Issue #72 November/December, 2001

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DEPARTMENTS

6  Publisher’s Note 7  Editorial: How do you keep yourself safe? 68  Ask Jackie: Above ground root cellars, “cream” soups, finding a rural place to live, canning spaghetti, rabbit liver paté, harvesting basil, black walnuts, quinces, sourdough starter, short-season crops, and more 47  Think of it this way: The coming American dictatorship, Part VII 20  Ayoob on Firearms: Do rural homeowners need guns for self defense? 44Irreverent joke page 43   The gee-whiz! page 60  Book Review Three by Anita Evangelista 74Small business profile 77  Letters 87   Advertiser Index 83  Classified ads (pdf) 83  Classified ad form 91   BHM books 88-89  Subscription Info 90  The last word:Money can buy happiness Order form or call Toll Free 1-800--835-2418

ABOUT THE COVER       This issue’s cover is a photo by Pat Ward of the house built by BHM Publisher Dave Duffy in the Oregon woods.       The house essentially launched Backwoods Home Magazine, as Duffy realized that anyone could do what he had done. Like one of the major articles in this issue, Build a $10,000 home, Duffy’s house also cost him $10,000 to build.       The house has since been enlarged and sold, but the lesson lives on—anyone can build their own affordable home.

FEATURES

Independent energy 24  A solar primer: How it works, how it’s made, what it costs   By Jeffrey R. Yago       This is an easy-to-understand article that discusses the different types of solar energy components, how they work, and what they cost. Jeff Yago has provided an excellent beginner’s primer. Self-sufficiency 16  Knowing survival fire craft can save your life   By Robert N. Anderson       Anderson talks about the fire-making tools that may one day save your life. 32  Living the outlaw life   By Claire Wolfe       Claire Wolfe explains why and how to fight back against the people who compile databases on us. 40  Reading animal tracks and signs   By Tony Nester       Winter is a great time of year to take the family out to find and identify the tracks of those critters that live around us. Tony Nester gives us some handy hints on how to read those tracks. 57  Spinning fiber for the homestead   By Susan Shephard 75  Homemade toys! Easy to make, fun to play with, great for gifts!   By Cynthia Andal Farm and garden 66  Precious persimmons   By Marcella Shaffer       Winter is the time of year when persimmons come into their own. Marcella Shaffer talks about how to plant and care for persimmon trees, then how to harvest, preserve, and cook their fruit. Building and tools 8  Build your own log home in the woods: part 3   By Jackie Clay       In this, the third installment of Jackie’s popular “build your own log home series,” she finally puts windows, doors, and a porch on the log home we’ve watched going up for the last two issues. 36  Build a house for less than $10,000—We did it!   By Judy Statezny Ulch       Believe it or not, Judy Ulch and her husband built their own beautiful home for less than $10,000. They did it by getting most of the materials that went into it either for free or for next to nothing. In this article she tells you how you can do it, too 62  Build a split-rail fence in impossible soil   By Dorothy Ainsworth       Dorothy’s back and she shows us how she built a beautiful but inexpensive split-rail fence on her property with just split logs, some rebar, and a little copper wire. Recipes 64  Cookies in a jar   By Sharon L. Palmer, RD