Book Review: What the Robin Knows

...ould otherwise have fled our presence long before. Most of all I like this book because he asks a lot of you. At one point in the book he’s talking about how there’s no formula for this stuff, just lots of dedication and time, and notes, “The lifelong learning curve is the ultimate appeal of what we do.” This made me laugh out loud. Appeal? The notion of working on one skill all your life (especially one as unglamorous as robin-watching) is not a...

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Book Review: The Urban Bestiary

...no-kill polemic. I’ve perhaps put too much emphasis on the aspects of the book which focus on management and co-existence. The great majority of the book is about the animals themselves. Imagine you had a friend who was a naturalist who could explain the mysteries of the familiar yet unfamiliar wildlife which flit and shuffle through your backyard over a nice cup of coffee. Someone who could offer you an introduction to their world, and a chance...

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Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities

...en inexpensive or free. Some things I picked up from thumbing through this book for just a week: This American Life’s comic book guide to how to put together a podcast. Box wine! Yes, it can be decent and it’s convenient. The BBC’s amazing podcast In Our Time. Advice on self publishing (I’m working on that whole grain bread book). With both Cool Tools and the Whole Earth Catalog, there’s also a lot of stuff that fits into the fantasy category: fun...

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Urban Homestead Book Signing and Lecture

...ecovillage.org Suggested donation $5, no one turned away for lack of funds Books sold separately for $15 Come hear the authors of the Homegrown Evolution blog and get yourself a copy of their brand-new book ‘The Urban Homestead,’ which covers various topics from raising chickens, to carrying cargo on your bicycle, to canning produce from your garden, to harvesting rainwater, and much more! All very inexpensive and step-by-step instructions. The bo...

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