DEPARTMENTS

Issue #158 cover

ABOUT THE COVER

This issue’s cover depicts Don Childers and Dave Duffy playing chess by the warm, crackling fire. They are both taking a well-deserved break — Dave from editing and Don from sketching the next issue’s cover. Don has been BHM’s main artist since the beginning of the magazine, more than 26 years ago.

6  Publisher’s Note

7  Editorial:
Analyzing Obama on guns

52  Ayoob on Firearms:
Learning to shoot

68  The gee-whiz! page

73  Irreverent joke page

74  Ask Jackie:
Strawberry glaze, planting tree seeds, earthquake preparedness, etc.

85  Letters

87  The Last Word:
The making of a movie mogul

88  Classified ads/Classified advertising form (pdf)

89  Advertiser Index

90-96  BHM anthologies & books

97-98  Order form/Subscription Info

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FEATURES

Self-reliance

14  Pump water for free
By Kai Moessle

29  Wooden posts that last
By Robert Van Putten

64  Cut your electric bill in half
By Kathryn Wingrove

Farm and garden

8  Prevent foodborne illness with safe gardening methods
By Donna Insco

13  Testing hay, straw, and compost for toxic herbicides
By Sylvia Gist

23  Growing beans
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson

41  Grow gourmet mushrooms
By Jereme Zimmerman

48  Keeping records for livestock
By Donna Insco

56  Cole crops
By Sylvia Gist

70  Starting a roadside farm stand
By John Murray

Food and recipes

34  Texas Fireballs
By Randy Young

51  Make cheese in a crockpot
By Robyn Dolan

78  Hearty, humble potatoes
By Linda Gabris

Americana

66  The Orphan Trains
By John Dinan

Building

19  The off-grid cabin project, part 4
By Charles Sanders

36  Turning a $10,000 house into a home, part 4
By Claire Wolfe