DEPARTMENTS
6  Editor’s Note

7  Editorial:
Slowing down to enjoy life

44  Ayoob on Firearms:
More on avoiding legal traps

59  Ask Jackie:
Canning cheese sauce, bread crumbs, sourdough bread, new garden spaces, storing grains, etc

77  Irreverent joke page

79  Letters

83  The last word:
Should we scrap our “old” Constitution?

84  Classified ads (pdf)

84  Classified advertising form

86   Advertiser Index

87-94   BHM anthologies & books

95-96  Order form/Subscription Info

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Cover 135
ABOUT THE COVER
This issue’s cover is by Don Childers, 81, Backwoods Home Magazine’s longtime artist. It was drawn freehand using Prismacolor pencils on black foamcore board. Don will be in the BHM booth at the Self Reliance Expo in Colorado Springs, May 18-19, at the Freedom Financial Services Expo Center.
FEATURES

Self-reliance

32  Canning chickens for the pantry
By Samantha Biggers

37  Essential oils
By Joseph Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton A.R.N.P.

49  Shooting the vintage rifle
By Ted Kobara

50  Journey to the backwoods, part 3
By David Lee

57  Nature’s compasses
By Len McDougall

65  Friday night lights
By Jason Akers

Building/Projects

28  Expanding an outbuilding
By Tony Jakacky

35  Build a poultry killing cone
By Allen Easterly

Farm and garden

16  Squash — good eating, easy to grow
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson

42  Rosemary, a zesty herb
By Tom Kovach

43  Time to forget about snail and slug bait
By Lyle Dykes

76  Tips for successful softwood cuttings
By Tom Kovach

Food and recipes

63  Grape leaves: a hidden vegetable
By Lynne Sanford

67  Middle Eastern breads
By Habeeb Salloum

Animals

8  Frugal beekeeping with top bar hives
By Jennifer Herron

72  A contrary guide to feeding animals
By Beth Greenwood