 | TABLE OF CONTENTS Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life |
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
| Chapter 1: Living by Green Design - Sustainable Living How-to: Maintaining a natural and healthy home - Living With the Seventh Generation In Mind How-to: Assessing our impacts: Ecological Footprints - Multiplicity of Small Changes How-to: Steps to greening our life - The Least Imperfect Path How-to: "Appliances" that can make a difference - Sustainable Woods How-to: Buying sustainably harvested wood Adjacent Photo: Phase 1 of greenhouse made from straw bales and reusing old granary/corn crib structure. |  |
| Chapter 2: Food & Friendships - Granolaheads Anonymous How-to: Living the Cultural Creative dream - The Forces of Spring How-to: Pick a cuppa sustainable coffee - Creative Kitchen Partnerships How-to: Farmers' markets and community supported agriculture - The Comfort of Potatoes How-to: Finding our place - Ode to the Chickie How-to: Raising happy chickens Adjacent Photo: Farmer's market in Madison, Wisconsin. |  |
| Chapter 3: Growing and Gardening - Planting Seeds How-to: Seeds and the patenting of life - Organically Grown How-to: Organic gardening strategies - Life Lessons in the Starter Garden How-to: Permaculture design and edible landscaping - Circle of Life How-to: Enemy number 1: bugs and bacteria - Free Canning Jars to a Good Home Basics of food preservation - Perennial Magic Raised Beds & Raised Expectations Adjacent Photo: Inn Serendipity's "kitchen garden" to meet most of our food needs. |  |
| Chapter 4: Energy, Independence and Interdependence - Renewable Energies How-to: Energy flows, conservation and efficiency - The White Buffalo How-to: Solar hot water systems basics - Apollo's Blessing How-to: Photovoltaic (PVs) system basics - Interdependence Day How-to: Winds of change: generating power from a wind turbine - The Heart and Hearth of Fire How-to: Heating with a woodstove - Precious Water How-to: Water conservation - Personal & Creative Energies How-to: Walking and designing a labyrinth Adjacent Photo: Solar collectors for collecting heat, and in the distance, a 10 kW wind turbine for harvesting the wind. |  |
| Chapter 5: Creating & Caring For Community - Feeding Community How-to: Join the anti-consumer community - Unappreciated Rhubarb How-to: Searching for underrated treasures - That Interesting Couple on County P How-to: Thinking out of the box - Cappuccino & Community How-to: Supporting the local economy - A House of Straw How-to: Building with straw bale Adjacent Photo: Historic Downtown Square and Courthouse of Monroe, Wisconsin, "Swiss Cheese Capital of the U.S.A." |  |
| Chapter 6: Loving Our Livelihood - Right Livelihood How-to: Work for our passions and follow our bliss - The Bed & Breakfast Lifestyle How-to: Short-course on starting up a B&B - Home Sweet Office How-to: Home office economics - Lifestyle and Workstyle: Blending Work and Leisure How-to: Traveling as a ecotourist - Blending Baby and Business How-to: Nurture by nature Adjacent Photo: Children eating ice cream in Denmark, from award-winning children's photobook, To Be a Kid, co-authored by John Ivanko. |  |
| Chapter 7: Leaving a Simple Legacy - Empty Hammocks How-to: Creative steps to decluttering - Growth versus Development How-to: Considering a diversified quality of life index - Bluebirds, Birch and Bass: Creating Wildlife Habitat How-to: Building a bluebird trail - Eating Lower on the Food Chain How-to: Going vegetarian - Health & Wellness How-to: Providing what a body needs - Freedom To & Freedom From - Leaving a Legacy How-to: Leaving biological legacies Adjacent Photo: Inn Serendipity Woods cabin, where conservation initiatives are underway. |  |
Epilogue
Resources
Index