Book Stall Review: The Yew Tree

Claudius, the 1st century Roman Emperor, believed that the juices of the yew tree could be used as an antidote for snake venom. Germans of the Middle Ages were conivinced that yew pitch mixed with butter could cure tuberculosis.

Members of the Cowlitz tribe of Native Americans used to crush yew needles into a paste to put on wounds. These are just a few of the dozens of historic uses recorded in The Yew Tree, an impressive biography of the species written by an Oregon treeplanter, Hal Hartzell, Jr.

The Yew Tree

A Thousand Whispers

by Hal Hartzell, Jr

Hulogosi Books, 1991

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Outrider Reading Group
The Nature Pages
Nature Writing and Natural Histories

Exploring the Nature of... Paradise

When Zen teacher Karen Maezen Miller and her family land in a house with a hundred-year-old Japanese garden, she uses the paradise in her backyard to glean the living wisdom of our natural world. Through her eyes, rocks convey faith, ponds preach stillness, flowers give love, and leaves express the effortless ease of letting go.

The book welcomes readers into the garden for Zen lessons in fearlessness, forgiveness, presence, acceptance, and contentment.

Paradise in Plain Sight

Lessons from a Zen Garden

by Karen Maezen Miller

New World Library, 2014

Nature Writing and Natural Histories
Farm and Garden Books
Book Notes Wild
Outrider Reading Group

Review: Timber Framing for the Rest of Us

This book describes and explains the basic principles of framing a structure with heavy timbers using "non-traditional" methods such as metal fasteners like truss plates, screws, bolts and pole barn nails -- about which little has been previously published.

"Traditional" timber framers employed wood-on-wood joinery using mortise-and-tenon, scarf and rabbet joints to create wonderfully strong and aesthetically pleasing buildings.

As this guide points out, the use of metal fasteners can make timber framing more accessible to farmers and owner-builders without sacrificing strength or beauty.

Timber Framing for the Rest of Us

A Guide to Contemporary Post and Beam Construction

by Rob Roy

New Society Publishers, 2004.

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Guidebooks and How-to Titles
Outrider Reading Group
Here's How To...

Drink the Harvest

A New Guide To...
Making and Preserving Juices, Wines, Meads, Teas, and Ciders.

Preserving the harvest doesn't have to stop with jam and pickles. Many fruits, vegetables, and herbs can be made into delicious beverages to drink fresh or preserve for later -- a healthy and inexpensive alternative to store-bought drinks.

Drink the Harvest shows you how to create juices, ciders, wines, meads, teas, and syrups to savor any time of year.

Drink the Harvest

Making and Preserving Juices, Wines, Meads, Teas, and Ciders

by Nan K. Chace and DeNeice C. Guest

Storey Publishing, 2014

Here's How To...
How To Do It
Distilling Supplies
Outrider Reading Group

New Guide to Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can

This volume provides a close look at the original artwork on 600 different modern beer cans from 40 states.

Get to know the story behind your favorite beer’s name and can design, with examples from breweries such as Sierra Nevada, Ska, Midnight Sun, Maui, New Belgium, Oskar Blues, and nearly 200 others. The craft breweries featured in this book turned canning beer into an art form!

Canned! 

Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can

by Russ Phillips

Schiffer Publishing, 2014

Artwork
Guidebooks and How-to Titles
Outrider Reading Group
Good Spirits Online

A New Guide To... Sustainable Homebrewing

Amelia Slayton Loftus shares her expert knowledge in this comprehensive guide that includes everything homebrewers of all levels need to know to brew delicious, organic beer.

She covers the whys and hows of organic brewing, things to consider when buying equipment, and everything you need to know about organic ingredients (what makes them different, how to get them, and how to make substitutions).

Sustainable Homebrewing

An All-Organic Approach to Crafting Great Beer

by Amelia Slayton Loftus

Storey Publishing, 2014

Here's How To...
How To Do It
Distilling Supplies
Outrider Reading Group

Farm and Garden Picks: Coffee for Roses

Word-of-mouth may be a great way to learn about some products, but word-of-mouth gardening tips can be a very bad idea. The age-old practice of passing along gardening tips and tricks is no guarantee you will get a good result...it might even do the opposite.

In her new book, garden expert C. L. Fornari looks at 71 common garden practices and uncovers the truth behind the lore.

Coffee for Roses

...and 70 Other Misleading Myths About Backyard Gardening

by C. L. Fornari

St. Lynn's Press, 2014

Outrider Reading Group
Farm and Garden Books
Home Grown