 49 states and 40 countries attended. This year even more are expected. There will also be more than 100 workshops, 125 exhibit booths, site tours, family activities, food, and fun. BHM will be there, too, and we will have our own booth. We hope to see you all there at the Fair.

FEATURES

Energy Works

64  It’s all happening at the fair   By Michael Hackleman

Looking for a place to learn about renewable energy and see and touch the hardware? Check out the The Midwest Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair this June in Amherst, Wisconsin.

66  Installing a hydro system   By Michael Hackleman

In the third installment of his series on water power Michael Hackleman begins the installation of a low-buck, low-tech approach to tapping a water source for power.

Farm and Garden

8  Animal birthing   By Jackie Clay

This is the time of year when many of the animals are giving birth on the farm. Jackie Clay discusses what to expect and how to prepare for and deal with problems.

40  A child’s garden   By Jackie Clay

Whether you assign your children a row in the family garden or you give them gardens of their own, planting, caring for, and harvesting, they will learn life’s lessons while enjoying themselves.

Self-sufficiency

28  Mending basics   By Genie Dickerson

30  Tanning hides at home — low labor, low cost   By Anita Evangelista

35  Build a log crib   By Dorothy Ainsworth

60  Tails of the marsh   By Maureen Gilmer

Building and tools

18  Build your own laser level   By Harry McCarty

29  Build a pallet fence   By Clay Sawyer

54  Build with beautiful field stone   By Delores Wilgenbusch

Country Living

14  Foraging for a fine cup of wild herb tea   By Linda Gabris

58  Picking and preserving the wild plum   By Bill Weekes