Thursday, September 11, 2014

Exploring the Nature of... The Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon

September 1, 2014 marked the centenary of one of the best-documented extinctions in history—the demise of the Passenger Pigeon. From being the commonest bird on the planet 50 years earlier, the species became extinct when Martha, the last of her kind, died at the Cincinnati Zoo.

This book marks the centenary of that tragic event. Built around the framework of a visit to Cincinnati and the pigeon’s former haunts in North America's east coast, by author Mark Avery, it tells the tale of the pigeon, and of Martha, and explores the largely untold story of the ecological annihilation of this part of America in the years between the end of the US Civil War and 1900—an unprecedented loss of natural beauty and richness, as the prairies were ploughed, swiftly to be replaced by a dustbowl, while the population of Bison plummeted from around 30 million to just 1,000, the victim of habitat destruction and indiscriminate slaughter.

The Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon and Its Relevance Today 
by Mark Avery
University Of Chicago Press, 2013

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Saturday, September 6, 2014

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.

A Thousand Whispers
by Hal Hartzell, Jr
Hulogosi Books, 1991

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Friday, August 29, 2014

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.

Lessons from a Zen Garden
by Karen Maezen Miller
New World Library, 2014
Nature Writing and Natural Histories
Farm and Garden Books
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Sunday, August 10, 2014

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.

A Guide to Contemporary Post and Beam Construction
by Rob Roy
New Society Publishers, 2004.

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Thursday, August 7, 2014

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.

Making and Preserving Juices, Wines, Meads, Teas, and Ciders
by Nan K. Chace and DeNeice C. Guest
Storey Publishing, 2014
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Sunday, July 27, 2014

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!

Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can
by Russ Phillips
Schiffer Publishing, 2014
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Wednesday, July 23, 2014

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).

An All-Organic Approach to Crafting Great Beer
by Amelia Slayton Loftus
Storey Publishing, 2014

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