Joy of (Skyhorse Publishing)

When the farm is a lifestyle, but not quite a way to earn a living, it's considered hobby farming. Most of us want to live a sustainable and healthy life in which we protect the environment and keep it safe from development and overproduction. But we can take this a step further by learning how to grow our own produce, while still maintaining an alternative, successful career to fund this passion. In this back to basics guide, Michael and Audrey Levatino share how to: Grow your own food Raise chickens, horses, llamas, bees, and more Practice being (a little) off the grid Sell the bounty in your local community Balance a professional career with a rural lifestyle The Joy of Hobby Farming is a guide that will excite armchair farmers and inspire any do-it-yourselfer. While this book won't help you become a farmer by trade, it does provide step-by-step instructions and various tips and tricks to maintain a thriving farm. It will surely teach those who aren't farmers by day to raise their own livestock, plant their own fruits and vegetables, and live out their countryside dream.

A Fun and Festive Educational Tool for Both Home Enthusiasts and Bar Professionals! Let's face it: just ten years ago, hard cider was something sipped by expats watching rugby matches or pined for by former foreign exchange students. Heck, many people thought cider was something preschoolers drank in sippy cups before naptime. Not anymore. Hard cider sales have skyrocketed in the last decade, with craft cider sales increasing 49 percent in just the last two years. But though sales and interest in hard cider continue to grow, there's still more than a bit of confusion regarding this blossoming alcoholic beverage. Is it a beer, or is it a wine? Is cider-beer a thing? Are all ciders sweet? Polls reveal that some drinkers think Mike's Hard Lemonade and Redd's Apple Ale are cider (they're not). This informative book will include: • A brief overview of world cider history • A more detailed pop culture history of American cider's explosive growth • Definitions, regions, fun facts, and famous cider and apple quotes • An exploration of cider varieties and brands • More than 50 cider cocktail recipes! Cider Rules is a short, smart, pop culture-driven look at the hard cider revolution-the what, how, and why of this fantastic beverage. The book explores the cider varieties and brands to try, touches on the history of the drink that fueled the American Revolution, and details the do's and don'ts of making cider cocktails.

Here is the next title in the popular The Joy of … series-an easy-to-understand, beautifully illustrated guide to smoking and salt curing. Learn how to preserve meat, fish, and game and create delicious smoked and cured foods. Whether you are a serious hunter or angler seeking to cure and smoke your harvest or a consumer simply looking to save money while creating delicious treats at home, The Joy of Smoking and Salt Curing can help you!

The complete guide for beginner and intermediate distillers. Make your own brew at home! "If you're going to invest the $100 or so to get a basic equipment and recipe kit, then you'll want to take care in ensuring that your first batch is brewed correctly." –Rick Morris, HowBrewBeer The Joy of Home Distilling is covers nearly every facet of distilling: Step-by-step instructions for the different processes, from bucket to bottle The difference between spirit types and how to produce each What yeast is, what it does, and how to ensure that you get a strong, complete fermentation What distillation is and common misconceptions about the process Legalities surrounding distilling alcohol at home Carbon filtering-when it's necessary, when to filter, and why you filter Flavoring and aging your spirits Keeping safety first when working with flammable materials, such as ethanol Yeast styles and nutritional requirements Different methods of distillation and equipment Post-distillation process And of course, fun drink recipes! (Try the Mudslide or the Cherry Bomb!) Author Rick Morris, who has been selling distillation equipment for over 25 years, even includes his own recipes for different types of spirits and drink recipes. By learning not just how to distill, but also what is happening at each step and why it is needed, readers will be armed with the information they need to experiment with their own spirits and concoct their own recipes. Easy to understand even for a first-time distiller, The Joy of Home Distilling is sure to become your number one distilling resource.

More than 50 million birders can't be wrong. No matter where you live, you have the joy of hearing and seeing birds. This easy-to-use, full-color guide will provide you with the answers. Here you'll learn how to identify different bird species by observing their body-parts, understand birds' behavior and habits, get to know the birds around the home or a vacation spot, attract and make a good home for these new feathered friends, and much more! Designed especially for the home birdwatcher, but with information on destination vacations, this book teaches, "If you're prepared to see them, they will come!"

You're ready to try your hand at home brewing, but you want to try something unique-and you also have no idea where to start. This is the book for you. Broken into three sections-mead, cider, and herbal wine-you'll learn what basic equipment you'll need, what ingredients to have on hand, and author Nancy Koziol will walk you through each step of the process. Along the way, you'll pick up some fun facts about ethical consumption, sustainable farming, and the science behind fermenting. Whether you want to try a simple honey mead, a crisp apple or pear cider, or a wild wine with herbs foraged from your backyard, in these pages you'll find the inspiration and instruction you need to follow through to the finished product. Many of these drinks are brewed in a matter of weeks rather than months, so you don't even have to be particularly patient! Once you get the hang of the basics, try experimenting with the suggested seasonal additions, or whatever fruit, herb, or spice is ready for harvest (or on sale at the local market). Add some ginger to your cider, some blackberries to your wine, or some pumpkin to your mead for brews that are truly your own. With a unique focus on local, seasonal produce and sustainable farming practices, this will appeal to seasoned brewers who are looking for something new as well as eco-conscious millennials ready to impress their friends on Instagram. Fascinating tidbits of trivia, information on health benefits, and a dash of humor make this book as entertaining as it is useful.

Finally backyard farmers who want to keep a few hens for eggs have a bible that's attractive enough to leave out on the coffee table, and inexpensive enough to purchase on a whim. This comprehensive guide, written in charming prose from the perspective of an organic farmer, will appeal to readers who are interested in raising chickens, or simply want the best knowledge about how to cook them. With this in mind, farmer and animal expert Jennifer Megyesi discusses all the basic details of raising the birds-general biology, health, food, choosing breeds, and so on-and she cuts through the smoke to identify what terms like "organic," "free-range," and so on really mean for poultry farmers and consumers. No chicken book would be complete without information on how to show chickens for prizes, and this is no different, but The Joy of Keeping Chickens also stresses the importance of self-sustainability and organic living, and the satisfaction of keeping heirloom breeds. Readers will appreciate the comprehensive nature of this readable, informative guide, and Megyesi's enthusiasm about keeping chickens. Coupled with Geoff Hansen's gorgeous full-color photographs, this text makes for an instant classic in the category.

Create your own collection of non-alcoholic, probiotic wonder drinks in your own kitchen! Kombucha is perhaps one of the most popular fermented probiotic health tonics on the market, promoting high levels of B Vitamins, antioxidants, and detoxifying properties. Doctors of both conventional and natural medicine agree that probiotics have positive effects on digestion, metabolism, immune system, and mental health. Fermented probiotic drinks help re-populate our intestinal tracts with healthy friendly bacteria, which is essential to wellness. Good digestion, boosted immunity, improved brain function, and better mental health are all benefits that come with consuming kombucha and drinks like it. The Joy of Home Brewing Kombucha will show you how to create these beverages for you and your family using minimal equipment and ingredients. Via the more than 50 easy-to-follow recipes, you will learn how to brew: • Delicious kombucha recipes • Dairy-based kefir and yogurts • Fruit and vegetable juice Kvass. • The timeless and invigorating health tonic Rejuvilac • And simple and delicious lacto-fermented sodas such as root beer, ginger ale, and ginger beer. By the end of this book, you'll be armed with the basic skills and knowledge necessary to brew these healthy beverages safely at home.

The Joy of Keeping Horses is a celebration of how to best keep happy and healthy horses at home. With an emphasis on the differences between owning a horse at a boarding stable and keeping that same horse at your own small farm, this beautiful, clear guide is written specifically for horse lovers who are considering taking the plunge into farm ownership. Jessie Shiers lays out all the important facts and information, from purchasing property and building facilities to daily grooming and nutritional needs. Shiers also dispels some common myths and misconceptions about horses, and answers questions the novice owner may not know to ask. Along the way, she shares anecdotes from her own experiences and from interviews with other horse owners that demonstrate the main reason people choose to keep horses: the joy they bring to the lives of their owners.

A second edition of the beloved guide to farm animals. When the going gets tough, the tough . . . start raising their own food. In the first full-color guide of its kind, author and small farm owner Laura Childs reveals exactly what it takes to start raising your own animals, including chickens, geese, goats, sheep, pigs, and cows. Childs discusses what you can expect to harvest from your animals-from eggs to milk to meat to wool-based on her own real-life experiences. Whether you want to raise a few chickens for eggs alone, try your hand at a few goats with the intention of making your own cheese, or sustain your family and make some extra money from raising cows and selling beef, this is the book for you. Childs explains how to get started and everything you need to know about successfully raising each animal, including: * Comparison of breeds * Designing your farm strategy * Preparing a home for your livestock * What to feed your animals * Animal health * Breeding * Milking, laying eggs, and butchering This invaluable guide is the perfect first book for anyone interested in starting a backyard barnyard or a small farm-or simply dreaming about the idea.

The best tips anyone can use to take better outdoor pictures. Nature and the outdoors provide us with exceptional beauty year-round. Now, author and professional photographer Steve Price has put together a collection of tips, tricks, and pointers for any photographer-amateur or pro-to take and develop excellent outdoor and wilderness photos. The Joy of Nature Photography is an informative, entertaining, and easy-to-understand book that will help you take your best nature pictures, no matter where you are. Broken into eleven chapters, this book combines technical know-how and real-life examples to offer tips that cover all the basics of photography. Each tip is carefully explained, and every chapter features stunning photos by the author to demonstrate particular methods. The Joy of Nature Photography will help anyone hone their skills as an outdoor photographer, and it provides experienced wisdom on topics such as: Choosing your equipment Composing your image Shooting with a smartphone Special wildlife photography techniques And more! From taking photos of leopards in Africa to grizzlies in Alaska, and from using the latest zoom lens to snapping a quick pic with your phone, The Joy of Nature Photography will give you the tools and knowledge you can use to capture the beauty of the wilderness and wildlife you love.