Category Archives: Book Review

Hens and Chickens by Jennifer Wixson

February 5, 2013   Book Review, Daily Farm Life, Maine, Poultry, Writing

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Hens and Chickens by Jennifer Wixson

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: White Wave; 1st edition (August 5, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 0963668986

Maine author Jennifer Wixson brings her knowledge of farming and live in a small town to words in Hens and Chickens. She moves Rebecca and Lila from corporate Boston to Sovereign, Maine to become egg farmers, a bold move for two city women who find themselves unemployed.

Sovereign is one town over from Unity. I’m getting to know Unity well as my daughter is a student at the college. It was nice to see places in town as I read the book. Wixson brings details to the story that only a local and farmer can share. In this day and age of discouraging and depressing news in the media, escaping to old fashioned values, romantic love and family dinners is refreshing.

I laughed out loud at a mouse and cheered on unexpected love. The characters become real as details about them, enough but not too many, become known.

While this is a heartwarming story, life isn’t always perfect. Heart break, a long-kept secret and the town’s lowlife business man ensure the story isn’t just a fairy tale but reflects real life.

Wixson’s unique method of storytelling kept my attention. I was a bit put off when her method took a drastic change but settled into it after a few pages, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s an opportunity to meet Wixson as a person, not just as a storyteller.

Everyone needs a happily ever after now and then. What will be a trip back in time for many was a story of modern day times for me. I’m eager to catch up with characters I’ve met and get to know new ones in the next book in the series. I give Hens and Chickens five stars.

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Book Review: The Other End of the Driveway by Dana Wilde

June 1, 2012   Book Review

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The Other End of the Driveway
An amateur naturalist’s observations in the Maine woods
by Dana Wilde

Dana Wilde combines natural science lessons with entertaining story telling in “The Other End of the Driveway.” I found myself making mental notes while reading about blue birds and hummingbirds, comparing them to my own experiences, nodding my head in agreement as I read. October sunshine came through the window as I read October Light. Wilde’s stories pull you in, making you feel as though they’re happening around you. You might be sitting at Big Rock in Sandy Stream Pond in Baxter State Park or on the loveseat in front of the fire with a cup of coffee as you read.

Wilde takes your imagination to the shore where you’ll see the eyes of a horseshoe crab in your imagination. He perfectly describes the dying world outside the window in late November and the physique of curmudgeonly toads. During a walk behind his home in Troy, looking for nothing in particular, Wild finds cat, rabbit and bear tracks, signs of what happens in the winter woods when nobody is looking.

“The Other End of the Driveway” includes some of Wilde’s experiences in Bulgaria and Northern Ireland, along with other places, taking you far from the driveway. Wilde makes you think when he compares science and the Bible. Short, interesting explanations of why both could be correct held my interest. His essays center around time spent carefully observing nature.

A pair of phoebes that nest outside the bathroom window reminds Wilde of his “lilac years” with Bonnie, his wife. This particular pair of phoebes are playful and seem to enjoy each others company, not a common trait of phoebes.

Dana Wilde’s essays of Maine’s natural world are a joy to read. It’s perfect for a busy person who has 20 minutes to read. You can read an essay, put the book down and not lose your place. It will leave you wanting to squeeze in three more pages before you go to sleep. You’ll learn something, probably from each essay, that will make you think about a topic long after you finished the book.

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Book Review: Maine’s Favorite Birds

May 23, 2012   Book Review

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Jeffrey V. Wells and Allison Childs Wells
Illustrated by Evan Barbou
Tilbury House Publishers
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Paperback, $15, ISBN 978-0-88448-336-6
6 x 9, 72 pages, 100+ color paintings

Maine’s Favorite Birds by Jeffrey V. Wells and Allison Child Wells was written as a guide for beginner and intermediate birds as well those who are advanced. The Wells’ have extensive personal knowledge and hands-on experience with birds that they share in easy-to-understand descriptions of each bird.

Birds are grouped together in ways that make sense to new birders either because they are common in a particular habitat or look alike. This was very helpful to me because “it looks like” comes to mind often while I’m birding.

Also helpful, Tools of the Birding Trade tells us what we need to take with us on a birding trip and why we need these items. Learning the Field Marks explains bird anatomy with well labeled, clearly drawn illustrations. This information is contained to one page and eliminates flipping back and forth. It’s very handy. Five pages of birding hotspots cover the state, providing information on birds you’re likely to see and where you’ll see them.

The hand painted illustrations are exceptional. Evan Barbour brings birds to life on paper. His paintings are by far the best of any I’ve seen. The details are amazing and the colors beautiful.

The book is small in size at 6 x 9. It fits easily into my pocketbook, backpack and glove box. It’s easy to hold the book in one hand, binoculars in another, and not lose your place. Beginner to expert, I think every birder should have this book in their library.

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Book Review: Small Space Container Gardens

May 21, 2012   Book Review, Garden, Growing Vegetables, Outdoors

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Small-Space Container Gardens By Fern Richardson – Timber Press, Incorporated (2012) – Paperback – 224 pages – ISBN 1604692413. $19.95.

Small-Space Container Gardens by Fern Richardson

Fern Richardson brought her blog, Life on the Balcony, to print. I was interested in this book as a guide while I learn more about growing in containers on my back porch and in new perennial gardens. Living in USDA Hardiness Zone 4b, there are plants I really want to grow but that won’t tolerate the cold winter. I better understand how to use containers for over wintering and which plants I’ll have to store in the cold cellar for winter hibernation. There are a lot of suggestions for containers along with proper placement of both plants when filling containers.

My favorite section is Grow more, Eat more. As a former market farmer, growing food is near and dear to my heart. I was glad to see that Richardson included a lot of information on vegetables and herbs. Edible Vines conveyed the ease of growing food. I was surprised to see Fruit Trees and Shrubs included in this beautiful book. I wouldn’t have thought of apple trees or raspberry canes for small-space growing.

There’s a lot of beautiful photography and it made me want to pick up the book often. The huge font that fills half pages and leaves the remaining half blank was distracting but doesn’t detract from Richardson’s extensive knowledge and love of small-space growing. Overall, the book has been extremely helpful to me.

 

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