Spring Giveaways - Backyard Homestead!

Dear weather-watchers and grub-grubbers,

With spring in full bloom, everybody is happily troweling away in the dirt!  Did you have some frost-buried annuals that burst up through the ground, or some slow-unfurling buds anticipating honeybees and pollinating breezes?  Are you already thinking about canning ... preserving ... and maybe growing a few chickens?

With everybody looking for creative ways to save money, it's only logical to spade in a few seeds and double-quintuple the return on your money with home-grown vegetation or even animals for food!

If you are curious about any of these endeavors, one of my favorite publishing houses, Storey Publishing, would be a great resource for you.  They publish books on country living and recently sent me a book to review, which I thoroughly enjoyed (it was also recommended to me by at least half-a-dozen industrious ladies I know), about backyard homesteading ... hence the appropriate title:  The Backyard Homestead!

I am loving this line-illustrated, tastefully written book!  Everything from raising pigs to canning recipes to laying out a garden plot in your backyard is covered in delightful detail.  If you're just growing on the porch and want to expand your backyard repertoire, this is the book for you.  If you're a semi-pro with an acre of goats and chickens and want to start adding your own wheat and nuts, it's covered!  If you live in an apartment (that's me!) and you want to cold-store winter squash, can in season, and have a few pots outside the kitchen window, welcome to your new study guide!  This would be a phenomenal resource for a homeschooling family because - if you're anything like we were - every chapter is a new project that teaches the kids and benefits and provides for the family!

I am giving away one lovely copy of this delightful book - so enter the competition below in the comments section!

Here's what you do to win: write your first name, email (like this: andrea . globetrotter (at) gmail . com), and where you'll be homesteading (on the porch? back 40? a quarter-acre? a glass-enclosed terrarium?).

I will randomly select one winner by May 21, 2011 - and I will contact you via your email account to get your address for mailing!

Thank you for participating and I look forward to hearing about your homesteading pursuits!

Mrs H
twitter.com/_mrs_h