OurColony.net

Interesting Reading

Customer Rating:
The Encyclopedia of Country Living is very interesting to reading, but when it comes to looking up information it is really not written like an encyclopedia. Though it's very informative and the information is very useful, the writing style is more conversational.
I am enjoying and using the information, but have found myself seeking more in depth books on a few topics, understandable though, to be in depth on all topics this book would need to be thousands of pages long.

An outstanding book of country living skills.

Customer Rating:
This book is the most informative, easy-to-use book of its kind that I've found. It's laid out like a true encyclopedia -- just look up "tomatoes" or "goats" or whatever interests you, and learn everything there is to know about growing, keeping, and using them in the home/farm. The author has spent 30 years collecting local rural knowledge and writing about her own trials and errors -- truly an irreplaceable collection of knowledge.

Great amount of information

Customer Rating:
I am very happy I purchased this book. It is very informative, and I will be honest I have not been able to read all the way through yet. The foundation of information is just what I need to determine my country needs and where I want to focus more (buy more books, sign up for newsletters etc...) and in what areas I have an interest. I would suggest it to anyone that wants to know more about country living. This is a very in depth foundation of information and personal experiences (not just the authors) to build on when planning to move or if you are already in the country living lifestyle.

Great Book to Guide You!

Customer Rating:
I cannot beleive the amount of information this book contains! The author makes no pretenses. She doesn't claim to know everything. She bases her knowledge on her experiences, letters, & information gathered over the years from others. This massive book is many many years worth of information! It has been updated many times. I'm pretty sure she doesn't leave anything out from the older versions, explaining why the book gets larger and larger. One thing that I'm aware of being left out because she mentions it is raw egg recipes. She says she was requested to leave them out for food saftey reasons. This was very dissapointing to me. No Egg Nog, No Mayonaise. :o( Anyone country living can usually trust that their backyard eggs are safe.
Just about anything you can think of regarding the "simple life" is noted in this book. She gives TONS of information for outside sources so you can further your knowledge in the vast areas. This books makes a fantastic starting point or reference point to whatever it is you are looking for more information on. Look it up in her book, learn the basics (or sometimes much more than the basics), & then use her references to guide you.
From farm animals, to gardening, to canning, to flowers, to recipes, to you name it! It's here! Even giving birth alone! Outhouses, water issues...on and on it goes!
This truly is a must have! You will find yourself picking it up often. It's like curling up to read the letter of a long distance friend...sort of!

a lot of information

Customer Rating:
definitely has a bunch of homesteading info. probably could use some editing, but overall a very good resource to learn from. should not read from start to finish, pick a chapter about something you want to learn and read that.