- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Globe-Pequot Press (May 22 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 155821352X
- ISBN-13: 978-1558213524
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 612 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Poet, novelist and teacher Moffett wanted to devote a year to living on the land. With her husband, Ted, she moved to a house on a one-acre plot in a Philadelphia suburb and started a garden. Homestead Year began in February with maple sugaring (one tree) and inspecting bees. Then there were gardens to be laid out, planted and tended; next followed battles with thistles, mice and slugs. The Moffetts built a pond and stocked it with fish and plants; then they were ready for ducklings. The author gives an engaging account of on-the-job training as a beekeeper and raiser. Her frustrations, failures and victories will strike a familiar chord in gardeners. At the end, Moffett concedes there is a fundamental absurdity to subsistence living and economic independence in a posh suburban setting. But for her it was all worthwhile, as it will be for interested readers. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Moffett, an English professor and science fiction author, took a year-long sabbatical to become as self-sufficient as possible on her one-acre yard in suburban Philadelphia. Using a journal format, she chronicles the work involved in establishing her garden, fish pond, beehives, and duck pen. As in a miniature Gaia, all the components, from algae to humans, are interrelated. Moffett frankly acknowledges the forerunners whose homesteading accounts inspired her own experiment (e.g., Helen and Scott Nearing's Living the Good Life, LJ 11/15/70, and Harlan Hubbard's Payne Hollow, LJ 11/1/74) and points out some philosophical differences. While her meticulous recording of varieties of seeds started makes for slow reading at the beginning of the book, the pace soon picks up, and Moffett's account culminates at year's end with more successes than failures. This is an excellent picture of the tasks and problems facing anyone considering a similar project, told in a very readable manner. A good addition where gardening and homesteading titles are popular.?Cheryl Childress, Collegiate Sch., Richmond, Va.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life on the Ol' Philly Homestead!,
By Patricia Alder (Jefferson, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Homestead Year (Hardcover)
"Homestead Year" is like the description above, only more so. Judith gets into great detail about bee screens so that her guests won't be stung by some rather agressive bees, the duck house, even her "end of season" homstead tour map. It is not so detailed as to be technical. Ted, her husband, is the rather reluctant helper, balancing his professorial duties with helping Judith with aspects of her project. He also is a dandy spaghetti sauce maker! Other members of her family are featured in stories scattered here and there through the book like glimpses through a house window. Easy to read in a chronological manner, "Homestead Year" is a wonderful book for both country and city folk, especially on those winter nights when gardening is not far from one's mind. Fantastic work from a very varied author!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life on the Ol' Philly Homestead!,
By Patricia Alder - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Homestead Year (Hardcover)
"Homestead Year" is like the description above, only more so. Judith gets into great detail about bee screens so that her guests won't be stung by some rather agressive bees, the duck house, even her "end of season" homstead tour map. It is not so detailed as to be technical. Ted, her husband, is the rather reluctant helper, balancing his professorial duties with helping Judith with aspects of her project. He also is a dandy spaghetti sauce maker! Other members of her family are featured in stories scattered here and there through the book like glimpses through a house window. Easy to read in a chronological manner, "Homestead Year" is a wonderful book for both country and city folk, especially on those winter nights when gardening is not far from one's mind. Fantastic work from a very varied author! |
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