Maintaining a diet healthy for your heart, including vitamin A, E and C, calcium, fiber and oat bran and recipes for chicken and vegetable Provencal, spaghetti with cauliflower.

Pet responsibility beyond the basics, including social training, birth control, physical and emotional care.

The cooking implications of this plant could make it the most important in the garden, including how to grow, what to watch for and harvest and storage.

Author discovers unpleasant smell in automobile.

Conversation with California grower and researcher John Jeavons.

Cooking great flapjacks, including recipes for whole wheat, oatmeal apple, banana nut, bourbon pecan, gingerbread, orange and buckwheat buttermilk pancakes.

A guide to astronomy and night sky phenomena.

A look at Henry David Thoreau's gardening expenses and the history of human planting.

Author recalls plans to homestead in Rocky Mountains, including building, gardening, coping with isolation, hunting.

The history and national distribution of skunks and dealing with this smelly animal.

A guide to basic drywalling, including diagrams, building a homemade drywall jack, tools and supplies, sizing, edging.

How to prevent damaging ice buildup on the roof, including remedies, dams, insulation.

DOME, SWEET DOME January/February 1990A field guide to shelter alternatives and sensible shopping.A NUMBER OF GOOD-AND VARIED books on housing have recently sprung up in our neighborhood.As John Bower reported in PollutionFree Housing (MOTHER 116), a wide range of substances commonly used in build

Bull And Barrel January/February 1990 By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors LASTLAUGH WELL SIR, I JUST GOT IN FROM THE yearly National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. Had a rousing good time being entertained by 15 professional yarn spinners, including that calfpunching, bronco-bus

An illustrated guide to workhorses, including breed specifications.

Out West and on the Road Magazine publisher earns living traveling through American in his camper. January/February 1990 By Sara Pacher I FEEL LIKE WALTER MITTY waking to find out my dream's come true! Indeed, according to his mail at least, Chuck Woodbury, editor and publisher of Out West, t

Oil company's promises to clean up after Valdez spill have not been truthful and left an environmental mess that will take generations to repair.

Hugh Williamson suggests not letting a power take-off drive lie in the mud; Thomas LaMance says electricians tape will adhere better in cold weather if heated before application; Len Crainer catches roaches in a jar with beer in the bottom; Danny Grantom suggests boiling water in a pan before boiling milk to prevent the milk from sticking and burning; Walter Korah demolished large boulders by heating them for several hours and pouring on cold water; Rebekah Kos uses oven cleaner to keep the glass door of her wood stove clean; Sandy Beadle keeps a candle and matches in the car to provide heat in case she gets snowed in; Gary Stender uses windshield washer fluid as household window cleaner; Timothy Fenby uses a nail and drill to remove stubborn bolts; R. J. Smith packs cracks with steel wool to keep mice from eating inside; Keith Flower prevents locks from corroding by keeping a plastic bag around them; Mrs. F.W. Brown discovered talcum power removes grease stains; Matthew Shelton uses a tung oil and mineral spirits mixture to restore luster to wood floors better than waxing; George Davis uses cat litter to remove oil spots from the garage floor; A. Keller freezes bacon to cook later; Janice Boyce cooks the bacon before freezing; Rick Powell rubs an onion half over his windshield the night before a big freeze, which makes frost removal easier the next morning; Ida Blaker ties a pillowcase over a broom's bristles when sweeping snow to preserve the broom; Howard Baker uses a flexible rubber hose to remove spark plugs.

SORRY TIMES UP IN ANCHORAGE? March/April 1990 DISPATCHES One way to shape the news is to buy it. by Tom Turner Last April was cruel Prince William Sound. A.J. Liebling—in the opinion of many, the most talented American

The biological benefits of oxygen and the environmental hazards of air pollution.

Gleaming Canines, Flashing Felines March/April 1990 [OVER AT THE VET's] We've bred some pets into toothaches. by Randy Kidd, D.V.M. A small dog's life isn't what it's cracked up to be, what with dental appointments and all.

Choosing the proper rain gear to keep dry, including coats, slickers, umbrellas, rubbers and boats.

Author enjoys Hopi ruins in New Mexico.

Young author fights to keep condominiums from being built in woods near his home.

Author recalls Hurricane Hugo and speaks with survivors.

THE USSR Environmentalists gather in Red Square in Moscow for Save the Earth summit. March/April 1990 By Ben Finney Issue # 122-March/April 1990 REPORTS FROM ABROAD Ommm, ommm, ommm-ing with Gorby by Ben Finney Red Square in Moscow has seen its share of history, but little

A children's story about the words behind the Rites of Passage composition.

Well-known contributors broadcast thoughts on Earth, including: Pete Seeger, Jeremy Rifkin, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglass Lea, Kawena Johnson, Linn Barnes, Gaylord Nelson, Linda Pakri, George Leonard, Ann Landers, Jimmy Buffet, Marvin Harrison, James Dickey, Robert Ashley, Hundertwasser, Hunter S. Thompson, John Paul II, Ray Bradbury, Josie Kusugak, Michael Kramer, H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Alfred Meyer, Seyyed Hossien Nasr.

THE WHOLE THING COULD MAKE YOU SING?OR WEEP. March/April 1990 POSTCARDS FORM EARTH Steve McCurry A procession is like a dance, even while, as here, it is actually work. ( Niger , 1986) Electronic images have radiated into space since the invent

The history behind the magazine.

Gardening as a catharsis and means of emotional support and rejuvenation.

GARDEN TIME March/April 1990 To get intimate with a deeper calendar, take off your watch and go out in the garden. by SUSAN SIDES PART TWO MUD season, the harvest moon, or when the frost is on the pumpkin. We're all familiar with such time

The ecological and environmental benefits of planting more trees, including reasoning and tree planting advice.

ON ONE LOG CABIN, PLEASE. TO GO. March/April 1990 HANDS ON Kits can make building easy. Well, easier. by Richard Freudenberger Log homes can be well manicured and even baronial. Terry and Sandy Wolf took a big step; they committed

On the advice of innumerable, well-meaning handbooks like 500 Things YOU Can Do to Save the Environment, the Pilgrim immediately but modestly set out to change his ways. To fight proliferation of nuclear power he began turning off light switches. To conserve water he placed bricks in the flush tank of his toilet. To battle sheep ranchers who were shooting bald eagles he boycotted lamb. To halt the destruction of spruce forests he ceased subscribing to certain bulky newspapers.

Author recalls California forest fire near his home.

Conversation with Barry Commoner, a leader in America's environmental movement.

Collection of landscape photographs.

Climbers undertake expedition to climb Mount Everest.

The University of Arizona encounters resistance from Native Americans and environmentalists for trying to build a telescope at Emerald Peak.

Plans to tap Hawaii for geothermal power sound practical, but could level a rainforest.

The domestication of a feline breed and how they became the inspiration for author's music.

The big paychecks that come with being a doctor carry a hefty price patients may not know about.

Hiking footwear technology and choosing the right shoe for the trek.

Travel along historic Route 66 and its myths and history.

The environmental benefits of forsaking a meat diet.

The popularity of and history behind a well-known restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y.

ECOLOGICAL LAWN CARE The Jones are going organic, so keep up with them. May/June 1990 LAWN CARE There is no substitute for grass as recreational surface for play areas, parklands and ball fields. It is infinitely superior to concrete, and even Astroturf. As a low

Reinterpreting a shop class favorite, including materials, construction, diagrams, mulch, compost and topsoil.

The Mexican Garden Caf? May/June 1990 Issue # 123 May/June 1990 KITCHEN GARDEN Grow south-of-the-border food up north. by Susan Sides If you're like me, you love Mexican food.Yet often when you eat out, you sense that some

The 500-Mile Fence May/June 1990 THAT's IT, FOLKS! by JEFF TAYLOR THE quiet night before: It's only a simple fence' I insist. A day's work, maybe two. Three rails, and one top strand of barbed wire on the posts. Dig the holes, fling in t

Hunting for underwater game and reeling in a really big catch.

Recycling cooking waste, including peels and stalks, disposal, indoor composting.

Pooch's Lament: Fleas July/August 1990 COMPANION ANIMALS by Alexis Lipsitz Same old problem every summer. Tough critters, fleas. These tiny pests can live for months without eating, jump 50 to 100 times their height, and helped wipe out on

Signs of pesticide abuse in pets.

Building a gazebo for the back yard, including diagrams, instructions.

Excerpt from book Sex, Death and Flyfishing.

Organic cleaning methods, including vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, soap flakes, oil soap, borax and ammonia.

Designing natural paths and walkways, and how a couple turned a dilapidated country home into a masterpiece.

The history of denim, slacks, trousers and pants.

A wrinkle on his puckered brow furrows, divides and multiplies. You know much about chickens, son? They lay eggs. Beyond that, I treasure my ignorance. Not really. This is my wife's field of empowerment.

The Rogers family fights the government and the U.S. Forest Service's encroachment on their lands in California.

A hiking guide from the staff of the National Outdoor Leadership School, including backcountry travel, campsite selection and use, waste and garbage disposal.

Ensuring this summer fruit gets its place at picnics.

Learning about America by studying the various editions of the Boy Scout Handbook.

Keeping winter vegetables fresh underground, including varieties, treatment, storage, harvest.

A traveling musician hauls her Steinway grand piano to small towns in the west.

When it comes to the reintroduction of the Yellowstone wolves, environmentalists and livestock producers don't see eye-to-eye.

Preparing foods with a pressure cooker, including advantages and disadvantages, choosing the right kind and a guide to pressure cooker cooking.

A guide to roof repair, including peaks, fields, valleys, hips, rakes, eaves, flashing, and patching.

A guide to growing apples ecologically, including antique versus modern varieties, resisting disease, planting.

Sewing a pie cooling quilt, including designs, materials, pattern, diagrams.

Cooking with apples, including recipes for apple and raspberry pie, open face apple sandwiches, spinach apple salad, mulligatawny soup, maple sweet potato casserole.

The importance of soft footwear, and other little know facts to sock away.

Most North American bats polish off hordes of mosquitoes every night. Support their efforts by providing a bat house based on this advice from Bat Conservation International.

Dan McHale, a Seattle builder of backpacks, walks through fire. With bare feet. On bare hands. Unscathed and rejuvenated. Let's see Jack Nicholson do that. Let's see you do it, Dan had urged me earlier in the day, or at least just come along and watch. It could change your life.

Jeanne Knape glued a picture of each plant to an envelope and sent seeds as gifts; Chuck Williams supports plant stems with a drinking straw; Buck Kuhs puts egg skin over a splinter to help it work loose; Kathy Smith Anthernat plants castor beans to keep groundhogs away; Burdette Kiser filled a lawn roller with crankcase oil to prevent inner rust; Evelyn Huddleston bathes in oatmeal to relieve dry skin; Robert Weir soaks a hammer in water, then antifreeze to tighten a loose head; James Koester seals tree cuts with latex caulking while pruning; Russell Skinner, Sr. dips fence posts in roofing tar for preservation; Carlo Crump repairs torn screens with epoxy glue; Larry Briggs pours table salt in his well when the water level is low; Bill Birdsall repairs a kinked hose with PVC pipe; Connie Jo Higgins sprays a lawnmower blade with vegetable oil to prevent grass from sticking; Aaron Corum dropped mothballs in plaster walls to drive away rats; Cindy Corum uses rock salt to control fleas; Billy Morris soaks rusty metal ware in vinegar to wash off rust; Brigitte Von Budde uses kitty litter on sidewalks instead of salt; F. Karen Anderson removes sweat stains on clothes by meat tenderizers; Mrs. Andrew Guskea, Jr. cuts Formica to preserve wooden stairs; Earl and Barbara Hodel hold a wooden match between their teeth to prevent crying while peeling onions.

A process for extracting, processing and transporting crude oil beneath the ice in the Arctic Circle and observing Organically Grown Food Week.

Mother's Pressure Cooking Guide September/October 1990

Apples that resist some serious diseases September/October 1990 Issue # 125 - September/October 1990

Ensuring your orchard is healthy for next season with winter grooming.

Starting a holiday home business, including species selection, buying and planting, pruning, selling.

Three ways to build a door, including batten, layered and joined door designs, diagrams and instructions.

Restoring a Ford 8N tractor, including facts, figures, advice, specifications.

How to add an old railway car to country property, including prices, zoning laws, caboose buying advice, acquiring a railroad car.

A beginner's guide to home heating, including new stove technology, antique stoves, firewood and chimneys.

Energy saving tips for your car that keep the wallet fat and tank full.

A guide to growing cheap houseplants, including avocado, citrus, coffee, date, fig, kiwi.

Preparing the traditional Thanksgiving dish, including recipes for cranberry relish, cranberry cake, apple and cranberry crunch and turkey tips.

Guano an Petro-Balm, Etc. November/December 1990 BITS &PIECES News that fits nowhere else SYMBOLIC HOUSE—For nearly two generations now, the somber farm couple in Grant Wood's painting American Gothic has come to symbolize the hardworking, steadf

That's All Folks November/December 1990 The Serpent and the Egg BY DOUG ELLIOTT A CHUNK OF PARADISE.That's what my wife, Yanna, and I call our homestead on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We have ponds, a small orchard and a large organic garden. Of

Sally Charles uses pepper to plug a leaky radiator; Rhonda Dodson uses fingernail polish to remove pine sap; Russell Mercer sprinkles kitty litter on the driveway for traction; Timothy Inboden glued carpet to the bottom corners of heavy appliances for easy moving; K.C. Drefke coats metal garden tools with paste wax to prevent rusting; Wynell Whitaker cleans his microwave by zapping a cup of baking soda and water for 20 minutes; Mark Mitchell fills a paper sack with yellow sawdust to cover up the scent when cleaning up after an urban dog walk; Pat Juenermann adds glycerine to the load when washing plastic shower curtains; W.E. Frye plugs holes in his birdhouse with corncobs until bluebirds arrive; Bobbie Mae Cooley makes scare sparrows from feathers and cork to keep birds away from the garden; Lois Klein-Miller lets children divide clothes based on color to teach them fashion coordination; Jerome Knapp lights a newspaper in the back of the fireplace while cleaning to prevent ashes from spreading throughout the room; Fred Race forces glue into hairline cracks in woodworking and sands it smooth; Sharon Fritchlery glues field corn to a mouse trap for repeated kills; Lakshmi Tache vacuums sluggish files and releases them outdoors; Allen Mader smears dark grease on a hardhat to keep flies away; Earl and Barbara Hodel trap flies in a jar with chicken liver.

Ten ways to recycle your Christmas tree

How to turn a holiday decoration into a bird feeder.

Traversing snowy terrain in the Native American style, including diagrams, framing, construction

The Best of 20 Years Ago... Today August/September 1991 Issue # 127 - August/September 1991 It is no longer possible for non-Indians to believe in progress. After over-consumption, over-population and over-complications of life, you will have to turn to the Indian way of looking at things. Your way of life has

New England town manager gets in trouble for employing sheep to keep cemetery tidy and mistaking migrating insects for spacecraft.

Organic farmers start business and involve employees in decision making process.

Mildred Baughman carries leaf mold and soil from the nearby woods to create a fertile growing environment; A.M. Rader puts a rubber crutch tip over his hammer head so as not to dent wood; Raymond Wilcox uses stair runners to cover his wood pile; Pete Peterson built a mill so he could construct his log cabin; Eileen Janigo places kindling in a paper bag and lights it to start fires; Ann Hourdequin uses sauerkraut to clean the insides of porcelain teapots; Jack Kiser checks musical greeting cards and recycles their batteries in his watch; R.C.W. Davis shares a recipe for homemade peanut butter; Andrew Guskea protects knife blades with hosing; Ross Westergaard uses freezer packs to keep the refrigerator cool; Lorna Ternyila rubs her hands in vegetable oil before washing to remove oil and grime; Mikki Smith shares recipes for wet wipes and pet shampoo; Theresa Thompson puts a cough drop in tea to clear her head when sick; Ken Dillard boils persimmon twigs to treat poison ivy; Cheryl Miller stretches hat bills over pots to keep their shape; James Richards sharpens knives with tool steel; Carmen Wright uses a mild tea to clean hardwood floors; Renee Shermen pinches her upper lip to relieve leg cramps; Nita Brainard soaks clothes in cold saltwater to remove the game smell after hunting; Jeff Mullin uses ashes to clean stove glass doors; Claudia Morgan recommends not heating PVC pipe; Janelle Myers suggests leaving a window cracked when burning candles in a snowbound car; Kelly Bastin tells that windshield washer fluid has toxins that are harmful for pets and humans and should not be used as household cleaner.

Keeping dogs away from deer ticks, searching cats for external parasites, why dogs pant, the dangers of shearing dogs, preventing dogs from biting hot spots, transporting pets in the car.

A sampler of family favorite recipes, including autumn sandwiches, frosted chocolate creams, dandelion greens.

Weather Forecasting Predicting weather, including basics, clouds, winds, pressure systems, humidity. August/September 1991 By Ceylon Monroe Your Eyes Can Keep You Dry. By Ceylon Monroe. When you walk in the woods or open country, where do your eyes play? Of you're like me, you easily get wrappe

Outfitting an antique barn with solar capacity, including the basics of photovoltaics, and the future of photovoltaic companies.

Living the Dream Author's story of homesteading in British Columbia. August/September 1991 By Deanna Kawatski By Deanna Kawatski At one time or another, all of us have thought of starting over in some wild, green corner of the world. the Kawatski family has done it—and they have a remarkab

An interview with the first lady of community supported agriculture.

Buying necessary tools, including hammer, chisels, pliers, screwdrivers.

The hazards of first time shopping and picking the right tool for the job, including drill, circular saw and router.

The fundamentals of utilizing a root cellar, including humidity, ventilation, temperature, storage.

Outdoor playthings for children, including a horse swing, playing platform, bark pipelines and bark boats.

Getting to know a community from afar, getting involved and meeting potential neighbors.

It's Not for Everyone August/September 1991 Last Laugh A strange farewell to Roto-Rooter. By Christopher Nyerges SINCE THE MID-1970s,I have been affiliated with a nonprofit educational corporation located in drought-stricken Southern Californi

Compost August/September 1991 How to make it and how to use it: 7 tips for success. By Susan Sides RURAL AUTHOR WENDELL Berry once wrote of the farmer, He has seen the light lie down in the dung heap and rise again in the corn. These words have sharply

Tricks to planting evergreens, including how to grow conifer seeds before planting.

Discovering edible fungus in the woods, including varieties, safety tips, preservation.

University report alleges congress has hamstrung the EPA and American diet changes over the past 40 years.

KITCHEN NOTES, 1915 October/November 1991 THE OLD TIME FARM MAGAZINE From beer to bread: A sampling from a country gentleman's daily plate THE FOLLOWING RECIPES ARE REPRINTED from a 1915 edition of The Country Gentleman, a farm journal stuffed with practical countr

Wolves in Dog's Clothing? October/November 1991 Calming thunderstruck canines, tattooing Toto, getting a new pup, and other useful tips By Emily Miller FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO READ MY BIO IN ISSUE # 127, you might remember that I'd been searching for the dog of my dreams. This issue, I'm happy to report that

Gathering materials for craft projects from the woods, including vines, moss, fungi, flowers and weeds.

Build an energy efficient house from tires and aluminum cans for $20 a square foot, including living off the power grid and elements of earth homes.

How to build a mortarless stone wall including choosing stones, equipment, layout, ends and corners.

Picking perfect apples for the ultimate dessert, including recipes for pie crust, awesome apple pie, apple and blackberry pie, Dutch apple pie, cider apple pie, Dutch apple and raspberry pie and other varieties.

The key to bringing stories to life for children, including style, pacing.

The ins and outs of covering the fall crops, including soil moisture retention, weed suppression, soil temperature, what to mulch.

Keeping the cabin warm and energy efficient, including chinking, peeled logs, roofs, adding insulation, insulating ducts and pipes, tuning up the oil burner, caulking guide.

Quick checks of home heating systems, including fireplace, hot water radiator, steam heating system, warm air heating system.

Building a portable wood workbench, including diagrams, instructions.

Making a cherrystone heating pillow, including collection, assembly.

Nicki Klein Parsons and her family made outdoor lawn pillows from old pillowcases and packing peanuts; Margaret Shauers gives old produce to senior citizens; Frederic Otten collects muck with decomposing vegetation, dries it out and uses it as potting soil; Joseph Morrison warms steel tools indoors before taking them into the cold; Dr. R. Rimmer keeps garden tools in an old mailbox plank; Byron Timberman screws a hook into paint containers to hang is brush on; C.A. Coleman shares two methods for canning milk; Nancy Peckham distracts deer flies by waving her hands; Mikki Smith drapes tinsel on strawberry and berry bushes to keep birds away; Verna Bowes shares four uses for vinegar; R. Dresser puts plastic six pack holders in cement to strengthen the concrete; George Lynch cleans oil, grease and paint off his hands with turpentine.

YOU CAN SMELL A NEW TRACTOR COMING two or three years ahead. The first thing a wife notices is that the thrill—of the old tractor, that is—is gone. He no longer fondles the fenders, caresses the hood. No more does he run in the face of a storm to ge

A guide to choosing weather stripping materials and their uses and applications.

PAINT SPATTERS & FLEA MATTERS December/January 1991 Dennis Slodysko

AIDING THE NATIONS FORESTS December/January 1991 BITS AND PIECES Protect Our Ancient Forests IF THE WEATHER IS GETTING COLDER, Congress must be back in session. One bill of interest to us Wilderness lovers is H.R. 842, the Ancient Forest Protection Act, which aims to safeguard the ancient forests of Washington

Build this smart-design toy box in an afternoon.

HOT SOUPS FROM THE COLDEST PLACE ON EARTH December/January 1991MOTHER's KITCHENSoup secrets from Nub's Nob's Betty SpierlingBy Mary KarenouGROWING UP IN HARBOR SPRINGS, MICHIGAN (a small town on Lake Michigan and a Petoskey stone's throw from the Mackinaw Bridge and Michigan's Upper Peninsula), there

GETTING YOUR LIVESTOCK THROUGH THE WINTER December/January 1991ANIMAL HUSBANDRYMost livestock tolerate winter better in a three-sided shed than in a tight, unventilated barn.WHEN READERS CAME TO US WITH QUESTIONS about protecting their animals' health through the harsh winter months, we went straigh

MOUNTAIN FIDDLING December/January 1991 By Len Jones Finding and fixing an old-time fiddle. by Len Jones THE MOANING, LONESOME wail of the country fiddle has graced American homesteads for centuries, from the peaks of the Blue Ridge to the Louisiana bayou. It is a wonderful, expressive instrume

UNCLE BILLY's HOMEMADE HAMS December/January 1991 The Perfect Cure By Joel Bourne My first memory of Uncle Bill Long's ham goes back to a Christmas dinner long ago. I was a shirttail boy of eight, and my family had been invited to Uncle Billy's big white farmhouse near Garysburg, North Carolina. There, among 3

THE HEIRLOOM GARDEN December/January 1991IN 1970 WE MOVED A NOAH's ARK OF animals--two horses, two cows, miscellaneous chickens, cats, and a dog--750 miles northeastward to a 100-acre farm at the end of a dirt road on a remote peninsula in Cape Breton Island. Nova Scotia. After we had rebuilt the barn, plowed a

WHEN YOU'VE GOT AN AX TO GRIND December/January 1991 A pro's hints for ax sharpening By Robert E. Hetchler TO MOST PEOPLE, AN AX IS very basic: It's a stick with a sharp piece of metal on one end that'll chop just about whatever you put it up against. And as with any tool made to do a cutting job, proper use

THE NOT-SO-NAKED TRUTH ABOUT WINTER MULCHING December/January 1991SEASONS OF THE GARDENThe answer to that eternal question: Should I mulch my perennial fruits?By Stu CampbellBY NOW, WITH ANY LUCK, YOUR RHODODENDRONS and azaleas are safely nestled under a layer of pine needles (or wood chips or sawdust

MAKE NATURAL DECORATIONS... FOR LESS December/January 1991MOTHER's CHRISTMAS SPECIALThe secret to decking your halls is walking out your front door.By Susi JacobsonIN THE FIRST WEEKS OF DECEMBER, as I start bringing boxes of decorations down from the attic, I also begin thinking of what I can make

A List of Herbs and Some of the Natural COX-2 Inhibitors They Contain December/January 1991• chamomile• celeryseed• ginkgo (ginkgo leaves are not a food) for apigenin• skullcap (not a food) for baicalein• hops, barberry, goldenseal, goldthread, Oregon grape, yellowroot (none of these are foods)

REPLANTING YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE December/January 1991 MOTHER's CHRISTMAS SPECIAL This Christmas, enjoy your tree all year round! IT ALWAYS SEEMS LIKE SUCH A SHAME TO throw out the lovely tree that meant so much to you during the holidays. But sometime after the Super Bowl and before Valentine's Day, your on

MOTHER KID-TESTS SOME EARTH-FRIENDLY TOYS December/January 1991 MOTHER's CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Something fun and educational for under the tree. By Mary Karenou ABOUT THIS TIME OF YEAR, the handier of us on staff cut out of work an hour or two early and head home to our workshops to put the finishing touches

TURN MEAT SCRAPS INTO CHRISTMAS CANDLES December/January 1991MOTHER's CHRISTMAS SPECIALSIT JUST WOULDN'T SEEM LIKE Christmas without candles. And with good reason: Candles have long symbolized the anticipation of the holidays and the keeping of the faith. Candles also remind us that this is a time to reme

The Hew generation of WOOD STOVES December/January 1991 WOODSTOVE SPECIAL Catalytic combustors, pellet fuel, or just updating your old stove: MOTHER 's guide to the more efficient, environmentally conscious technologies. By Gary Turbak IN INVENTING THE WOODSTOVE, BEN Franklin built a freestanding fireplac

BURNING DESIRES December/January 1991 WOODSTOVE SPECIAL Surefire ways to light up your woodstove BY David Petersen THE LITTLE CABIN THAT SERVES ME as library, study, and workshop was plenty cold this morning, as it is every morning this time of year. But within seconds of walking through the door, I had a

TASTY TIPS FOR COOKING ON YOUR WOODBURNING STOVE December/January 1991 WOODSTOVE SPECIAL By Fred and Helen Brassel M OST PEOPLE ONLY CONSIDER their woodstove useful for heating a room. And when we purchased our Woodstocker to cut oil costs, we never gave a thought to using it as a cooking stove. But one

SAUK-PRAIRE, WISCONSIN: WHERE EAGLES SOAR December/January 1991How to get a close-up look at one of nature's most beautiful creaturesBy Lee DavenportAN ORANGE GLOW IN THE eastern sky announces that dawn is near. Shapes on the horizon take form as the ever-increasing brightness lights a hidden landscape. The

FOUR-WHEEL FUN December/January 1991SHOP SHORTTWO -WHEELERS DON'T HAVE TO be the only game in town. This isn't news to those who spent their fun-filled youth pumping the daylights out of a pipe-and-wheel contraption that was called an Irish Mail. Well, here's a modern version of that pump scooter, and i

THE HITCH The quest for the holy cord December/January 1991 LAST LAUGH By Mike Drummond SCRAP 2 X 4S WERE OUR MAIN FUEL THE first year we had a woodstove—square wood being easy to stack and carry. I know it isn't proper fuel for a woodstove, but it did keep us warm. When all the construction scraps were g

New Jersey announces mulching mowing plan and college enrollment in natural resource programs rises.

Cooking stews and chili, including recipes for Uncle Bill's Texas chili, grandfather's beef and vegetable stew, cousin Bruce's gobbler's chili.

Helping cats cope with moving, snoring dogs, destructive behavior in pets, the causes of kennel cough, dealing with kitty litter odor, pet oral hygiene.

Tips on purchasing cattle, including what to look for and where to find it and milking.

The secrets to backyard sugaring, including planning ahead, tree selection, how, when and where to tap and making an evaporator.

Planting success with a cold frame, including design and construction, management, irrigation, crop rotation.

TREATING THE WHOPPER COLD, THE NATURAL WAY February/March 1992 HOME REMEDIES RARE IS THE YEAR THAT WE DON'T EXPERI-ence at least one whopper of a cold or one bone-shaking case of the flu. These home remedies won't do a thing to actually kill the virus of the h

A guide to companion planting for healthier plants and bigger harvests from the garden.

Beginning beekeeping for extra income, including getting started, equipment, hive maintenance.

How to barter with anyone for anything. Bartering techniques and secrets, and how to negotiate the perfect swap.

Recycling antique metals and spare parts into lawn art.

A guide to feeding birds, including seeds, millet, corn, peanuts, mixtures.

How to build and install a skylight for under $10, including: materials list, construction, diagrams.

How to build a recycling and separation shed and trailer.

Forecasting forthcoming fuels, including alcohol fuels, electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles, propane, hydrogen.

PICKIN' A PICK-UP February/March 1992 By Matt Scanlon and Dave Epperson Tips on What to Look for LAST TIME YOU HAULED SIX SACKS of chicken feed in your VW Vanagon, did the ol' boy take on a permanent list to starboard? Does your wife refuse to drive

How to build a chainsaw case for easy transportation, including cutting list, instructions, diagrams.

With the present mania for recycling, getting rid of may soon be an idiom gone from the language. Certainly getting rid of anything down on the farm these days is next to impossible.

George and Alice Lynch made a windbreak baffle for their ventilation windows; Mikki Smith uses scraps of construction paper to preserve old mirrors; Marilyn Dune shares a recipe for homemade cough syrup; William Bacon discloses how to get a good deal on an RV; John Tax gives a recipe for home bullion cubes; Dorothy Rieke plants tomatoes early in a plastic bucket; Peggy Johnson shares how to start a grocery bank to help money stretch further within the family.

American Rivers organization helps public voice views on the damage of hydroelectric plants to waterways and Grizzly's Gifts in Anchorage, Ala. discovers moose dung is hot seller.

Bonnie Roycewicz discovers eating honey helps bedwetting; N.M. McGee rubs cooking oil on appliance castors when they refuse to be moved; David Hottle soaks seeds and lets them dry in newspaper to ensure they are fertile; Chad Miebach learned ants and a garlic and oil spray keeps aphids away from the garden; Suzanne Blood shares the dangers of using car-starter fluid as a lubricant in lawn mowers; Robert Jezeski discovers that wood stove ash keeps slugs away from the garden; Chris Martin uses shed dog hair as critter repellant; Bob Schuetz recommends catalytic wood stove owners invest in temperature measuring equipment; Matthew Thomas, Jr. soaks cloths in furniture polish, which makes cleaning up painting mistakes easier; Leslie Newberry rinses beef under hot water to remove fat.

Tasty desert bar recipes, including Easter brownies, toffee bars, Mackinaw Island fudge, caramel turtles.

Managing beneficial bugs in the garden, including enticing the right insects, beetles, bugs and flies.

Setting up a produce stand, including what to sell, pricing, arrangement.

THE MYTHS, DEALS & STEALS OF A COUNTRY AUCTION April/May 1992  Issue # 131 - April/May 1992 Writer Joel Bourne hangs around the Trenton, North Carolina, Volunteer Fire Department auction Two men, dressed respectively in camouflage and dirty denim, stood on opposite sides of an aging plow, oblivious to the

Preventing grass tetany in cattle, keeping ponies out of pasture, the story behind buttercup poisoning.

Keeping the home watering hole healthy, including repairs, inflows, outlets, troubleshooting guide.

How to collect and use herbs for home health, including drying and preserving, storing.

A seasonal guide to medicinal herbs, including willow, salix and viola species, elderberry, sambueus Canadensis and pubens.

BE LIGHTNING and ELECTRICITY SAFE ON YOUR COUNTRY PLACE April/May 1992 Protecting yourself from April Showers By John Vivian A good many years ago, when I was new to country living, I was talking on the phone — handset tucked between ear, chin, and s

Using herbs to create the perfect aromatic bath, including comfrey, lavender, chamomile, basil, mint, pine, nettle and rose.

Making monkey bars from tree trimming leftovers.

ONE THING YOU CAN DO READERS SHARE THEIR WAY TO HELP OUR EARTH-One person at a time April/May 1992 By Margaret L. Cooper There's another way to help the environment beyond simply paying attention to our surroundings. You can make your beliefs known to the business wo

LEFT AFTER TAXES April/May 1992 LAST LAUGH No Deficit At Home By Patricia Penton Leimbach Hey make up a list of what you earned last year, hollers my husband from the next room, where he's wind ing up his six weeks' dalliance with i

FINALLY! A FENCE THAT LASTS A LIFETIME April/May 1992 By Gail Damerow Owners of high-tension fences love to trade stories about line wires that spring back into place after being pinned to the ground by a fallen tree, flattened by a runaway bale, or challenged

THE VERSATILE MUFFIN April/May 1992 Natural Kitchen For many people, muffin munching means strolling down the frozen-food aisle at the supermarket or dropping into their nearest Dunkin' Donuts. Who has time to bake? Muffins are actually fast, easy to prepare, an

Recipes for homemade jerky and preparation techniques.

Non-profit school teaches how to build a log cabin, and the American Bat Conservation Society needs help finding bat roosts.

Helping a hole heal in a sow's teat, suturing a cut milk vein in cattle, keeping a herd safe from rabies.

Michael Chilquist uses 2 inch PVC pipe and a pillowcase to keep his shop vac from clogging when cleaning sawdust; R.W. Gilson makes perforated 3 x 5 cards with a sewing machine; Jacquie Sewell suggests ways to recycle items for flagstone, mulch, rocks and plants; Zena Colterjohn ships fragile items in disposable diapers; Don Carroll runs necklaces and chains through a plastic straw to keep from tangling; Morrow Olcott recycles discarded seat belts as gate latches; Vicki Eastwood keeps cauliflower heads white by covering them with panty hose.

How to build a chicken coop from scratch, including materials list, instructions.

Turning weeds into food, including purslane, dandelion, violets, chickweed.

A seasonal guide to medicinal herbs, including comfrey, symphytum officinale.

Cooking and preparing berry dishes, including freezing berries and berry buying guide.

Author builds a log cabin in the Rocky Mountains and settles on remote property.

A guide to organic lawn care, including fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, mowing.

Hunting, harvesting and cooking the wild plum.

Adventurous cooking on the barbecue grill, including recipes for rattlesnake ribs, BBQ chicken, lamb chops, grilled corn on the cob.

Tips for taking pictures outside, including fishing, hiking and boating photography advice.

Sewing children's playbook, including designs, patterns and stitching.

Helping pets beat the heat, careers with animals outside of veterinary practice, stopping dogs from eating fresh feces, quantities of flea preventatives and adoption information on cocker spaniels.

MIDDLE-SIZE CHILD June/July 1992 Young Wildlife by Patricia Penton Lembach Our younger boys are now nine and 11 going on 16 and 18. Our house seems joyously overrun with neither/nors treading a happy path between childhood and adolescence, demanding as is conv

Brewing home beverages, sarsaparilla, including recipes for syrup, making extract from fruit.

Setting children up in an earthworm business, including finding worms and marketing.

Goat breeds are distinguished by one or more of four categories: dairy, fiber, meat or transport. Originally published as Mother's Guide to Goats in the June/July 1992 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS.

THE WHOLE SCOOP June/July 1992 A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Easiest Homemade Ice Cream and Cones Yet—With No Costly Machines or Endless Cranking! by Gail Damerow Ice cream parlors are enjoying renewed popularity. Sales are breaking new record

Buying a goat for lawn maintenance, including types of goats, feeding, health care.

Building a home deck, including site plan, trial layout, lumber, diagrams, instructions.

New site keeps land exclusively to protect and repopulate endangered species.

Joy Connerman covers new plants in sand in her garden; Janet Sue Hicks shares a garlic oil based recipe to repel aphids; Dierdre McAuliffe uses beer to remove coffee stains from rugs; Day Brown tells how to keep snakes away from chicken eggs and how to control yellow jackets and ants; Karen Leigh Jones provides construction tips to make a roomier crawl space; Ruth Oleweiler dips a straw hat in water to keep her head cool on hot days; Pat Jett freezes tomato juice in ice trays to add tomato flavor in other recipes; Betty Parsons makes a map of her storage area to make implements easier to find; Hugo Wiener uses a banana peel to shine shoes; Dorothy Bell uses half an egg shell to retrieve cracked bits of shell when cooking; Marge Fulton puts petroleum jelly on fleas to kill them; David Armbruster uses peanut butter to catch mice; Laura Dutcher found hamsters repel mice and rats.

Getting rid of worms in a lamb flock, weight loss in horses, preventing worms in beef cattle, treating lice in white heifers.

Fishing advice and tips on capturing that elusive catch.

A beginner's guide to grafting trees, planning an orchard and growing traditional varieties.

How to can food throughout the year, including choosing jars, hot pack versus cold pack, techniques.

Author's adventure picking huckleberries in British Columbia.

MAKING HARVEST CORN DOLLIES Craft project weaving wheat into dolls. August/September 1992 By Randy Kidd SUNDAY AFTERNOON By RANDY KIDD Wheat weaving is as old as farming, and a heck of a lot easier. If you can braid hair or tie an overhand knot, you'll be weaving in no time. Because I gro

These birds prove to be the ultimate low cost, chemical free pest control.

Saving energy from your kitchen appliance, including cleaning the condenser coils, checking seals and temperature, power saving and defrosting.

Adding spice to salads, including recipes for Greek village salad, cucumber salad and green been and garbanzo salad.

Preparing and preserving the fall harvest, with recipes for caponata, eggplant and tahini spread, Greek vegetables, freezer vegetable soup.

WITCH HAZEL & BLACKBERRIES August/September 1992Issue #133 - August/September 1992 HERBALIST's NOTEBOOKBY CORRINNE MARTINA seasonal guide to medicinal herbsI have always used witch hazel as a simple astringent for cuts and scratches. I also offer it to teenagers (and others) who have mild

Planning and building a country driveway and low speed road, including: planning, traffic, drainage, paving, installation, landscaping.

Interview with Linus Pauling, a pioneer in alternative medicine and home health.

An ecological history of politicians and their environmental voting habits.

HANG YOUR CLOTHES ON A HICKORY LIMB August/September 1992 LAST LAUGH An ode to the country swimming hole Orrin just buzzed down the road on his motorcycle, a large tractor inner tube slung around his shoulder.The picking kids are on lunch break an

Here's how to build a tree swing! Includes diagrams and instructions.

Sue Peeler recycles weeds as garden mulch; Maureen Engle leaves seedlings in her car - parked in the sun - all day during work, to germinate; Leroy Marchand suggests starting a farmer's market for extra income; Rob Benshoof shares how to make an alcohol camp stove; Dennis MacDonald uses plastic grocery bags as paint tray liners; William Grover says by heating Formica with a infra-red light, the plastic will easily peel off; Steve Martinez details how to make fire starters; Kay Zorn cuts the feet off pajamas and sews heavy socks in their place; Kay Haugaard's husband distracted a wasp by laying out some chicken on a napkin; Bob Gragg puts plastic tabs from bread bags under tape to keep the ends fresh; Vern Johnson uses toothpaste to fill holes in spackling; Carole Wooden built a rope ladder clothesline so gloves, hats and mittens wouldn't be lost; Joy Gonnerman cover late winter plantings with sand.

University researchers breed giant mice, and the National Turkey Federation provides free turkey leftover recipes.

Helping a kitten stop biting, canine nutrition, why dogs scoot, what to feed a pregnant pet, house training a puppy.

Cooking and preparing turkey, including recipes for smoked gravy, cranberry sauce, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie.

THRILLS AND CHILLS October/November 1992 Issue # 134 - October/November 1992 HANDICRAFTS Make Your Own Halloween Displays. By Mark Sunlin Halloween decorations have begun to rival those of Christmas in popularity. Adult suburbanites who grew up trick-or-treating simply refuse to give up de

Improve your postal receptacle and no cost, including box selection, building a support system, installation, diagrams.

A guide to hiking and camping, including necessities, packing, clothing, navigation, cooking.

The basics of home wood working, including equipping your tool shop, measuring and marking, qualities of a good tool, cutting, fitting and fastening.

Carving a great Jack-o-Lantern for Halloween, including selection, carving tips and ideas.

Teach children by helping them grow an indoor garden, including a miniature herb garden, bottle garden, flowering crate.

Learning the craft of making stained glass windows, including designs, supply list, cutting glass, lead and solder.

Examining presidential candidates Bush and Clinton's environmental voting records and habits.

A guide to brewing beer at home, including the formula, stirring and clearing, materials and cost list.

Cleaning clothes at home and saving money, including: washing machine cycle options, water level controls, spin speed, efficient drying.

HOW TO GET ORGANIZIZED October/November 1992 LAST LAUGH One writer's harried attempt, by Patricia Penton Leimbach According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 50 percent of the American population has moved in the past eight years. Consider the psych

JEWELWEED & GENTIAN October/November 1992Issue # 134 - October/November 1992HERBALIST's NOTEBOOKTwo new members of the natural medicine cabinetJewelweed often stands in full bloom, carrying its odd-shaped, speckly blossoms. This herb is a wonderful remedy for poison ivy, and I always gather a

TUBERCULOSIS IN LIVESTOCK December/January 1992 COUNTRY VET A nearly extinct disease is back By Dr. John Mettler, Jr., D.V.V. If you buy a cow or goat for family milk, insist that your veterinarian check for tuberculosis, among other health problems. The forest mixture of hard and soft maples

1993 ALMANAC FOR STAR GAZERS December/January 1992 By Fred Schaaf Nineteen ninety-three offers extraordinary sights for watchers of the heavens. The United States gets treated to a rare trio of total lunar eclipses—each one likely to provide strange effects due to the Earth-shrouding haze produced by Mt. Pinat

MOTHER's KITCHEN BREAKING THE FAST December/January 1992NATURAL HEALTHStop making excuses for skipping breakfast; learn to make easy recipes the whole family will love.By Anne Vassal“I just don't have any time. I'm never hungry in the morning. I'll grab something on the road. We've all heard,

SEASON's EATINGS December/January 1992 NATURAL HEALTH Forget the granola bars; you can have your cake and eat it too. By Anne Vassal Holiday cookies are frequently rich in fat, cholesterol, and sugar, and are poor in nutrition. While it can be tricky to cut down on fat and sugar without creating big

WOOD AND COAL STOVE ADVISORY December/January 1992 MOTHER's 1993 The new lowdown on a familiar subject; our craggy contributor from New England revels in the past and tells us what's important for the present. By John Vivian If you're like me, you've been heating and cooking with wood long en

SECRETS TO A SUCCESSFUL GREENHOUSE BUSINESS December/January 1992 BOOTSTRAP BUSINESS With a little effort, you can start a greenhouse that will benefit the environment and bring in the profits. By T.M. Taylor Find work that you love and you will never work a day in your life! After deciding w

THE VERSATILE CAMPER-TOP CABIN December/January 1992Make a house for your chickens, goats, dogs, or dolls out of an old camper top.By Allan DamerowThe shell's back is above the panel opening.An old camper top works as a readymade roof with windows.If animals will be housed over w

MAKE AN OLD-FASHIONED TRIANGLE SHAWL December/January 1992HANDWORKSLearn the secrets of crochet.By Ella Jean EarlAuthor and mountain woman Ella Jean Earl wears her self-made shawl outside during cooler weather.Crochet, pronounced kro-shay, is the art of using thread or yarn to interlo

MAKING A CLEAN LIVING December/January 1992 EARTH DIARY Make your own natural, effective, and inexpensive cleaners. As more people strive to better both the environment and their health, many are turning to alternative cleansing products in order to escape chemical-filled brand names. While it's not ea

THE BIRD FEEDER's HANDBOOK December/January 1992 A practical guide to selecting the right style of feeder and bird food for your backyard. By Sheila Buff Many people prefer hanging feeders, which seem unobtrusive and save the expense of a pole. If no convenient branch is available, you may o

A STURDY WOODBOX FOR SERIOUS WOODBURNERS December/January 1992DO IT YOURSELFSince you can't buy a decent woodbox, make one yourself.By John VivianYou just can't buy a decent woodbox. Oh, furniture stores sell wood-trugs to match the shiny brass tong-and-shovel sets that frame suburban, recreationa

Ice Fishing December/January 1992 With the right jigging techniques, you can bring in a fresh fillet tonight. By Jim Capossela There is no form of matter on earth that so defies us one day and then so fully yields to us the next as does water. January 13 7 A.M. I pulled into the parking

MAIL-ORDER MANIA December/January 199219 Ways to Ensure Success in Mail-Order GardeningBy Gail DamerowIf there’s one thing MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers receive more of than Christmas cards, it's gardening catalogs. And what better time for these catalogs to arrive in the mail than in the dead of winter,

MODERN ILLUMINATION December/January 1992 From halogen to halide: a guide to lighting your home for less money. Compact fluorescents use 75% less electricity than incandescent bulbs. Lighting accounts for approximately 10 percent of the total energy use in the average American home and can easily cost

Susan Dawson uses dip container lids to cover baby formula cans; Sheila Carpenter uses candle stubs as adhesive; Rachel Hartman uses a trash bag as coveralls during a messy project; N.W. Smeathers shares several uses for fennel and pennyroyal; Terry McLendon uses camphor to dissuade insects from coming indoors; Tom Brantley sprinkles baking soda on battery terminals to keep them from corroding; George Lynch hooks his masonry abrasive wheel into his drill to remove stubborn nuts; Dennis Slodysko adds dishwasher detergent to windshield wiper fluid for a cleaner windshield; Mikki Smith stores motor oil in syrup bottles for easy application; Pat Juenemann puts foil over hardware when painting; Douglas Sity inserts a drinking straw into a catsup container for easier draining; Bindy Beck-Meyer uses lemon halves to keep white porcelain sinks spotless; Janet Dawn Wilson rids her doghouse of fleas by building a bonfire nearby and letting it burn overnight; Ash Yeager stores broth in cake pans, lets freeze and cuts into squares for easy use in future meals; Andrew Guskea Jr. cleans wicker with a saturated oxalic acid solution; Orville Bodie makes small holes for controlled pouring of liquids; Thomas Brantley turns homemade peanut butter jars upside down each day so the oil won't form on the surface; Phyllis Perry reminds readers that energy lost must equal energy gained.

THE LAST LAUGH December/January 1992 An ode to the country, By Jeff Taylor Peril is a relative thing. I don't mind bungee- jumping, skydiving, or bull-riding on a warm day, but it's arguably insane to risk one's life for sport when the temperature falls below the comfort zone. Adrenaline flows more sluggis

The scientific benefits of spider silk, and a new genetic cross of cauliflower and broccoli.

John and April Adkins sprinkle grass seed for traction on icy patches; Cecil Monk places Plexiglas on his windshield so he won't have to scrape off ice; Mrs. C. Pruitt uses a car jack to remove tree stumps; Janet Cunningham uses kitty litter to absorb the musty odor in her wood stove; David Blake poured flour on broken glass to find the shards; Cynthia Hamon soaks egg shells in water, then waters plants with the fertile solution; Elimore Davis adds egg shells to his compost pile.

Corn emits a chemical to attack predators, and using peacocks as pets and pest control.

The history of March, spring temperatures and special sky events for spring.

Promoting cooking skills with children, including recipes for soft pretzels, pita pizza, fruit juice jello, edible playdough, surprise muffins, fruit kebobs.

Cooking simple yet tasty meals, including recipes for borscht, penne pasta with pork, lentil chili.

Built and plant the garden bed that will provide a bountiful tomato harvest, and extra income.

Learn how to make homemade nutrients (fertilizer) for the plants in your hydroponic garden.

The basics on soil and how to turn dirt into a fertile garden growing place, including: nutrients, fertilizers, soil tests.

Jumpstart planting by beginning an inside nursery, then transplanting in the garden.

A New Mexican family shares how to forego money and trade for everything.

Caring for colds and flu with herbs, including recipes, harvesting and dosages.

Constructing a dryer powered by the sun, stove or electricity, including materials, diagrams, assembly.

Preserving food may not leap to mind as a mid-winter activity. But at our house, dry-preserving goes on year-round since the kids favorite school snacks are dried fruit-pulp leathers. As a result, the canisters of dried goodies need continual replenishing.

Recycling old tires into a house, including solar powered homes and waste solutions.

How to knit an afghan for winter warmth, including diagrams, instructions.

UNCLE TOBY's TEMPER February/March 1993 LAST LAUGH Or, how to disassemble your car...in minutes. By Jeff Taylor Farmers tend to be easygoing, but once in his life-long age, my uncle lost his temper. I learned the details when I was 12, helping him

SEASONS OF EARTH AND SKY February/March 1993 SEASONS Sure-fire ways to tell that springtime is near. By Fred Schaaf If you're dreaming of warmer weather, outdoor walks, and starting up your outdoor garden again, you're not alone. Most

Gary Nelson uses a rubber tie down strap to prevent bundles from falling off his wheelbarrow; Craig Johnson uses a corkscrew to dig up carrots; James Brunner applied sheet rock mud to cheap weatherboard cabinet doors from an improved painting surface; W.C. Thompson uses bran to kill slugs; Dee Getchell used a plastic needlepoint canvas to cover a hole in her screen; Cynthia Mullis fills her child's sandbox with birdseed to prevent injury.

An aspen grove of 47,000 trees in Utah holds the record as the world's largest living organism and the environmental impact of whaling.

A comparison of the energy costs of various methods of home cooking.

What to know before purchasing a pig, including choosing breeds, making the purchase, finding the right piglet and transportation.

May flowers, the season of the horseshoe crab and summer astronomical occurrences.

Buying and preparing sprouts, including recipes for Adzuki bean nut mix, sprouted hummus spread, quesadillas, crunchy rice salad, vegetable stir fry.

Preparing whole grains that are rich in fiber and low in fat, including recipes for jambalaya, porcini mushroom risotto, tomato pesto risotto, broccoli and cheese pie, Southwestern salad.

Growing sweet corn in the garden including selecting seed, planting, cultivation, pollination, harvest.

Tips to give trees the kind of treatment to preserve long healthy lives.

Turning your vehicle into a transport service, including shipping, hauling and bussing.

NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT April/May 1993 HERBALIST's NOTEBOOK Relieve springtime hay fever with soothing herbs. by Corinne Martin Echinacea, violets, and dandelions are just three of the herbs that can help eliminate the sneezing and wheezing of

The secrets behind cutting and styling your family's hair and braiding techniques.

Alternative energy from the skies gains momentum and popularity.

BASEBALL THEN AND NOW April/May 1993 LAST LAUGH The Great American Pastime is best played as loud and disorganized as possible Having sons of nine and eleven, I have been liberally exposed to the Little League baseball scene. And I am prepared

Making telephonic improvements and installation in the home, including wiring, extensions and equipment.

After 15 years of dreaming, Dick Sellers and his family built a log cabin home — on their own, and from scratch. Read their story and learn how to build log cabin, includes instructions, photographs and diagram.

Bud Deunk sprays floor wax remover on his windshield before turning on the wipers; Mrs. Dale Fowler removed trees from her five acres with a 1970 Ford truck and ropes; J. Orlando Lawhorn feeds his chickens dog food to increase egg productivity; Karen O'Brien takes the waste that would normally go in the garbage disposal to fertilize her garden; Randy Mitchell recycles Styrofoam containers as jar liners; Sandra Kocher waters a battery before jumpstarting a car.

AND YOU THOUGHT JALAPE?OS WE SPICY! WERE SIPCY June/July 1993 BITS AND PIECES Word Search Cheryl McLeod, a MOTHER subscriber from Sumter, S.C., sent in the word-search game below. We were flattered that she took the time and we thought it was a great idea. The hidd

Helping a choosy rabbit get nutrition, an examination of feline leukemia, skin growths on a Norwegian elkhound, using baking soda to relieve bad dog breath, allergies and a golden retriever.

The thunderstorms of June and July, a total lunar eclipse and other astronomical wonders of the summer night sky.

Cooking and preparing a garden favorite, including recipes for tomato salsa, pasta with tomatoes, basil and arugula, marinara sauce, curried green tomatoes, broiled tomatoes, cherry tomato pasta, and a PLT sandwich.

A guide to preparing the perfect picnic, including recipes for bruschetta rustica, marinated bean salad, and several sandwiches.

Designing and building the perfect wood fence for your property, including planning, fence building, post digging, spacing pickets, materials.

How to build a durable gate to complete the homemade wood fence, including selecting hinges, and frame walk gates.

Knowing when to buy, upgrade and overhaul a home air conditioner, including AC basics, selection, and sizing the system.

Capturing snails from the garden and cooking them, including snail housing, lures and preparation.

A guide to speedy decomposition including aerating, watering, moisten as you build, turning, oxygen flow.

Preparing raspberries or fern to settle an upset stomach and other alternative home medicines.

Building a wind powered battery charger, including background, parts list, instructions.

Make soap with this old-fashioned recipe for your family, or to sell to family and friends.

How to turn a dead tree into a birdhouse, including materials list, instructions.

FAREWELL TO SLUGS June/July 1993 LAST LAUGH by Jeff Taylor The relationship of gardeners and slugs can be summed up in two words: mortal enemies. These guys are eating everything, my wife mutters, looking around at the tattered foliage. She spies one a

EARTH DIARY June/July 1993 by Matt Scanlon 1993 Update:Dave Arthurs' Amazing Hybrid Electric Car Alternative-energy vehicles have been motoring through the pages of MOTHER since 1970. Our response to the energy crisis at that time took the form of a number of i

BREEZY MECHANICAL DETAIL June/July 1993

D. Wayne Reed checks a battery's levels before jumpstarting a car; Kevin Hill makes rubber bands from bike and car inner tubes; Mrs. F.W. Brown puts plastic mosquito netting over the shower drain to keep hairs out; Kristi C. uses vinegar to treat sunburn; Lynda Herman puts orange peels in her garden to keep cats away; Gladyce Sellhorst fills a pop bottle with sugar, vinegar a banana peel and water to catch horseflies; Gordon Denekas catches flies in a glass filled with water and soap.

The Mountain City Fiddlers gather for a reunion in Tennessee, and the dangers of toxic carpets.

Remedies for flea problems on pups, signs of canine labor and how to handle a breech birth, proper tick removal tips, making homemade dog food.

The wonders of the fall sky and astronomy, including the equinox and blue moon and seven visible planets.

Cooking and preparing corn, including recipes for Southwestern corn chowder, corn pancakes, Yucatan salad, corn and bean salsa.

Turning fresh fruits into low-fat, healthy desserts, including recipes for breakfast berry cobbler, blueberry and raspberry cobbler, fruit crisp, melon mousse and oat bran pie crust.

How to make a random weave basket for beginners, including vine selection, directions, diagrams.

Paul Glover of Ithaca, New York developed community currency to boost his neighborhood.

Designing, building and stocking a family's food supplies.

Extending the fresh fruit and vegetable growing season, including a planting to harvest chart.

Capturing meals from a North Carolina lake, including fly fishing basics and techniques.

Author recalls the benefits and joys of learning at home.

Building a shed from easy instructions, including diagrams, materials, tools and cost list.

Do You Know Where Your Caulk Is August/September 1993 Energy Tips Tips for making around-the-house adventures with your caulking gun more effective. The yearly ritual begins in September. The old caulking gun emerges from its hiding place in the shed, is cleaned off

Taming the Bicycle August/September 1993 Last Laugh Mark Twain on mounts, dismounts, and the joys of having an expert around.. I thought the matter over, and concluded I could do it. So I went down and bought a barrel of Pond's Extract and a bicycle.

Nick Terrell uses a bed frame as a gate; Andre Ball uses latex gloves as grips for opening stubborn jars; Tom Fulcher uses soybean meal as a pet friendly fertilizer substitute in the garden; Lauren Turner uses rose and cucumbers as companion plants in her garlic garden; Jim Sauberan buries beer cans in the ground to catch slugs; Daniel McMillen hooked up an air compressor to his pump sprayer.

Jesse Savell's passively heated and cooled concrete homes stand up to the test of time.

Myths and benefits behind spaying, anesthetics and dalmatians, and extra digits on kittens.

An autumn lunar eclipse, colorful foliage and the story behind the Indian Summer.

The best and worst apple baking choices, including recipes for applesauce, apple and chicken salad and baked apples.

Using an antenna and computer to capture satellite weather images.

Drinking herbal teas to sooth nerves and cure ailments.

A reunion with Mother readers and motorcycles.

Information on chainsaw and logging protection including safety gear, safe clothing, tools, habits, tree selection and cutting.

Growing fruit trees in the garden that will produce for 25 years, including the six basic styles.

Finishing the barn by installing a plank door or sliding windows.

Stuffing walls with straw bales can save cash and promote energy efficiency.

Preparing turkey leftovers, including recipes for turkey soup, cranberry quick bread, turkey hash, mashed potato pancakes, cranberry cobbler.

Beach Bucks & Barter October/November 1993 Issue # 140 - October/November 1993 Another community successfully starts a currency based on barter. By Dan Kukulka, Ph.D Barter is nothing new. Some people have always traded goods and services instead of buying the things they need. Today, with hi

Re-insulating a house and making it more energy efficient.

THE LAST LAUGH October/November 1993 In April, we printed a photograph sent in by reader Kenneth D. Love in Dear Mother. Remember the moose in the pool? Well, we so liked the idea of printing photos taken by readers that we asked you to send in your most prized, most

ENJOY SOUP WITH TOOTH & NAIL December/January 1993COUNTRY LOREHearty Cup of SoupLast winter was a financially lean one for us, and one evening my father called while I was struggling with the concept of preparing dinner. As I complained to him about my empty refrigerator and pantry, he suggested t

THE DIRT ON FINDING YOUR TRUE MATE December/January 1993BITS & PIECESSick of trudging through the snow only to find an empty mailbox? There's good news.In Search of EdenAdam and Eve found lovers' paradise in a garden — that is, until the unfortunate apple incident. Let's face it, gardens are i

HOLIDAY TEMPTATIONS December/January 1993 PET HEALTH by Andrea Looney, D.V.M Plan on indulging your pet? Stick to affection. During this joyous time of placing wrapped gifts under perfectly trimmed trees, I've got a favor to ask of all of you. Please think things through before giving someone else an

SIGNS OF THE NEW YEAR December/January 1993SEASONSFred SchaafWinter doesn't have to be tedious if you know what events to look for.It's almost 1994, so I'll begin by wishing you Happy New Year! Every culture must choose a time in history at which to begin its count of years and days. But did

HEALTHY RESOLUTIONS December/January 1993NATURAL KITCHENMOTHER's KITCHENBy Anne VassalBring in the New Year with a low-fat, high-class dinner.To me, diet has always been synonymous with self-discipline (as well as starving and suffering). I'm glad to see that more and more people are coming

WEATHERING THE STORM December/January 1993 EARTH DAY Michelle Silver MOTHER finds out how Midwestern subscribers are faring after the great flood. For much of the country, the Great Flood of '93 is out of sight, out of mind. Headlines dropped from front pages as newspapers and magazines moved on

To make pulp, look no further than your waste and recycling bins.

Old Stoves: Making A Comeback December/January 1993By John VivianIf you've been heating with a wood stove for as long as I have, your faithful Blaze King or Upland Elk may be getting long enough in the tooth that it needs refurbishing or maybe even a replacement. Since some of the best designed stoves ever

On the Road II December/January 1993 GETTIN'ROUND Joel Bourne meets more subscribers and completes his motorcycle tour through the heart of MOTHER country. By now the throbbing, hollow notes of the Norton are comfortably familiar. They reverberate off the sheer walls of a canyon in northern Colorado, w

Quick Fixes December/January 1993COUNTRY SKILLSAl Carrell20 of the all-time best hints for making household repairs.Editor's Note: There are no more excuses. You've been putting off that minor repair project around the house for months now, even though it's making the whole family crazy. Eit

SAY IT WITH HERBS December/January 1993HERBALIST's NOTEBOOKCorinne MartinHerbal concoctions make perfect gifts and help ease gift-givers through the holidays.Making holiday gifts from natural herbs and ingredients is an uplifting — and inexpensive — way to offer a bit of earthy wealth to the

1994 Guide to Solar Power for Home Owners December/January 1993ENERGY &ENVIRONMENTLiving Off the Grid:By Matt ScanlonYou probably think that solar energy is a resource that makes sense only for an isolated town in Arizona or New Mexico, or is the province of eco-hippies. We're happy to repor

Winter Bloom, Green Thumb December/January 1993GARDEN &YARDby Gail Damerow5 1/2 houseplants that even a black thumb couldn't killHouseplants and I had a less than auspicious introduction. During the first winter I spent in Alaska, I was desperate for something green and cheerful. When I sp

EARLY TO RISE December/January 1993NATURAL KITCHENMOTHER's KITCHENby Anne VassalGone are days when baking fresh bread meant sacrificing the whole day.FRESH FROM THE OVEN:Quick breads take much less preparation time than cakes, can be frozen for a week in advance, and are a heck a

COLLECTION TIME December/January 1993 LAST LAUGH As I lost control of my temper, my daughter found a small fortune. By Jeff Taylor We need more firewood — pronto, Joy advises this morning. My wife comes from Vermont, where the laconic locals keep 50 cords of seasoned oak on hand and get paranoid wit

John Klase breaths on paint before sealing the can to keep it fresh longer; Ellie Spada soaks the wooden handles of old tools in PVC pipe filled with boiled linseed oil to preserve the wood; Candy Homer noticed spreading ashes in the garden keeps grubs and pests away; David Kelly uses toothpaste to remove fish odor from his hands; Angel Gonzalez collects co-workers fruit and vegetable scraps for her home compost pile; L.A.T. uses lint from the clothes dryer as a wiping cloth; Keith Bellinger waxes his shovel so snow won't stick; Hugh Williamson made a flexible extension for his caulk gun.

WANTED: FAMILY WITH KIDS February/March 1994 BITS AND PIECES Protect your wrists and forearms from an angry hen's pecking beak. In Search of a Laid-back Lifestyle If you read the classified section of MOTHER's April/May 1993 issue, you probably no

Keeping llamas as pets, teaching children responsibility before pet ownership, preventing feline bladder stones, the effects of glucosamine in reducing arthritis in dogs, keeping dogs from digging up the back yard.

Find out how the full moons were named and identified. February/March 1994 SEASONS By Fred Schaaf COMING IN JUNE: The rings on Saturn will be the narrowest they've been in over a decade. SKY CALENDAR OF SPECIAL EVENTS FOR 1994 FEBRUARY

Cooking soups as meals, including recipes for chicken minestrone soup, potato cheese soup, and hot and sour soup.

Treating pests while keeping the environment and the garden healthy, including recipes for organic repellents.

Interview with Paul Hawken, founder of Smith and Hawken Tool catalog and author.

Living off the Grid, Part II: NORTHERN EXPOSURE February/March 1994 ENERGY & ENIRONMENT Despite short days and long, cold winters, Kip Tewksbury has powered up his solar home—in Vermont! By Matt Scanlon Kip Tewksbury is building his dream house in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont. The co

Making homemade candles as a craft, including materials, directions, diagrams.

Preparing salads, including recipes for couscous salad with harissa sauce, orange watercress salad, wild rice salad, apple coleslaw, garbanzo bean salad.

Keep your family and house safe with these fire prevention tips.

Solving legal problems and debt through bankruptcy, equity and exemption.

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT February/March 1994 LAST LAUGH Too much oxygen can be dangerous thing. By Jeff Taylor W hen the first frost hit, joy and I were almost ready. The garden was completely mulched, the tomatoes were covered, the hoses were al

Easy bridge construction, including diagrams, instructions.

Designing a spring flower garden, including planning, coloring, basics.

Marilyn Porokney shares details of making tea with hard water; Tom Fulcher recommends using soybean meal as a pet-friendly substitute chemical fertilizer; Margaret Beals uses a fish net to cover loads in her truck bed; Stan Lubecki sharpens the blades in his hand mower; Sharon Shreve uses fingernail polish to remove walnut stains; Richard Bowen makes cat litter from newspapers.

A dog rescues a family plagued by mountain lions and corn as a source of ethanol.

The causes of destructive or unruly actions in pets and advice to readers.

Dancing around the maypole, tornado safety and safely observing a solar eclipse.

Cooking meals quickly that are guaranteed to please the family, including recipes for ramen soup, skillet chicken with peppers, tortilla casserole and turkey and noodle casserole.

Making a mirrored box, including materials, scoring, foiling, soldering, cleaning and painting.

Tips for growing the favorite fruit of the summer.

Advice for buying antique cars and restoring and using them.

Rough Home Building April/May 1994 Cover Story Living the Dream: Two brothers dream of a cabin in the country and build it on Lake Bonaparte, New York. By David S. Warren Round Island is a 20-acre range of miniature mountain

Using horses, cattle, mules, burrows and draft animals for hauling lumber can be cheaper, easier and less damaging to the land.

Mother reader completes his log cabin.

Tips to conserve energy and waste in the home year-round.

A New Era in Home-Owner Hydro April/May 1994 Energy and Environment Living off the Grid, Part III If you thought hydroelectric power was only practical at the bottom of a cascading torrent of water... you're in for a surprise. Tapping the natural force of eve

Cooking and preparing asparagus, including recipes for asparagus potato salad, asparagus vinaigrette, smoked tomato sauce, Asian asparagus, smoked salmon and asparagus with linguine, asparagus frittata.

A long time homesteader readjusts to city life.

The best seeds of the new growing season, including Lady English lavender, big beef tomato, fanfare cucumber and baby bear pumpkin.

The Way West April/May 1994 The Last Laugh Thoughts on getting lost and giving directions... By Jeff Taylor Soon as the rosy-fingered dawn appears, joy and I grab long handed tools to toil in the soil and comb the loam. A hummingbird twin

Phyllis Hubbard puts garden hose over a barbed wire fence when crossing; Walter Brooks recycles soft water from the dehumidifier and gas furnace for the washing machine; Fred Wark advises checking your smoke detector; Peter Godley smears his hardhat with oil to keep black flies away; Fred Babbitt keeps squirrels away from his pole bird feeder by fixing two wine bottles around the pole; Bonnie Gelle made a grid to help her cultivate among spreading vines; Russell Skinner buys a large brush and cuts it into smaller ones; Jim Polk crushes walnuts with a 4x4.

A BETTER WAY TO SPEND YOUR LONG-DISTANCE $$ June/July 1994 BITS &PIECES Working Assets offers an alternative to business-as-usual telephone service. Taking Care of Caretakers If you ever wanted to learn more about property caretaking

Ticks and dogs, treating ear mites, treating a pet's broken leg, grubs in a cattle herd, treating thrush, hair loss and the thyroid gland and the importance of not insulating an outdoor animal's home.

Home health remedies for bee stings, food poisoning, heat exhaustion and sunburn.

Twelve tips for starting a home business.

Preparing and serving strawberries, including recipes for strawberry shortcake, strawberry spinach salad, strawberry bread, easy strawberry jam, strawberry cooler.

Two weekend projects to cut fuel bills, including thermal mass and batch heaters.

The joys of farming with antique tractors.

Feeding Summer's Soil:

The critical nutrients for healthy plant growth in the garden, including nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, potassium and trace elements.

Enjoy fruit and vegetables in all seasons with fourteen tips for year round planting.

Building a low cost solar oven in an afternoon, including: benefits, cooking speed factors, cooking tips, diagrams, instructions.

A guide for beginning pottery, including materials, wedging and shaping, decorating and firing.

HELEN NEARING June/July 1994 INTERVIEW In July of 197I, Helen Nearing, then 69, and her husband Scott, 88, honored MOTHER with one of our first Plowboy interviews. Free thinkers in an age that greeted outspokeness on women's rights, homesteading, subsistenc

Cooking and preparing pasta, including recipes for linguine alfredo with garden vegetables, Mediterranean pasta salad, southwestern pasta, pesto farfel salad, pasta pomodoro.

A site mill to trim whole logs and cut lumber for a cabin in the woods.

THE HEALTH FARM June/July 1994 LAST LAUGH By Jeff Taylor Did city life and country diet kill Elvis? The rural/urban debate continues. No one can deny that city living is bad for the body and hard on the mind, or that life in the country is ha

EARTH AND SKY June/July 1994 ALMANAC By Fred Schaaf June 1 LAST QUARTER MOON, 12:03 A.M. EDT (occurs 1, 2, or 3 hours earlier — thus on May 31— in the farther Western time zones). 2 Corpus Ch

Pierrette and C.J. Miller insulate their chicken coop with Styrofoam packing chips; Scott Hixenbaugh shares how to grow great potatoes; Sally Halfaker removes tarnish from silver by soaking them overnight in saltwater with aluminum foil; Lillian Reynolds uses an alarm clock to keep a sick child happy and allow time to do chores; Russell Skinner uses cotton soaked in lard to attract and trap mice; Keith Brookes leaves water for plants out overnight to remove chlorine; Mary Seigert makes ice cream cupcakes; Barry Atkins dips strike anywhere matches in wax to preserve them for use in any weather.

Keeping pets away from poisons, feline vomiting, canine renal failure, the best way to handle and hold rabbits, the causes of canine allergies, keeping pet nails trimmed appropriately.

Mailing lists, brokers that delete names from mailing lists, credit bureau lines, and other tricks of the junk mail industry.

Making more that pot holders, including materials, warping the frame, plain weaves.

Hurricanes and Harvest Moon August/September 1994 Seasons Can cricket-song replace your garden thermometer? A harvest of fall weather information. by Fred Schaff Nature's grandest storms, hurricanes, are heat engines that feed off the

Home repairs for the gas stove, including diagrams and prevention.

 Easy ways to make daily portable lunch production a pleasure.

An Ace in the Hole, Part II August/September 1994 Barters & Bootstraps Gary Crooker started a business with just a few dollars and a love of literature. Here's how WHY USED BOOKS? You can stock the titles you and your customers love without bei

The plight to save salmon fishing on the Columbia and progress in the name of damming.

Building a sandpit, water table and other outdoor toys, including diagrams, instructions.

Home electric fences can preserve a harvest inexpensively, including polywire, hot tape, electroplastic net, energizers,

Finding the right window for your room, and energy efficiency, including diagrams, measuring, window features.

Building a portable workbench and shelving, including material, layout, assembly, instructions and diagrams.

Planting crops for a second harvest, including onions, garlic, alums, beets, cabbage.

The secret to a pesticide free orchard and the differences between sprayed fruits.

Cooking and preparing eggplant, including recipes for sandwiches, roasted rataoullie, spicy eggplant salad, chicken sukiyaki with eggplant.

Faith Lends a Hand August/September 1994 Last Laugh When a young girl has to have a pony, she can move worlds to get one. By Jeff Taylor Carrying a bucket of oats in one hand, I whistle down our small pasture. His ghost-white head sna

A Yale study suggests that a hotter planet may improve food production.

Building the Sandbox August/September 1994

Building the Water Table August/September 1994

Renalto Carter shares tips to bamboozle burglars; Mike Catalano recycles pop tops from aluminum cans into fencing; Kent David suggests washing miniblinds in the bathtub; Fred Haga recommends looking at the stars; Alan Pryor sharpens drill bits with lard.

The Northeast Sustainability Center aims to design a building that creates more energy than it consumes.

Keeping an elderly canine healthy, safely dehorning a Nubian doe, giving a vitamin supplement to a pregnant Dalmatian, the best diet for a parakeet and cats, pregnancy and toxoplasmosis.

Landscaping a lawn to save energy costs, including diagrams, tempering the sun, sculpting the wind.

Home remedies for tendonitis and broken bones.

SCORZONERA, SALSIFY AND CELTUCE October/November 1994 GARDEN HINTS Three unusual candidates for early plantings, from seed to harvest. SCORZONERA & SALSIFY These two root crops have a taste reminiscent of oysters. Scorzonera hispanic

A candidate for the World's Most Beautiful Tree, finding Andromeda in the night sky, and the rules behind calendaring Thanksgiving.

Three ways to tie the King of Knots, including the classic, the hitch, diagrams and instructions.

TOO MUCH October/November 1994 NATURAL KITCHEN MOTHER's KITCHEN BY Anne Vassal The old reliable soup may be a favorite in the fall, but there's lots more to do with the season's many kinds of squash. With a burst of fall col

How to keep blades sharp and tips for knife sharpening.

Fireplace designs, energy efficiency and the inner operatings of attractive home cooking and warming ovens.

Finding the best firewood, including heat value, seasoning, efficiency, quantity, wood properties.

High-tech stoves offer a clean, hot and fuel efficient fire in response to EPA restrictions.

From Shaker rounds to ricks, how to stack firewood for maximum seasoning. The classic cord, coverings and other advice on wood piles, including preventing bottom rot.

Preparing a spring garden the previous winter, including cover crops.

Living off the grid, Part IV: Catching the Wind October/November 1994 ENERGY &ENVIRONMENT Think you know about wind power? Noisy? Unreliable? Inefficient? Well, the newest turbine generation has finally come of age. By Laurie Stone Mark Mein and Ellen

Preparing and cooking venison, including recipes for venison stew with dried cranberries, mashed root vegetables, venison chili, venison steaks and jerky.

Building a home cheese factory for $15, including instructions, pictures.

Finding food and survival in the forest.

Establishing a new hobby, including materials, directions, project notes.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A CALL... October/November 1994 LAST LAUGH In 1984 I bought a telephone answering machine and plugged it in at my home near Sonoma, California. I didn't really want it. I didn't really trust it. I'm 75. My all-time favorite phone

BLOW AWAY THAT CLOGGED DRAIN December/January 1994 COUNTRY LORE Heavy Artillery The easiest, fastest, and environmentally friendliest way to unclog a sink or bathtub is with your garden hose. Simply bring your hose into the room with the clogged drain. I bring mine in the front door, across my living room,

AN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SHOWPLACE December/January 1994BITS AND PIECESOne company makes a commitment to the planet's future.Picture a place where you can park your electric car next to a charging station, spend the night in an alternative energy—powered bed and breakfast, and peer through the wall

A FOUR-LEGGED PRESENT? December/January 1994PET HEALTHBefore you give a bundle of joy for the holidays, do a little homework.By Andrea Looney, D.V.M.Dear Andrea:My husband would love to give our friends a puppy for Christmas, and though it seems a great gift, I'm reminded of what my mo

COMFREY: THE FORGOTTEN HERB December/January 1994Herbs And Old-Time RemediesJoseph VanSeters describes both a powerful healing plant and a favorite cold remedy.Some time ago, a friend was holding a router between his knees as he changed the bit. Then his grip slipped and his knee hit the switch.

So You Think It's Cold Out? December/January 1994  Issue # 147 - December/January 1995 SEASONS How cold does it get in Alaska? The all-time low temperature is -80 degrees at Prospect Creek Camp on January 23, 1971. Think of it: that temperature is to 0 degrees what 0 degrees is to a typical summer afternoon. S

Making Holiday Music December/January 1994COUNTRY SKILLSTempted by that Fender bass in the store? Try a $2 model first.You don't have to be a skilled musician to make your own instruments for the family holiday sing-along. Here are some simple musical instruments, fashioned largely from recyclables,

Rustic Furniture Build your own outdoor furniture with planks and twigs. December/January 1994 By John Vivian I was fortunate enough to spend grade school summer vacations at my grandparent's turn-of-the-century cottage on the shore of a north country lake. On warm, sunny days the old plac

A WINTER GARDEN December/January 1994Issue # 147 - December/January 1995GARDEN & YARDRick the Winter Blues with Living GreeneryGrow avocado seeds, pineapple tops, roots, and seeds for fun. By Sarah Welcome Conners You know how around the end of January every

WINTER LORE LIGHT YOUR WAY December/January 1994 Make your caroling brighter in minutes. Plus, home remedies to avoid. Imitation pierced-tin candle holders may be used to set the mood for athome holiday events or to light the way during evening caroling. For each candle holder, you'll need an empty soup

COUNTRY SKILLS Keep A Living Christmas Tree December/January 1994 How you truly can save a tree. By John Wan I don't think I've spent good money on a Christmas tree but once or twice in 30 plus years of country living. When I did, it was only because there wasn't time amongst the holiday swirl to tra

(ALMOST) FREE CHRISTMAS GIFTS December/January 1994 HANDWORKS The holidays are a time of love, family, and joy. We all sit around, eat cookies, talk of times past, and exchange gifts. Oh yeah. Then there's the annual sweating bullets because we just realized we can't afford gifts for Grandma, much less the

THE QUEST FOR HOME BREW December/January 1994 SEASONS 's CHEER Would you like a tall cold one of professional-quality brew at a 50% discount? I thought you might. By George Hummel Brewing your own beer, rather than participating in the collective lunacy of shelling out $20 or $30 a case for a p

Don't settle for thin, pasteurized, store-bought apple cider. Homemade cider is cheaper and infinitely more refreshing. Includes information on how to make cider, cider vinegar, cider jelly; how to use a cider press; and more.

SEASONS 's CHEER December/January 1994 VINTAGE Home Wine Making You can learn and have more fun making one batch at home than connoisseurs will have sniffing bouquets all year. By Erin Shafer As the daughter of an established grape grower and wine maker, I have some fond memories of the family wi

Poison ivy, Publicity, and Ostriches December/January 1994 SHUSWAP DIARY Through much trial and error, Deanna Kawatski managed to tackle a small health crisis at home. What poison ivy, publicity, and ostriches have in common is anyone's guess, but in the past few months, they all con verged on my path.

The Humble Spud December/January 1994Issue # 147 - December/January 1995NATURAL KITCHENMOTHER's KITCHENA New Look at an old standbyBy Anne VassalWhen we were stuck on a farm in the north country during a harsh winter, our choices for dinner on occasion were potatoes, potatoes, and more pot

WHY I STAY OUT OF GARDENS December/January 1994 LAST LAUGH Benign oasis for some, a nightmare for others. By William Chapin I do not have a green thumb. My mother had a green thumb. My sister has one (an English variant, since she lives near the Forest of Dean) and my wife does too. I do not envy

Joanna James recycles tires to solve problems with gophers, composting and deep planting in poor ground; Carl Bettrens avoids hard water and soap stains on plastic tubs by applying boat wax when the tub is new; Betty Redden rubs apple cider vinegar into her hands to prevent burns from cutting red peppers; Chloe Chitwood adds calcium to her garden for improved tomato and cucumber crops; Ruth Jacobs keeps a book of matches under the hollow base of every kerosene lamp in her home.

FILLET O' FERTILIZER February/March 1995 BITS & PIECES The Whole Fish and Nothing But the Fish The recent cutbacks in the fish trade have left many hard-working people without jobs. The government has enforced some drastic regulations on those in the fish business

The tufted titmouse and spring azure butterflies signal the new season, along with Mars and legend of St. Patrick.

Building and insulating and energy efficient solar house, including collection, storage, distribution, retention.

Alternative medicine, healing herbs: the curative powers of slippery elm and alfalfa.

This simple animal shelter, a versatile pole barn building for livestock animals, such as cows, sheep, goats, pigs or poultry, or livestock feed can be constructed in a few weeks. Pole barns are the easiest style of barn plan to build. This pole barn plan includes layout, materials and cost list, diagrams, stringers and trusses.

Double a garden's yields with less land space, including diagrams, background, indigenous solutions, solar appliances, open beds, layout and size.

The year's top three flower varieties: petunia F1 celebrity chiffon morn, petunia F1 purple wave, rudbeckia hirta Indian summer.

Planting an asparagus and strawberry garden bed to last a lifetime.

A behind-the-scenes investigation of genetically engineered plants.

Report from a North Carolina Bluegrass Festival with Ralph Stanley and Doc Watson.

Maintaining wooded property, including timber management, making a plan, clear-cut, seed tree, shelterwood and selection methods, wildlife management techniques. Includes common North American tree species.

Cooking and preparing beans, including recipes for white bean and kale soup, toasty garbanzos, hoppin' jack, cannellini beans and tuna, bean cakes with red pepper sauce.

How to handle and animal health emergency, including: the basics, treating cuts, fractures, burns, poisonings.

How to make sure pesticides are safe for the crops and the environment.

THE ODD BUNCH February/March 1995 LAST LAUGH Over the years I have lived in the same house with a succession of dogs, although never with more than one at a time if you don't count new puppies. Most of them were normal, at least as normal as any dog can be. A

Paul Pugliese uses bubble wrap to insulate a fiberglass roof; Montana Dedman rigged an electric barrier to make his rooster more docile; Karen Jones found a way to terrace land alone; Connie Dorn cleans copper in vinegar and salt and cures hiccups with a spoonful of sugar; Cheryl Semarge Moody builds homemade flytraps.

The migration of the tropical soda apple and the danger it presents in gardens and yards.

Saturn without rings, tips for buying a telescope and the story behind April Fool's Day.

The healing powers of stinging nettle and dandelion.

Knowing where the water goes and determining waste and efficiency.

Returning to Shuswap Lake in the summer.

The influence of Dr. Wes Jackson from the Land Institute in Kansas.

Leaving some insects be has benefits, including: pollinators, pest predators, Japanese beetles, caterpillars.

CHAINSAW PALACE A family rebuilds a home damaged by a tornado. April/May 1995 By Robert L. Williams A retired English teacher together with his wife and son rebuild life and home after a tornado. By Robert L. Williams If you have built castles in the air, your work need not

Countless people will attest that a small space, easy to clean, heat, and cool, is more than livable. Author Rev. Bill Kaysing began applying principles of “microhousing to help end the suffering of the growing population of homeless people. Here’s how to build your own small, practical, lovable microhouse on a peanut budget.

Building a house from cordwood masonry, including fuel savings from earth sheltering, insulation and the floating slab.

SHUT UPAND DEAL April/May 1995 LAST LAUGH by William Chapin We use fifty-two cards, but none of us really plays with a full deck. I speak, of course, of the Saturday afternoon low-stakes poker game I look forward to with feverish anti

HANG OUT YOUR SHINGLE Computers can help in a home business, but don't replace all of the elbow grease. April/May 1995 By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors COUNTRY SKILLS Recently a letter told us of a small dilemma: I've worked for six years in Charleston, SC, though I live many miles away,

Cooking food that warms, including recipes for apple crunch pie, oven fried chicken, potato gratin, creamed spinach, macaroni with three cheeses.

Marvin Kapan shares a recipe to take skunk odor off a dog; Julie Kecham vacuums violet leaves with a soft brush to remove dust; Mitch Culver recycles tires by putting them around the bases of young trees filled with mulch; Janet Guardiani provides a recipe for bug spray in the garden; Don Falkick shares how to haul lumber in a small car; Catlyn Conway smears hard soap on pans to prevent them from blackening from smoke.

The benefits of planting horseradish in the garden and the German postal service's electric cars.

Running a home independent of the electric company without sun, wind or water energy.

Cutting $15,000 from annual expenses and adding to savings.

Building non-electrical woodshop tools, including a basic brace, auger bits and adjustable mouth block plane.

Housekeeping and garden tending alone.

Plants and herbs as natural healers and alternative medicines, including: yarrow, pumpkin, privet, meadowsweet, goldenseal.

Healing alternative medicines from the garden, including: high mallow, mullein, horehound, purslane, chickweed, amaranth, bee balm.

Making an indoor-outdoor garden center from wood and peg board, including diagrams, instructions, materials list.

Planting double now, means twice the fall harvest '– and profits.

Relieving colic in a quarter horse, the advantages of foremilk stripping, docking lambs' tails and weight gain in fixed animals.

Cooking portable meals for hiking, camping or on the go, including recipes for granola pancakes, Greek chicken, campfire corn salad, summer pasta salad, last day potatoes, fruit cream.

Last Laugh Life In The Water June/July 1995 Do you ever get that sinking feeling? By William Chapin Long before I knew how to swim I knew how to float—and it's just as well. Wouldn't be here otherwise. I was a Floater Supreme, although I admit that soun

Building and operating a handmade, low flow water system.

June weddings, lunar activity, Saturn, cicadas and other phenomena of summer.

Almanac For June/July 1995 June/July 1995June 19951 Jupiter at opposition (opposite the sun in the sky, thus rising in the east at sunset and visible all night long). Look for Jupiter as by far the brightest point of light in the sky at nightfall. This is also the date in 1995 when this planet is closest

Kate Christiansen uses bathing gloves to conserve water; Kay Haugaard cans cakes and mails them to loved ones; Heather Thomas keeps horses from gnawing on wooden fences by covering them with chicken wire; Nancy Crawford cuts up panty hose to reuse as rubber band substitutes; John Keslick advises to much six inches away from a new tree trunk to reduce rodent and pathogen damage; Robert Edgell burns cornmeal to remove skunk odor from indoors.

The true story of the dog days, dragonflies, Saturn's rings and the days of the week.

The beneficial nematode, alias killer roundworm, may be nature's best flea control, deterring fleas that infest backyards, homes and pets each year like clockwork. Learn more about Natural Homemade remedies for getting rid of and preventing fleas.

Saving money by buying used cars, including a used car guide.

Addressing breathing problems, cold problems, shock and dehydration.

Tracking a sockeye salmon's journey upstream.

New technology in photovoltaic power has improved the world of solar energy, including: new power sources, cell technology.

Preparing foods from fresh vegetables, including cooking greens and recipes for kales salad, sausage bean soup with greens, pumpkin bread, squash puree, gardener's stew, beet carrot slaw.

Keeping track of a growing season on paper proves an invaluable tool.

The benefits and drawbacks of spraying the henhouse with malathion, the cause of distorted snouts in Hampshire feeder pigs, preventing and treating lameness in horses, the cause of feline ear swelling.

Angling for panfish and finding a meal in the water, including: equipment, poles, natural baits.

NEVER WISH ON THE WEATHER August/September 1995 LAST LAUGH Just hold your finger up to the wind. by William Chapin The index of the 14th edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations contains 46 references to weather. As an obse

Maintaining a year round harvest and ensuring a full table.

Build a shed to house firewood with this shed plan, which includes a materials list, dimensions, diagrams and instructions. This shed is timber framed — built from square timbers with woodplank siding rather than being “stick-built — guaranteeing it will stay strong for many years to come.

The benefits and drawbacks of computers in a home business, and uses for computers in the rural setting.

From Vermont high country, build a shed to last 200 years.

Keeping all that sweet land away from the developers.

Carol Larson recycles carpeting as garden mulch; Niki Rini uses kerosene to repel mosquitoes; Cathy Bowers cooks dough balls with leftover dough to add to a salad, dip or jam; Howard Luloff shares a recipe for homemade cereal.

Night tilling decreases weed problems and building a solar water distiller.

Curing canine fear of thunderstorms, preventing yeast infections in dogs' ears, how to deworm a horse, headshaking horses, using antibiotics to cure lame sows, using microchips to permanently identify pets.

The environmental benefits of recycling plastic, aluminum, steel, cardboard, steel and glass.

Myths and history behind Friday the 13th, a hawk mountain sanctuary and the autumn night sky.

Heat from sawdust, wood chips, logging slash and field corn, including ecological benefits, combustion, venting, ashes and cost.

The EPA, air regulations and home heating stoves.

Responses to subscriber inquiries about wood heat.

Plant a fall garden to get a six-month jump on spring gardening chores.

How to carefully fell trees, including chain saw safety and direction control.

Agencies for homebuilding in third world countries, including Educational Concerns for Hunger Association, Conelo Project, Trees for the Future, Habitat For Humanity, Soil Conservation Society.

A woman returns to her homesteading land in the Ningunsaw Valley of northern British Columbia.

Five steps to bring back fruit, including restoration, pruning, scraping, waiting, protecting.

New ways to cook and prepare a Thanksgiving favorite, including recipes for turkey mango curry, Azteca soup, picadillo pita, BBQ turkey and turkey white bean salad.

AN ACTOR's LIFE FOR ME October/November 1995 LAST LAUGH All the world's a stage...sort of. by William Chapin My stage career was a downhill slide all the way—right into the orchestra pit. From the very beginning, it was apparent that I'd never tread the boards

The benefits of building a stone home.

Getting plants started healthy, including tools and materials list, instructions, pictures.

BEYOND PAPER WEIGHTS December/January 1995 Country Lore Vinegar : All-Purpose Cleaner Vinegar is a handy item to have in your kitchen, as most of us do already. Everyone knows it makes the best (and the cheapest) glass cleaner, and mixed with a little water can clean many items in your home. The commer

SENSIBLE DENTAL CARE December/January 1995NATURAL REMEDIESMake your own mouthwash and toothpaste at home for pennies.By Charles Dickson, Ph.D.My dentist is fond of saying that bad breath is better than no breath at all. He's right, but it's not much better, and the affliction of halitosis (o

Honest To Goodness Information December/January 1995 BITS AND PIECES Here at MOTHER we get mail—lots and lots of it. Every day we sort through a pile of letters from readers, surveys, queries, and press releases. Every so often, as we open and write back or open and file them, we discover that someone, s

AN ALASKAN WAY OF LIFE December/January 1995 HOMESTEADING By Julie Collins Thirty below four days before Christmas, and I am trudging through drifted snow along an old snowmachine trail that makes a thin, mostly obscured line across three miles of the frozen lake. A heavy snowfall last week weighed the two

A Home Built Office Desk December/January 1995DO IT YOUR SELFOne of the very few things I liked about working in a city was office desks arranged in an L shape with room for papers, a typewriter (now a computer), a drafting table, and plenty of storage all around. I wanted one for my home office, but a

Are You INSULATED? December/January 1995 The easy way to make your house warmer in winter, cooler in summer, and much quieter year round. By Edward Harland Few people know just how much more comfortable and how much money and energy could be saved by a comprehensive insulation upgrade. Oh, sure, it nag

Explore your options for building a straw bale house. This article explains the pros and cons of straw bale contruction and step-by-step instructions for constructing both load-bearing bale and in-fill bale walls.

HOT TUB NIRVANA FOR $100 December/January 1995DO IT YOUR SELFBack when Yuppies were in, a hot tub was the pinnacle of western civilization. It was letting go of inhibitions of the 60s, partying of the 70 s and materialism of the 80s. Now though, we have the Karma of the 90s. Somehow (probably due to all tha

Turning Sod Into Garden Soil December/January 1995 The Winter Garden Early cold season is an ideal time to start a new garden or expand the old one, and getting the soil in shape is always the first step. Mort's lazy technique of fertilizing new soil and preparing the seed bed makes planning your spring g

Maintaining Health in Pasture Animals December/January 1995 By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors Country Vet As the winter season is upon us, I hope that peace and joy of the holidays fill this season for you and your family. I thought I'd start off this issue with a note about dairy cows and

ENERGY TIPS December/January 1995 Accessing The SECRET CIRCUIT IN YOUR PHONE WIRING Pipe music, rig an intercom, or connect other electronic devices over existing phone lines. By John Vivian As long as a half-century ago MaBell anticipated today's Information Age, and when she self-destructed into

COLD DAYS OF THE CARDINAL December/January 1995A royal red winter bird and the magic seven stars of Pleiades are this season's highlightsBy Fred SchaafThrough drifting snow and cutting sleet I've trudged and toiled my friends to greet; And tug'd beneath my lumb'ring gear, To wish you all a HAPPY YEA

Crown Pleasers December/January 1995Making Holiday FoodPreparation a BreezeBy Anne VassalRegardless of how far you've managed to remove yourself from the din of downtown holidays, guests are sure to find you. Whether they're relatives (stopping by for a few short (but interminable) weeks on their wa

The Bill Chapin has spent much of his life in the snow. . .too much.

A Wreath For All Seasons December/January 1995HAND WORKSMake a holiday decoration from nature's leftovers.By Mickey TelfordOne of the many side benefits of living close to the woods is that you can create a beautiful holidayseason wreath from nature's residues—for free—while others are buyin

Joseph Dombroski recycles worn carpet as permanent mulch in his garden, but makes sure it is of a different pattern than the snakes who live nearby; Mike Mitchell shares how to sink a post guaranteed not to lean; D.E. Andrews protects his flower bed with discarded lawn chair tubing; Charles Miller cooks trout in his dishwasher; Knight Duerig shares a poem; inventive, practical uses for glue, salt, geritol and kitty litter.

New uses for inexpensive wood and a recipe for homemade white fly pesticide.

Feeling Flaky? February/March 1996Nettle and apple cider vinegar will come to the rescue.By Charles Dickson, Ph.D.The process that causes dandruff, the shedding of dead skin, is a natural one that goes on all over our bodies. In fact, we get a whole new suit of skin about once a month. While the dead ce

GET A LIFE February/March 1996 Do what you love, make it your business, have your cake, and eat it too. By Roy Green Illustrations By Darren Thompson Shortly before she died, Margaret Mead gave me seven words of 1 advice. Now, years later, I follow

Building a sundial for the yard or garden, including making the sundial face, preparing and placing the post, attaching the face, setting the time and gaining and losing time.

HAULING HORSES? February/March 1996 COUNTRY VET Crossing state lines, health papers, and other travel tips. By Carol Erikson, DVM. Photos William A. Cotton I bought a horse in Kentucky and I need to haul him home to New Mexico in a fe

Planning, planting and harvesting a year round garden.

Growing great tomatoes in the garden, including types, hybrids, soil and planting advice.

Practical uses for a lawn tractor around a small farm, including a seasonal maintenance checklist and buying tips.

The benefits of weeding the old fashioned way. A scythe is an economical tool that's easy to use and maintain.

Supplying the garage, including jumpers and chargers, tire care, pressurized air, electric power and hand tools.

Green products are environmentally friendly and starting to be marketed by major corporations, do they live up to their advertising?

The miracles of snowflakes and the rules behind leap years.

Recipes for meat free meals, including spinach feta quesadillas, eggplant parmesan with polenta, vegetable curry with couscous, Southwestern beans and rice salad, nondairy banana cake.

FERTILIZER HAPPENS February/March 1996LAST LAUGHThe aromatic acrobatics of spring.By Jeff TaylorIllustration by Darren ThompsonEvery garden begins with an idea of stunning simplicity: Start early. Today is marked on our calendar in red, a very special day, the day we fertilize our garden. It is

The Virtual Garden February/March 1996 By Jeff Taylor Is Garden Design Software just another throw-away gimmick, or the shape of things to come? As I see it, the only thing wrong with gardens is ,the dirt. Ick. You know how it feels when your hands are all coated with dry gritty earth, and when you

Judith Miller shares a recipe for honey; Dorothy Sieler-Bonk shares how to removed candles from candleholder; Anne Schraff uses a cardboard egg carton as a planter; Raymond Sommers uses the slivers left over from bars of soap to make liquid soap; Linda Williams adds life to soap bars by letting them harden in the air before use; Elizabeth McKinney makes scouring pads from orange mesh bags; Pall Cover uses carton tops as peat pot substitutes; Janet Arid Choi makes a perfect tree circle by tying her shovel to the tree trunk; Pat Rovan gets free, sterile water bottles from local hospitals; John West makes sour milk into cheese; Matthew Young cleans CDs with toothpaste; Helen Screaming Eagle uses an antique wringer washer as a pea sheller.

General Motors markets an automobile that operates independent of gasoline, but with a hefty price tag.

How to make cosmetics and beauty supplies at home.

REMOTE PHONES, MADE SIMPLE April/May 1996 COUNTRY SKILLS Keeping in touch off the grid. By Joe Huff Be it barren desert, wild jungle, or mountain wilderness that moves your spirit, provides you a temporary solace, or shelters you from the madness and din of

GROW YOUR GARDEN UP AS NATURE INTENDED April/May 1996 Double or triple your yield of better produce ... in less space ... with less work ... using trellises, bins, and tepees. By John Vivian To Jack's amazement, the magic beans he qot in trade for his mother's cow had sprouted. And, a giant beansta

Building a house out of thick, adobe, clay walls, including: planning, water, foundations, formbuilding, soil.

How to build a water pump, including hydraulics, site analysis, instructions, materials list, installation.

Building a house on an Alaskan trapline becomes an adventure for two sisters.

Constructing a bone handled knife, including shaping, instructions, diagrams, heat treating, polishing, sharpening.

Identifying edible fungus and selling mushrooms for profit.

Venus, a lunar eclipse, azaleas and rhodendrons and Easter.

Cooking seafood, including recipes for fish and vegetable kabobs, whole fennel trout, ginger salmon with salad greens, swordfish steaks with herbs, fast fish.

Planning a four day camping trip, complete with fly fishing and canoe navigation.

TALES FROM THE PLOT April/May 1996 LAST LAUGH If all you ever seem to grow in your garden are mistakes, you're not alone. By William Chapin Do not ever get the idea that you're the only horticulturist (besides me) who has had goofy things happen in the

THE CUTLER's TOOL SHOP April/May 1996 COUNTRY SKILLS You can adapt any number of woodworking tools to shape and polish a blade and to form and attach handles to the tang. But the one knife-making step that few country workshops can handle is the full range of heat-

Chad Ratliff irrigates his garden with washing machine water; Amy Ceader beats stains with a baking soda/detergent/salt mixture; L.B. Felton keeps his feet clean while tromping by placing newspaper bags over his shoes; Selena Simonoff shares a recipe for play dough; Amy Fiorilla catches flies and bees in milk jugs; S.A. Daynard adds seaweed to her compost pile; S.A. Lennon paints garden hoses like snakes and leaves them in the garden to deter animals; Alice Davis blows up fire ants by sprinkling grits on the ground and waiting for the kernels to expands; Joseph Kay paints clothespins yellow so he can find them on the ground; JoAnne Lawson removes skunk odor with lemon and adds salt to detergent to give clothes longer lives.

Boring for natural spring water and government health regulations in the industry.

Health Nets June/July 1996 Technology Just a few years ago, the choice of living in areas away from metropolitan centers meant virtual isolation from the health services and support groups that flourish in urban centers. Now, with the advancements and avai

Extending the life of a car air conditioner, adding lube to antifreeze, tight lug nuts, altering catalytic converters.

Sweet Anne's Herb Store turns from hobby to moneymaker for gardener.

Building a deck that will withstand any climate or condition, including: posts, butt joints, dry rot, ledger, cutting, fastening, lumber.

Building a boardwalk for the garden, including pictures, instructions.

Curing crabgrass, dandelions, rhizomes and other pesty plants in just ten days.

A winter storm decimates a Wyoming windmill with a 257 foot diameter blade.

Building a woodshop tool from a spool, including instructions, diagram.

Cooking desserts, with recipes for cherry coffee cake, grilled chicken salad with cherry vinaigrette, maple cherry sauce, cherry cheesecake bars.

Dealing with abscesses after shearing, synchronizing Cashmere goats for heat cycles, proper vitamins for a pet rabbit, religion and spaying and neutering.

Grow 20 plants in the space of one with a mini high rise. Maximize your strawberry growing space by converting a barrel into a vertical garden.

THE INVADERS June/July 1996 The Last Laugh Looking for a little country peace and quiet? Better buy some ear plugs. By Jeff Taylor. In the throes of creation, a writer intentionally enters ecstasies of such intensity that the words flow easily,

Bob Jackson made a newspaper holder from PVC pipe; Jessica Cramer recycles pantyhose to tie table leaves and keeping drawers in dressers while moving; Rita O'sullivan used kitty litter for traction in a snowstorm and attracted new pets; Karen Ann Bland used white flower to cure diaper rash; John Walker fills an oil tank with gravel to clean the inside and get exercise; William Shepherd builds solar snow cones.

ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST: EXTINCT? August/September 1996 BITS & PIECES BY Edward Stern Congress denies protection to 240 endangered species. It was originally enacted to protect popular American animals like the bald eagle, the grizzly bear, and the blue whale. But

Keeping a clean credit reports and the tricks of money lending business, including long term contracts, bill consolidation, getting out of debt and the perils of credit cards and fine print.

A crash course in engines and maintenance, replacing a fuel filter and fixing a flat spare tire.

Eye drops, exercises, preventing strain and vision loss and other tips to keep you away from the optometrists' office.

A readers' survey reveals the best places to settle down in North America, including maps for solar power potential and tornado, earthquake and hurricane danger.

How to read real estate ads, investigation and discovering the perfect house in an optimal location at a price you can afford.

Fresh food from the garden in every season, including: lettuce, kale, radishes, turnips, asparagus, zucchini, celery, eggplant, corn, onions, squash, pumpkins, root crops, canning, pickling and freezing.

Canning: A Modest Miracle August/September 1996 LATE SEASON HARVEST & STORAGE Deanna Kawatski's guide to preserving fruits, vegetables, meat, fish . . . as well as making her grandmother's favorite jams and pickles. I was never more secure i

Building a wood container that does the work for you, including diagrams, assembly, instructions.

Building a wood ladder with adjustable legs for even footing, including instructions, diagrams.

Preventing horse ulcers; uncoordinated goat eyes; feline parasites and canine ear swelling.

The harvest moon, shooting stars and other wonders of the autumn night sky.

Cooking and preparing salads, including recipes for basic vinaigrette, blue cheese dressing, Mediterranean salad, Homemade croutons, and vegan spicy greens and tofu.

C'mon In, The Shade's Fine August/September 1996LAST LAUGHIn search of the perfect tree.By Ron BeathardC'MON IN, THE SHADE's FINEI do not hold designer trees — Bradford pear, weeping cherry, crabapple, and the like — much in favor. They are nice, pretty to look at, but their shade is fleetin

Scientists create Dutch elm disease-resistant hybrids.

JUST FOR STARTERS Mother's Mechanic October/November 1996 By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors Getting that cold feeling in the morning when your car just won't turn over? Jon Gail Mir comes to the rescue. I've had the fuel pump in the tank of my 1989 Tempo replaced three times this year. Ever

Life in the Willows October/November 1996 Issue # 158 - October/November 1996 Home Remedies  Darren Thompson A plant that has a dozen uses. . . on an off day. By Christopher Nyerges Every now and then during one of my walks, someone will tell me that they have a headache. I peel off two slivers of

A Native American tribe fights Big Oil and Congress.

There's nothing like the beauty of a southern belle. I ought to know, I married one, a Florida blond. And when it comes to apples, there's nothing like the taste of a Virginia Beauty. Again, I ought to know.

Make yourself some pocket money with one of the most beautiful and versatile tools you ever made.

Wood Stove Update 1996 October/November 1996 Issue # 158 - October/November 1996 High-tech stoves come of age. By Molly Miller  Mark Rousseau Not too long ago, I found myself rubbing shoulders with wood stove and fireplace manufacturers and retailers at a meeting in a North Carolina inn. We left the door op

This sturdy, folding sawbuck will help to make cutting firewood an easier chore.

September and October are the most beautiful months in Maine. The air is clear and crisp. The garden is overflowing with its bounty. Corn on the cob roasted on the grill in the husk is a favorite. We strip back the husk and use it as a handle, buttering the corn by rubbing it across a stick of butter. We frequently eat it as an hors d'oeuvre outside before the rest of the meal. When we finish an ear we throw it in a high arc toward the compost bin, cheering if it hits the target.

 In praise of the scarlet oak.

I recently attended a workshop on alternative medicine and was somewhat astonished when physicians spoke about the urgent need to heal the environment as well as ourselves. I attended because I felt that the same methods of newer (alternative) healing and therapies that work for us humans may be effective for animals as well. Oddly enough, many of the therapies discussed return the focus of health care to proactive care using timeproven skills and knowledge and wellness instead of treatment of disease. The resurgence of this natural preventive medical system is based on the fact that animal, human, and environmental healing are all intertwined.

Fall is full of contrasts. Balmy summer evenings make way for crisp, grab-a-jacket weather. The sweet softness of the peaches, plums, and berries is replaced with the noisy crunching of the first fall apple. As sorry as we are to see summer end, at least it departs in a blaze of glory with bright autumn leaves and crisp, tart fruit.

As I drove up Highway 27 heading toward Northern Michigan, I was enjoying a late fall day, the kind just sunny enough that if you wanted to (and I did), you could stick your hand out the window and feel the crisp air passing through your fingers without being cold. It was gorgeous, and so was she.

Country Lore October/November 1996 By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors Issue # 158 - October/November 1996 1. Kill grass on walks and driveways. Pour full-strength on unwanted grass. (Be careful not to pour on wanted plants.) 2. Kill weeds. Spray full-strength on tops of weeds. Reapply on any ne

Revolutionary Organic Pest Controls October/November 1996  Issue # 158 - October/November 1996 Till recently even the most dedicated eastern organic orchardist has had to resort to powerful, indiscriminate insecticides from time to time—or lose a crop to the twin banes of fruit producers: the codling moth (app

Varieties of Note October/November 1996 Issue # 158 - October/November 1996 We all know of McIntosh apples, Bartlett pears, and Elberta peaches. Following is a selection of new or little-publicized apple varieties for all climates, plus a selection of (normally sub-zero-winter-intolerant) pears and stone fruit

Dwarf Fruit Trees October/November 1996 Issue # 158 - October/November 1996 Fruit trees don't grow true from seed, as you've discovered if you've ever sampled fruit from the seedling apple trees that sprout from bird or deer-scattered apple seeds in most old woods in North American farm country. The Golden Del

Planting Tips October/November 1996 Issue # 158 - October/November 1996 WHEN TO PLANT. Bare-root trees can be planted spring or fall. Many people prefer fall planting as it allows a tree to get its roots established before putting out top growth. Years ago, tree salesmen claimed you could gain half a year's

Smokehouse An old Pennsylvania apple known for its fine flavor and ability to produce a crop on poor soils. So named because it grew as a seedling by the smokehouse of a Lancaster County farmer. Red stripes over yellow. Very juicy, faint yellow flesh, chewy. Ripens September and keeps well into winter. Noted for its ciderlike flavor.

Never buy another vitamin C tablet.

Raising and Marketing the Big Bird December/January 1996 Bits & Pieces The only barnyard animal that will outlive its owner. By Molly Miller By Molly Miller In 1986, Herb and Carolyn Fisher bought seven pairs of yearling ostriches. The seven-foot, 250-pound birds tower over their owners and may ou

How's Your Engine Literacy? December/January 1996 Mother's Mechanic Mary Jacksnon examines some of a mechanic's most frequently asked questions.. By Mary Jackson By Mary Jackson Q: What should I do if the alternator light comes on? A: An activated alternator or battery light means more electricit

Harvest on Gideon's Farm December/January 1996 Day in the Life Life on an Amish threshing crew . By Eric Brende By Eric Brende Picture yourself seated high atop a massive load of wheat straw on a wagon driven by a nine-year-old boy and pulled by two draft horses, muscles rippling and coats dark with s

How Safe is Our Meat December/January 1996 Energy and Environment The rash of E. coli and salmonella poisonings have proven that century-old USDA meat inspection laws are badly in need of revaping. Have election-year politics provided a solution?. By Anne Vassal By Anne Vassal While the slogan of the

Save the Chickens! December/January 1996 Garden and Yard By John Vivian Raise your own chickens and become a poultry preservationist . By John Vivian Just imagine...breakfast eggs so fresh they're still warm from the nest; drumsticks with the real old-time chicken flavor, not hidden under fat-fried do

Treating Hoof and Leg Injuries December/January 1996Wrap a horse's leg in three easy steps.By Andrea Looney, D.V.M.We have 56 milling cows in our herd. They are well conditioned and being fed a ration balanced by a nutritionist. Fourteen cows have become lame in the past three weeks with swollen hocks

The Envelopes Please! December/January 1996Garden and Yard: Best Seed for SpringThe votes are in and we've picked our favorite seeds for next season's planting .By Mort MatherArriving at favorite varieties can be tricky for a gardener. To begin with, we have a limited amount of space. We may a

Heading Off Heartburn December/January 1996 Issue # 159 - December/January 1993 Home Remedies My favorite natural medicines for stomach disorders. By Charles Dickson, Ph.D Gastrointestinal problems are epidemic in industrial societies. Whether they are attributable to toxins in food, pesticides, stre

Designing and Building a Recycled Greenhouse December/January 1996 Country Skills Making permanent use of plastic drick bottles, aluminum cans, and elbow grease. By Bill and Doris Isely Having lived most of our married lives in urban areas, when we retired in 1988, we wanted to experience a life of gr

The Art of Slipforming December/January 1996 Country Skills A stone masonry primer. By Thomas J. Elpel Stone houses have both enduring and endearing qualities about them. Enter one and an immediate and palpable aura of timelessness becomes apparent, and makes all other forms of consturction seem fragi

Putting Gravity to Work for You December/January 1996 Country Skills Mother's techniques for dry-laid stone walls. By John Vivian By John Vivian Mortar has its place, but a stone wall that's laid up dry and unaided by artificial adhesive or fillers seems more in keeping with a hunk of granite or mic

My Grandmothers Gift December/January 1996 Mother's Kitchen Lessons in the art of cake making. By Anne Vassal When I was growing up, baking cakes was my passion. I found Rice Krispy bars to be predictably boring while cakes were fun and festive. Consequently, I was appointed the house baker every time

Get Ready for Comet Hale-Bopp December/January 1996 Seasons Here comes one of the largest, brightest comets in 1,000 years. By Fred Schaaf The wait is almost over. For a year and a half, professional and amateur astronomers have been watching what they think is one of the largest or most intrinsically

Last Laugh December/January 1996 Man Straight Jacketed After Attempting to Detonate Stick of Dynamite Strapped to Birdfeeder No, this headline has not yet appeared in any local Long Island newspapers, but it'll come soon if my uncle doesn't resolve a crisis that would have him tearing out his hair if he had

A Moving Fertilizer Factory December/January 1996 Garden and Yard Building both fixed chicken pens. By John Vivian By John Vivian You can shelter chickens in anything that offers protection form the elements, is night-predator-proof, provides shelter form winter drafts and good ventilation at same tim

Nature's Alternative: 70 Uses For Baking Soda February/March 1997 Country Lore by Melaine Ryther Garden and Garage 1. Make a non-toxic fungicide. Mix a solution of four teaspoons baking soda and one gallon of water. Spray on grapes

Resources for discovering and using native plants, including book list and authors.

Taking the danger out of working in the woodshop, including cutting techniques, control and guards.

Keeping pesky insects out of your garden or crops, including: aphids, barriers, cabbage worms, tomato horn worm, cabbage looper, traps, European corn borer, pest management, earwigs, earworms, timing, sprays, predator insects, companion planting.

Maintaining a healthy compost pile, including: communication, components (air, water, food), layering, what not to add.

Tips for easier breathing, including: colds, health, allergies.

The recycled, storable, indestructible, easy to water tomato cage for the rest of your life tomato cage.

Electric model motors save time, energy, money and add life to old cars, including: finding components, wiring, converting the vehicle.

Cooking recipes for potato chorizo tacos, root vegetable stew, leek mashed potatoes, northern bean soup, pasta frittata.

Evaluating, buying and restoring antique power gardening tools, including engine repair.

Building light, cheap aircraft, planes, that are easy to fly and assemble from a kit.

Recognizing the new season by astronomy, the night sky and stars, birds' and bears' habits.

Keeping cats safe from feline leukemia virus; spaying rabbits; preventing ear mites in dogs; keeping cattle shipping fever free; preventing pulled tendons in horses.

THE WILD BUNCH February/March 1997 LAST LAUGH Visiting relatives can make life a joy... or a living hell. By Dan Bova A while back, I found myself deeply connecting on a cosmic level with songsmith extraordinaire John Denver, a

TYPES OF PEST CONTROL February/March 1997 The best method of controlling insects that damage crops is to keep your garden a secret. Don't invite them to the party. Think of insects like germs. There are always plenty of them around, but they don't become a problem until there

Walking tractors, tillers, shredder grinders and field mowers add horsepower and efficiency to the garden or farm.

Recipes for dandelion jelly and wine from Vivian Herron; Terry Lancaster plants tomatoes in trash bags to avoid weeds; John Higginsons recyles rinse water to water flower boxes; Janet Cass uses driveway markers as winter garden row markers; Wendy L. Moore asks for help preventing hens and roosters from destroying flower beds; Karen Ann Bland bleaches old, yellow newspaper clippings in milk of magnesia and club soda.

Arguments for reusing and protecting the environment.

Making sliding, wood bed boxes that store clothing and make the home cleaner and building a wood bike rack, including instructions, diagrams.

Homegrown herbs from the garden, including dandelions, spinach, ginkgo, vitamin C from roses, carob pod, eucalyptus tea, aloe, garlic and onions.

WALKING THE WILLOW April/May 1997 CRAFTS Build a classic bed frame from materials you gather. By Debbie Jellison My Labrador and I have gone out to gather willows from our willow patch in every season. Rain or shine, we get together a

Building a timber frame house including selecting wood, the foundation, road, water and power, walls, roofing, insulation and considerations.

Growing native plants in their natural habitat in small home patches.

LOW-MAINTENANCE PEST CONTROL Part April/May 1997 GARDEN &YARD The Battle of the Beetles. By Morth Mather In my last article I covered eight of the 17 insects that have made themselves known to me by damaging crops in my g

SECRETS OF PAINT AND STAIN CHEMISTRY Environmental hazards of home improvement materials, mixing shellac, paint making, polymers, paint strippers and industry improvement. April/May 1997 By John Vivian COUNTRY SKILLS Mother's painter Gail Larroca applies tinted shellac to an alder wood cabin

The secrets to cooking Mexican food, including recipes for: chicken enchiladas with salsa verde, refried beans, red rice, jicama and orange salad and Mexican coffee.

CHIMNEY SWEEP April/May 1997 LAST LAUGH How to deliver an eviction notice to a pesky raccoon. By Joseph K. Novara Daddy, there's something scratching on my ceiling! my seven-year-old daughter called from her bedroom. I heard rodentlike digging and

Building and installing an alternative energy solar panel on the roof of a house or pole, including materials, construction, assembly, materials list.

SOUTH-OF-THE-BORDER BASICS April/May 1997 Main The following ingredients can be found at either a large supermarket in the ethnic food aisle or at a Hispanic grocery. If you live in a rural area, plan to shop for the ingredients the next time you visit a good-size town.

The relationship between turtles, astronomy and comets.

DON'T BUY IT, MAKE IT June/July 1997 Inexpensive products for use around the house. by Scott Matthews Do you want to save some money on household cleaning products? Try these recipes. Most work as well as, or better than, the store-bought brands, but are cheaper

Learning about environmentally friendly cleaning products without harmful acids and pollutants from the author of Clean House, Clean Planet.

Celebrating the do it yourself spirit and resources for getting started.

Finding the right information before buying land; changing the location of an easement; buying land with a friend; a family feud over logging income and a shared contract.

MIRACLES OF OAK & ELDERS June/July 1997 HOME REMEDIES Wild medicines and foods. By Christopher Nyerges The Oak Tree Beech or Oak Family (Quercus sps.) (Fagaceae) OVERALL SHAPE AND SIZE: Quercus is a large

Making the most of the sun's energy, including installing windows on the south, increasing insulation values and applying solar collectors.

Building a triangle lattice from wood, including diagrams, instructions.

Renovating a house trailer into a greenhouse, including diagrams and instructions.

Learning to read a garden and its crops, including: fresh clues, nutrition, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, over watering, large critters and insects.

GROWN IN THE USA? June/July 1997 ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT As American manufacturers buy increasing amounts of hemp from Europeans, American farmers argue they are missing out on a money making crop. By David U. Andrews Americans are

Tillers International in Michigan farms the traditional way, with no modern machinery, which teaches lessons from the past and history.

Staying one step ahead of pet and livestock predators, including prevention, medicine and treatment.

You can make your own outdoor patio furniture — or just a comfortable chair for the front porch. Step-by-step instructions for an Adirondack chair, plus a matching footrest and table.

Preparing healthy picnic foods, including cooking recipes for grilled chicken breasts with vegetables, three bean salad with garlic dressing, grilling corn, creamy dill potato salad.

A DIRTY LITTLE WAR June/July 1997 LAST LAUGH The battle of the flower eaters. by Matt Scanlon My mother reports that shortly after I learned that crawling was an effective way of getting from mess a to mess b, I developed a fascination

COUNTRY LORE June/July 1997 THE CARE AND FEEDING OF CASE IRON by Angela Jenkins In our grandmother's day, cast iron was the cookware to own. It was durable, it heated evenly, it never warped, and it kept its slick, no-stick finish forever with just a

ALMANAC June/July 1997 JUNE 1997 1 Moon near Saturn this morning. 3 Comet Hale-Bopp passes the bright star Betelgeuse, but both now appear too close to our line of sight with the Sun to see. 5 NEW MOON, 3:03 A.M. EDT. 6 Venus farthest north among the constellations 10 Jupiter

The season of rainfall, beautiful sunsets.

Growing a garden of butterflies, including: water, shelter food, research, planting.

Keeping real estate agents out of personal finances, setting a price (with room for negotiation), investigating land and keeping the parcels straight.

Growing soap plants, including: amole, buffalo gourd, soaproot, yucca.

The weather phenomena of fog, and Comet Hale-Bopp.

Weaving a basket, including preparing needles, adding thread and stitching.

Eating cheap from the backyard by investing only in tools, making fertilizer and buying cheap seed.

SENSIBLE STOCKING & STORING August/September 1997 Issue # 163 - August/September 1997   How to live from a pantry, our three-month plan. By Jay P. Curry This is the age of supermarkets, 24-hour convenience stores, and 30-second solutions for just about every problem. What a contrast to the days, real

Buying and storing bulk food saves money, but requires planning.

An interview with Michael Tobias about the dangers of global overpopulation.

Improving a paddled wood boat by changing oars and adding sponsons, with diagrams.

Exercises for a Morgan mare, padding horse shoes and finding the right iodine concentration in dairy cow teat dips.

Cooking chilled soups, including recipes for minty cuke, blueberry, and roasted red pepper soups, gazpacho and vegan harvest chili.

THE HEAVY SIDE OF LIGHT RAIL August/September 1997 LAST LAUGH Not in Mary's backyard. By Matthew Trump Last weekend, we had a big to-do here in Austin when the local transit agency brought a light-rail demonstration to town. They've been

BITS & PIECES August/September 1997 Decreasing loan availability, rising government regulation, and increasing destruction of arable land by suburban sprawl and corporate expansion are causing multiple burdens for Pennsylvania's agriculture. Becky Crambert, a Lancaster County dairy farmer

A tour of national scenic trails, including: Appalachian, Continental Divide, Nachez Trace, Potomac Heritage, North Country, Pacific Crest, and Ice Age trials.

Building an inexpensive wood boat in one day, including: hulls, construction, diagrams, layout guide, cutting and joining panels, making the stem and sternpost and sanding.

The Greatest Walks in America August/September 1997 BACKCOUNTRY SKILLS BACK

The Greatest Walks in America August/September 1997 BACKCOUNTRY SKILLS BACK

The Greatest Walks in America August/September 1997 BACKCOUNTRY SKILLS BACK

The Carpenter family found hair clipping keep deer away from fruit trees; Lynn Grow discovered a yellow bow deters squirrels from her bird feeder; Karen Ann Bland buys mismatched china at garage sales and gives them away after pot luck meals; John Morton makes home insulation with Borax; Nancy Markley recovers her outdoor lawn furniture with denim material.

To Bee, or Not to Bee October/November 1997 Bits and Pieces Mites give bees a run for their honey. by Joyce Yeung Imagine a world without bees. Now imagine that same world without flowers, without honey, without strawberry plants. Wha

Building a small wooden structure for plants, including diagrams, materials list, instructions.

The benefits and drawbacks of sport utility vehicles, including their usefulness on the farm as well as environmental harms.

Advice from an automechanic on how to keep your vehicle running and how to keep your car’s engine clean and healthy.

The future of the auto industry and an interview with Michael Brylawski, David Cramer and Jonathan Fox.

Growing different plants in the garden, including: purple fava beans, beets, hybrids.

You can lower high blood pressure and cholesterol with tasty garlic and other natural remedies. Find out how you can use garlic, and other alliums and herbs, to improve your blood pressure and overall health — not to mention spice up your meals! 

Gardening for profit, including: zoning, licensing, seed money.

The State of Solar Power: 1998 October/November 1997 Energy & Environment The reinvention of the battery makes solar more practical than ever. By Bruce Bownell When the Soviets launched Sputnik, the world's first man-made satellite

Planets, the moon, astrology, and the wonder of nuts.

The heating power of bricks and building a stove, including: bricklaying advice, materials, diagrams, burning.

Who Can Take Your Land? October/November 1997 Land & the Law You might not be the king and queen of all you survey after all by Jean Vernon Q. Our problem is with wide-load logging trucks (over 10'-wide) running next to our property. T

Calving a Jersey cow, prophylactic surgery for dogs, and preventing navicular disease in horses.

How to cook and prepare desserts and roll pie crust; including recipes for whole wheat pie crust, graham cracker crust, key lime pie, vegan apple cider pie, whiskey sweet potato pie and mocha ice cream pie.

There's $1800 Hidden In Your House October/November 1997 Energy & Environment A revolution in insulation techniques. By Bruce R. Brownell It has long been accepted that the best way to reduce energy use is to conserve it. In America, as well as i

Proper Popper Panfishing Technique October/November 1997 Last Laugh All the basics, plus tips on sinking gracefully. By Joe Novara I showed my buddy, Spalding, my brand new K-Mart fly rod. Being a man of quiet enthusiasms and gentle opinion

Pursuits of Happiness and the Miracle Herb October/November 1997 One of the most puzzling questions to grapple with while we electrify and technologize and work-ethic ourselves into the twenty-first century is why life is making such an alarming number of us seriously depre

Industry Trends, 1997 October/November 1997 by Molly Miller The American Lung Association estimates 60,000 people die premature deaths each year as a result of the effects of particulate pollution. But, as is often the case with environmental causes of death and di

A New Twist on an Old Tree December/January 1997 Country Lore The many lives of a Christmas tree. While driving through town on a blustery New Year's Day, I saw dozens of discarded Christmas trees blowing around like tumbleweeds on the snow. Why not recycle our cut Christmas trees? With a little im

The Ins and Outs of Easements December/January 1997Land and the LawYour questions just keep on coming.By Jean VernonIt is apparent from the number of letters we receive that easements are one of the most troubling aspects of living in the country. Easements, to define them briefly, are contrac

Days of Wine and Vinegar December/January 1997 Issue # 165 - December/January 1998 The ten-minute guide to home winemaking. By Sue Robishaw Wild black cherries and chokecherries abound on our Cooks, Michigan homestead. It was one of our early quests to find something to do with them, as neither food nor m

A Homemade Holiday December/January 1997Mother's KitchenSave time, headaches, and money by making your own gifts.By Anne VassalMost of us recall making homemade gifts as kids. How can we forget? Every December our mothers ceremoniously hang up gold macaroni wreaths, glittery egg carton ornamen

You may have more fun making this wooden circus train with circus animals than the kids will have playing with it.

What Flies Through Winter Night's Sky? December/January 1997 Seasons A tribute to the Great Horned Owl. By Fred Schaaf The Great Horned Owl Santa Claus is not the only one who flies through the skies on winter nights. A quite different airborne character is the Great Horned Owl. Although it is no

Inner Medicine December/January 1997Natural HealthFinding a way out of the prescriptions and pitfalls of the health care system. By Christopher and Dolores Lynn Nyergesby Christopher and Dolores Lynn NyergesEveryone wants good health. But what exactly is it? Is good health merely the absence o

The Future is Bright December/January 1997Energy and EnvironmentHow do we know solar is here to stay? Amoco is producing PVs.By Molly MillerTechnology that grew up in space can finally be brought down to earth.—Frederico Peña U.S. Secretary of EnergyAs we get closer to fully employin

Growing Wild December/January 1997Home Landscaping Part ITake your home place (almost) all the way back to nature. By John VivianBy John VivianA growing number of thoughtful country people are taking their share of the fate of our threatened globe into their own hands. Not through the rowdy demons

Hand Tools and Techniques for Home Landscaping December/January 1997Grubbin' in the dirt and scruffin' out the woods.By John VivianGrubbin' and scruffin' were my grandfather's pet names for work in woods and field. This is lawn and garden work that falls somewhere between garden weedflicking and row

Plant for Profit December/January 1997 Barters & Bootstraps First adventures in a market garden. By Mort Mather I never wanted to garden for money... honest. Some are born into the gardening business, others have it thrust upon them. I only intended to grow what I needed. My family had just mo

Farm Safety December/January 1997Country VetAvoiding hazards when spring finally arrives.By Andrea Looney, DVMAs this issue of MOTHER reaches you, we are all dreaming of shedding those bulky winter boots and climbing out of hibernation. I thought an appropriate way to begin this annual renewal pro

Out on a Limb December/January 1997 Virtues of the High Life. By Melissa DeVaughn Gus Guenther has risen above frantic rush hour traffic, busy schedules and frenzied deadlines. Literally. From where he lives, at the end of a dirt road in a small community in South-Central Alaska, Guenther watches the

A two-day do-it-yourself project for less appalling hauling with this sturdy wooden wheel barrow.

Where There's Smoke... December/January 1997 Last Laugh What's a better way to spell heartbreak? Start with hearth. By Phyllis H. Gubanc You'd think, during those gray wintry days and bone-chilling bouts of endless drizzle, that I'd build a fire in the fireplace. Yet, our fireplace sits cold a

Bits & Pieces December/January 1997 Christmas Trees, the Live Story A how-to of celebrating Christmas with a living tree. By Kate Langan Whether making a powerful statement about the world's clean air problem and deforestation, or instilling a belief in Waste not want not in your children's mi

Styrofoam can make an epoxy substitute for repairing boat holes; Paul Cover catches whiteflies by smearing petroleum jelly on yellow bottles; Beverly Kleikamp made a bird feeder out of a two-liter bottle; George Presser built a workshop in his concrete walled, Costa Rica home; how to patch a chimney.

How To Recycle A House Salvaging through deconstruction and reusing home materials, including wood, metal, boards. February/March 1998 By Cara Joy David By Cara Joy David What do aluminum cans, newspapers, tires, books, warehouses, barns, and houses have in common? Believe it or not, they can all

Building a three level home for birds from wood, including: materials list, diagrams, instructions.

Exemptions to protect a home from creditors; financial responsibility over maintaining an easement; controlling traffic in a drainage ditch.

Investigating President Clinton's pledge to have one million solar rooftops, alternative energy and hedging energy inflation.