Ok, here we go. I'm reviewing a book I haven't finished reading.
Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country, by Les and Carol Scher, covers some of the same ground as How To Find Your Ideal Country Home by Gene GeRue. But where Gene tells you what to look for, Les and Carol are your angels telling you what to look OUT for.
There are forms, checklists, anecdotes, maps, diagrams, charts. There are addresses, websites, and email addresses. They tell you where the rainfall is, where the good soil is, and where the toxic waste dump is. And they tell you how to get detailed information about the land YOU want.
They give you advice on how to proceed without involving lawyers, and tell you when you absolutely MUST have one. They give you sample contracts, deeds, and checklists. They abound in good, sensible advice on how to find property, evaluate it, and negotiate the price. They inform you about water and easement rights, zoning issues, and eminent domain. There's even a chapter on specifically-Canadian issues.
The book is so packed with information that you have to take it at a slow crawl. I checked it out from the library, renewed it once, and had to return it unfinished because someone else had placed a hold on it. So, whoever you are, good luck! I hope you find your place in the country!
Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country, by Les and Carol Scher, is available new and used. You can even read some of it on Google Books.
If you are seriously looking back-to-the-land, buy both Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country and How To Find Your Ideal Country Home.
16 October 2008
09 October 2008
Music Is Life
Maybe I should say something about the things I claim I'm interested in.
I've mentioned singing, playing flute, and performing with the Bright Hills PAGE. But the flute is only one of the instruments I play.
I was born in a very musical family. My father played trombone, my mother piano; my sister played clarinet, one brother played tenor saxophone, and the other brother is a professional musician who started on baritone, moved to euphonium and valve trombone, and then to slide trombone. At one point, as a music teacher, he could get a scale out of just about anything, from strings and woodwinds to brass.
I played the stereo.
We had the requisite recorder lessons in 4th grade, and the "concert" where we played Little Brown Jug and Caisson Song. Is it a concert if no one plays together?
They tried to get me into school band on trumpet, but the band didn't need another trumpet. So they asked me to play French horn, and while it's a PRETTY instrument, it took more skill and more effort than I was willing to exercise in 5th grade.
That was it for formal music lessons until 11th grade. Then I joined the Junior Choir at my high school, and moved into the Acapella Choir (a misnomer, we usually had an accompanist) in 12th grade.
Around that time, I began banging on the piano in the basement. I wasn't PLAYING piano--I just wanted to have some harmonies around the vocal line, and the easiest way was to use the guitar chords written above the melody line, or around the lyrics in the songbook. After awhile, I realized it would be easier to play the chords using my thumb, middle finger, and pinky than to use my index, middle and ring fingers. Then I realized I could play a bass note with my left hand. And exposure to the chords began to show me how they were constructed, and how they related to each other.
Then I went to college, and after my freshman year decided that since I was playing guitar chords, I should get a guitar. After all, pianos are just not PORTABLE.
About 1984, I began writing songs. At first, they were piano-based; I could play almost any chord at this point. But as I became more comfortable on guitar, I wrote and played more for guitar than keyboard. I was in the church choir through Easter 1986, took a semester of guitar lessons that didn't help much (classical lessons, folk guitar :-( ), and stuck with piano, guitar and voice for the next TWENTY years.
Now, I'd been in other church choirs in this time, and played piano and guitar for various events. My professional brother even PAID me to provide guitar accompaniment for a series of evening Lenten services at his church, so I guess I'm a professional musician, too.
Around Christmas, 2006, my Uncle John came into possession of a Yamaha PSR36 keyboard which a neighbor was throwing out. This is an 80's vintage synth with full-size keys and a MIDI interface. I got it as a Christmas gift :-) And I won the church talent show at New Year's, which bought me a synth stand and some MIDI cables.
Come September 2007, I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and visited the House of Musical Traditions shop, where I bought my flute, a bamboo D instrument by Windwood Flutes. Then, having read the accompanying pamphlet, which stated that this instrument was played with the same fingering as a pennywhistle, I bought a D pennywhistle (one octave higher!) from a local Music & Arts store.
Late in October 2007, I attended the Bright Hills SCA event, "T&T". Every year, the letters stand for something different--I don't remember what they were in 2007. It was a dog-friendly event with heated dorms, which was a good thing--it was a rainy weekend. I was sitting in the feast hall, playing my flute, guitar and soprano recorder (not at the same time--I wish I could get 2 more arms and another mouth installed), when in came a lady with a LARGE harp. Now, this is not a picture of Bruno the harp; but it is the largest available instrument from the same manufacturer. Bruno is walnut, 5 feet tall, and has 38 strings to the comparatively-diminutive 36 in the picture.
The lady was Lady Yseulte Trevelyn, who loves the sound of flute and harp, and happens to live about 3 blocks from me. She invited me to join the musician's guild of Bright Hills, which met every Sunday night to play and talk. And since she had to carry Bruno anyway, she would chauffeur me! How could I refuse?
While browsing the website of House of Musical Traditions, I came across an instrument that intrigued me. It looked like a cross between a clarinet and a recorder, a keyless reed instrument called a Xaphoon. I bought myself one for my early-December birthday. I still can't get out of the first octave, but it CAN be played in 2+ octaves.
Then for Christmas, my mother gave me a Yamaha alto recorder.
You'd think that would be enough for anyone. After all, I've got 5 woodwinds in 3 different keys, guitar and keyboard. But wait! There's more!
BACK at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2006, I saw another instrument that I wanted to try. It took a year and a half, but I am also the proud owner of a Bowed Psaltery from Lark In the Morning. Again, I can't play it very well-YET.
And if you looked at the photos from Chalice of the Sun God, you saw me playing a harp. Well, not really. The harp DOES get played, very simple chords, to give me the starting pitch for my songs. But it is more a prop than an instrument, won't stay in tune, and sounds -plunky- at best. Of course, I play it just barely better than "Not at all." It's not my harp, anyway; I am currently holding it on behalf of the Bright Hills Performing Arts Guild, Extraordinaire!
One last: Yseulte says that I am an "instrument junkie". Who could argue? But as a joke, she brought me a $5 souvenir "Indian flute" from New Mexico after a business trip. This thing had too many holes, too close together, in the wrong places. It's made of bamboo, which is not native to the American Southwest. And it's made in PERU for sale as a gen-yoo-ine Indian flute in NM.
But I find a way to make noise out of everything that surrounds me. I did some experimenting and found that if I closed off 4 of the 7 existing holes (duct tape saves the day!), it whistled the first several notes of a diatonic scale. Then I drilled 3 more holes, and managed to effect a full octave. Of course, it plays in Bb, which isn't much use for me. But I keep it in my kit, mostly to annoy Yseulte.
The last year has been a wild ride for me, musically. Let's see what happens next!
I've mentioned singing, playing flute, and performing with the Bright Hills PAGE. But the flute is only one of the instruments I play.
I was born in a very musical family. My father played trombone, my mother piano; my sister played clarinet, one brother played tenor saxophone, and the other brother is a professional musician who started on baritone, moved to euphonium and valve trombone, and then to slide trombone. At one point, as a music teacher, he could get a scale out of just about anything, from strings and woodwinds to brass.
I played the stereo.
We had the requisite recorder lessons in 4th grade, and the "concert" where we played Little Brown Jug and Caisson Song. Is it a concert if no one plays together?
They tried to get me into school band on trumpet, but the band didn't need another trumpet. So they asked me to play French horn, and while it's a PRETTY instrument, it took more skill and more effort than I was willing to exercise in 5th grade.
That was it for formal music lessons until 11th grade. Then I joined the Junior Choir at my high school, and moved into the Acapella Choir (a misnomer, we usually had an accompanist) in 12th grade.
Around that time, I began banging on the piano in the basement. I wasn't PLAYING piano--I just wanted to have some harmonies around the vocal line, and the easiest way was to use the guitar chords written above the melody line, or around the lyrics in the songbook. After awhile, I realized it would be easier to play the chords using my thumb, middle finger, and pinky than to use my index, middle and ring fingers. Then I realized I could play a bass note with my left hand. And exposure to the chords began to show me how they were constructed, and how they related to each other.
Then I went to college, and after my freshman year decided that since I was playing guitar chords, I should get a guitar. After all, pianos are just not PORTABLE.
About 1984, I began writing songs. At first, they were piano-based; I could play almost any chord at this point. But as I became more comfortable on guitar, I wrote and played more for guitar than keyboard. I was in the church choir through Easter 1986, took a semester of guitar lessons that didn't help much (classical lessons, folk guitar :-( ), and stuck with piano, guitar and voice for the next TWENTY years.
Now, I'd been in other church choirs in this time, and played piano and guitar for various events. My professional brother even PAID me to provide guitar accompaniment for a series of evening Lenten services at his church, so I guess I'm a professional musician, too.
Around Christmas, 2006, my Uncle John came into possession of a Yamaha PSR36 keyboard which a neighbor was throwing out. This is an 80's vintage synth with full-size keys and a MIDI interface. I got it as a Christmas gift :-) And I won the church talent show at New Year's, which bought me a synth stand and some MIDI cables.
Come September 2007, I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and visited the House of Musical Traditions shop, where I bought my flute, a bamboo D instrument by Windwood Flutes. Then, having read the accompanying pamphlet, which stated that this instrument was played with the same fingering as a pennywhistle, I bought a D pennywhistle (one octave higher!) from a local Music & Arts store.
Late in October 2007, I attended the Bright Hills SCA event, "T&T". Every year, the letters stand for something different--I don't remember what they were in 2007. It was a dog-friendly event with heated dorms, which was a good thing--it was a rainy weekend. I was sitting in the feast hall, playing my flute, guitar and soprano recorder (not at the same time--I wish I could get 2 more arms and another mouth installed), when in came a lady with a LARGE harp. Now, this is not a picture of Bruno the harp; but it is the largest available instrument from the same manufacturer. Bruno is walnut, 5 feet tall, and has 38 strings to the comparatively-diminutive 36 in the picture.
The lady was Lady Yseulte Trevelyn, who loves the sound of flute and harp, and happens to live about 3 blocks from me. She invited me to join the musician's guild of Bright Hills, which met every Sunday night to play and talk. And since she had to carry Bruno anyway, she would chauffeur me! How could I refuse?
While browsing the website of House of Musical Traditions, I came across an instrument that intrigued me. It looked like a cross between a clarinet and a recorder, a keyless reed instrument called a Xaphoon. I bought myself one for my early-December birthday. I still can't get out of the first octave, but it CAN be played in 2+ octaves.
Then for Christmas, my mother gave me a Yamaha alto recorder.
You'd think that would be enough for anyone. After all, I've got 5 woodwinds in 3 different keys, guitar and keyboard. But wait! There's more!
BACK at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2006, I saw another instrument that I wanted to try. It took a year and a half, but I am also the proud owner of a Bowed Psaltery from Lark In the Morning. Again, I can't play it very well-YET.
And if you looked at the photos from Chalice of the Sun God, you saw me playing a harp. Well, not really. The harp DOES get played, very simple chords, to give me the starting pitch for my songs. But it is more a prop than an instrument, won't stay in tune, and sounds -plunky- at best. Of course, I play it just barely better than "Not at all." It's not my harp, anyway; I am currently holding it on behalf of the Bright Hills Performing Arts Guild, Extraordinaire!
One last: Yseulte says that I am an "instrument junkie". Who could argue? But as a joke, she brought me a $5 souvenir "Indian flute" from New Mexico after a business trip. This thing had too many holes, too close together, in the wrong places. It's made of bamboo, which is not native to the American Southwest. And it's made in PERU for sale as a gen-yoo-ine Indian flute in NM.
But I find a way to make noise out of everything that surrounds me. I did some experimenting and found that if I closed off 4 of the 7 existing holes (duct tape saves the day!), it whistled the first several notes of a diatonic scale. Then I drilled 3 more holes, and managed to effect a full octave. Of course, it plays in Bb, which isn't much use for me. But I keep it in my kit, mostly to annoy Yseulte.
The last year has been a wild ride for me, musically. Let's see what happens next!
07 October 2008
Book Review: How To Find Your Ideal Country Home
In How To Find Your Ideal Country Home, Gene GeRue takes you step-by-step through the process of identifying your ideal location. As a one-time real estate agent, he focuses on "Location, location, location!" as the three most important aspects of your place in the country.
In the discussion of terrain, climate, water rights, mineral rights, culture and culture shock, access, taxes, pollution, and more, Gene shows how to narrow your search to the specific regions most likely to meet your goals. Then he piles on the advice:
The copy I read came via interlibrary loan; used copies are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Shopping, and probably every used book store on the web.
In the discussion of terrain, climate, water rights, mineral rights, culture and culture shock, access, taxes, pollution, and more, Gene shows how to narrow your search to the specific regions most likely to meet your goals. Then he piles on the advice:
- Don't fall in love until AFTER the sale;
- The real estate agent isn't working for YOU;
- Practice the 10/1 Rule: Visit ten properties, rank them by your preference, then buy the first one you find that is BETTER than your highest rank;
- Know who has the mineral, water and timber rights;
- Buying next to Federal land guarantees NOTHING.
The copy I read came via interlibrary loan; used copies are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Shopping, and probably every used book store on the web.
28 September 2008
Siege of Glengary
I know that it's autumn when I go to the Siege of Glengary.
Glengary is an annual interkingdom SCA event between the Shire of Sylvan Glen in Aethelmearc, and the Barony of Highland Foorde in Atlantia. I first attended in 2005, and annually ever since. It's a terrific event, with heavy weapons, thrown weapons, archery, fencing, youth combat, arts & science, bardic, and silent auctions. They provide meals throughout, including Friday night and Sunday morning. You can tent if you like, or stay in the dormitory of the 4-H camp. Hot showers! Bardic circles! Bunk beds!
Glengary has been a very good event for me over the years I have attended. In 2005, at Siege X, I won the bardic competition with a performance of my song, The Ballad of Estrella 5. In 2006, at Siege XI, I won the bardic competition again, performing my poem Bothersome Beasts and Marauding Monsters. In 2007, at Siege XII, HRM Queen Rowan of Atlantia attended, and was so pleased by the musical backdrop I provided for the event that she awarded me the Silver Nautilus. And finding that I had been part of the Society for 22 years, and feeling I had been overlooked, she gave me my Award of Arms.
But HRM Rowan said one more thing: "Keep doing it!" And so, by ROYAL COMMAND, I have chosen to spend most of my time at every event playing music. This has caused me to fall in with a faire company, the Bright Hills Performing Arts Guild Extraordinaire! Siege XIII was no exception, and we gathered enough other musicians around us to create some rather extraordinary, if simple, polyphony. "Dona Nobis Pacem" sounds GREAT with 2 harps, alto and tenor recorder, and drum!
And once again, of course, I entered the bardic competition. I find in general that in competitions where the winner is selected by popular acclaim, and the performers of similar talent, the one who can be HEARD by the back of the hall is the one to be chosen. I have never had a problem with reaching the back of the hall! And so I told the story of Orpheus and his descent to the Underworld to reclaim his bride, Eurydice, complete with appropriate songs.
I heard the overwhelming applause for my main competitor, one Lady Margarita, a local bard of Sylvan Glen. But those running the competition could not judge between us. "Was there any question?" I asked. But they asked for the acclaim of the populace again, first for me...and then for Lady Margarita.
I interrupted, "My lord, why embarrass me? I bow to the lady!" And kissing her hand, I conceded the contest, to subdued calls of "Well played!"
Lady Margarita claimed the prize, a leather-bound journal with an embossed cover--and I knew what to do next!
"My lady!" I cried, "I must speak! May I see the journal?" And taking the journal, I said, "It is as I feared! My lady, an acquaintance of mine had such a journal--you must take great care, lest you suffer the same fate!" And with that introduction, I launched into Under The Gripping Beast, by Cat Faber.
Perhaps I didn't win the competition. But I got more compliments than I can remember, on both my Orpheus and Gripping Beast. And I got the last word ;-)
I count that as a win.
Glengary is an annual interkingdom SCA event between the Shire of Sylvan Glen in Aethelmearc, and the Barony of Highland Foorde in Atlantia. I first attended in 2005, and annually ever since. It's a terrific event, with heavy weapons, thrown weapons, archery, fencing, youth combat, arts & science, bardic, and silent auctions. They provide meals throughout, including Friday night and Sunday morning. You can tent if you like, or stay in the dormitory of the 4-H camp. Hot showers! Bardic circles! Bunk beds!
Glengary has been a very good event for me over the years I have attended. In 2005, at Siege X, I won the bardic competition with a performance of my song, The Ballad of Estrella 5. In 2006, at Siege XI, I won the bardic competition again, performing my poem Bothersome Beasts and Marauding Monsters. In 2007, at Siege XII, HRM Queen Rowan of Atlantia attended, and was so pleased by the musical backdrop I provided for the event that she awarded me the Silver Nautilus. And finding that I had been part of the Society for 22 years, and feeling I had been overlooked, she gave me my Award of Arms.
But HRM Rowan said one more thing: "Keep doing it!" And so, by ROYAL COMMAND, I have chosen to spend most of my time at every event playing music. This has caused me to fall in with a faire company, the Bright Hills Performing Arts Guild Extraordinaire! Siege XIII was no exception, and we gathered enough other musicians around us to create some rather extraordinary, if simple, polyphony. "Dona Nobis Pacem" sounds GREAT with 2 harps, alto and tenor recorder, and drum!
And once again, of course, I entered the bardic competition. I find in general that in competitions where the winner is selected by popular acclaim, and the performers of similar talent, the one who can be HEARD by the back of the hall is the one to be chosen. I have never had a problem with reaching the back of the hall! And so I told the story of Orpheus and his descent to the Underworld to reclaim his bride, Eurydice, complete with appropriate songs.
I heard the overwhelming applause for my main competitor, one Lady Margarita, a local bard of Sylvan Glen. But those running the competition could not judge between us. "Was there any question?" I asked. But they asked for the acclaim of the populace again, first for me...and then for Lady Margarita.
I interrupted, "My lord, why embarrass me? I bow to the lady!" And kissing her hand, I conceded the contest, to subdued calls of "Well played!"
Lady Margarita claimed the prize, a leather-bound journal with an embossed cover--and I knew what to do next!
"My lady!" I cried, "I must speak! May I see the journal?" And taking the journal, I said, "It is as I feared! My lady, an acquaintance of mine had such a journal--you must take great care, lest you suffer the same fate!" And with that introduction, I launched into Under The Gripping Beast, by Cat Faber.
Perhaps I didn't win the competition. But I got more compliments than I can remember, on both my Orpheus and Gripping Beast. And I got the last word ;-)
I count that as a win.
23 September 2008
Book Review: Ten Acres Enough
When I think of homesteading, I think of self-reliance and independence. My dream is to do it all myself, unrealistic as that may be. I'm NOT thinking about truck farming, on any scale.
Your dreams may differ. Certainly Edmund Morris' did! In about 1853, at the age of 49, he sold his business in the city, and moved with wife and six (!) children to a New Jersey farm of 11 acres. There he successfully built a profitable enterprise, selling fruit and vegetables to suppliers in New York City and Philadelphia. He even managed to turn a small profit in his FIRST year, which he admits was due more to a stroke of luck than anything else.
Although the dollar values are all clearly outdated (I was multiplying everything by 100 in my head throughout the book), his methods seem reasonably sound.
By 1857, Morris was well-established, and was economically unworried when the Civil War ("the late slaveholders' rebellion") broke out.
There are lots of lessons to be found in this book. Maybe I need to expand my dream.
"Ten Acres Enough", Edmund Morris, 1864, is in print and available through Amazon and other bookstores, or online at dozens of locations. I saw it first at http://www.soilandhealth.org/, but also at http://www.archive.org/details/tenacresenoughpr00morrrich, where you can download a complete PDF from the 1905 printing.
Your dreams may differ. Certainly Edmund Morris' did! In about 1853, at the age of 49, he sold his business in the city, and moved with wife and six (!) children to a New Jersey farm of 11 acres. There he successfully built a profitable enterprise, selling fruit and vegetables to suppliers in New York City and Philadelphia. He even managed to turn a small profit in his FIRST year, which he admits was due more to a stroke of luck than anything else.
Although the dollar values are all clearly outdated (I was multiplying everything by 100 in my head throughout the book), his methods seem reasonably sound.
- He knew his market, and grew for sale what the market demanded.
- He provided quality product, not quantity.
- He practiced preventative maintenance.
- He lived frugally and economically, for which he completely credits his wife's management.
- He bought the best tools he could afford, and cared for them properly.
- He constantly worked to replenish the land, with compost, manure, lime and ash.
- He stuck with what worked, but also experimented with new things.
- He didn't pay any attention to what the neighbors thought, but was also happy to learn from their successes.
By 1857, Morris was well-established, and was economically unworried when the Civil War ("the late slaveholders' rebellion") broke out.
There are lots of lessons to be found in this book. Maybe I need to expand my dream.
"Ten Acres Enough", Edmund Morris, 1864, is in print and available through Amazon and other bookstores, or online at dozens of locations. I saw it first at http://www.soilandhealth.org/, but also at http://www.archive.org/details/tenacresenoughpr00morrrich, where you can download a complete PDF from the 1905 printing.
21 September 2008
Science Fiction Cover Art
As you might have noticed from my "What I'm Reading", I've been zooming through David Drake novels, in particular the Leary-Mundy series. I'm on "Some Golden Harbor" now, and there was something about the book that bothered me. It wasn't the writing or the story, and it took me a while to figure it out.
It was the cover.
I was sure I had seen the girl before. And I couldn't place her.
I've only read the first three books in the series on the Baen Free Library, and I haven't paid much attention to the covers. And the cover of the 4th book in the series, "The Way To Glory", although drawn by the same artist, Stephen Hickman, used different models. Who was she?
Well, I've got it figured out.
It's Podkayne of Mars.
Stephen Hickman did the Baen cover for Podkayne back in 1994. And 12 years later, he did the Baen cover for "Some Golden Harbor". All I can say is that she has certainly aged well--she doesn't look a day older.
She hasn't even changed clothes. The beret, the turtleneck, the scarf tying back the hair, the hairstyle--it's all the same.
What's even funnier is the similarity in composition of the covers. Planets floating in the background, with a spaceship zooming by in the middle distance, and the protagonists in the foreground. I do think that 12 years has improved the execution of the subject.
I'm amused by the fact that I was able to identify two covers by the same artist, 12 years apart, from two studies of the same model. I'm even more amused that he USED two studies of the same model. It reminds me of all the Darrell Sweet covers that had EXACTLY the same model, with the same expression on his face. I think it was Darrell.
It was the cover.
I was sure I had seen the girl before. And I couldn't place her.
I've only read the first three books in the series on the Baen Free Library, and I haven't paid much attention to the covers. And the cover of the 4th book in the series, "The Way To Glory", although drawn by the same artist, Stephen Hickman, used different models. Who was she?
Well, I've got it figured out.
It's Podkayne of Mars.
Stephen Hickman did the Baen cover for Podkayne back in 1994. And 12 years later, he did the Baen cover for "Some Golden Harbor". All I can say is that she has certainly aged well--she doesn't look a day older.
She hasn't even changed clothes. The beret, the turtleneck, the scarf tying back the hair, the hairstyle--it's all the same.
What's even funnier is the similarity in composition of the covers. Planets floating in the background, with a spaceship zooming by in the middle distance, and the protagonists in the foreground. I do think that 12 years has improved the execution of the subject.
I'm amused by the fact that I was able to identify two covers by the same artist, 12 years apart, from two studies of the same model. I'm even more amused that he USED two studies of the same model. It reminds me of all the Darrell Sweet covers that had EXACTLY the same model, with the same expression on his face. I think it was Darrell.
17 September 2008
Book Review: Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do
In Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do, Peter McWilliams asserts that the government has no authority and no right to enact or enforce legislation against "consensual crimes". In the course of his argument, he points out that
McWilliams takes a distinctly libertarian position: If what I do hurts someone else, it should be illegal. If it hurts only me, then it "ain't nobody's business if I do!"
This book, along with ALL of Peter McWilliams' books, is available at his website, http://www.mcwilliams.com.
- The prisons are overflowing with these "criminals";
- The courts are overflowing with these "criminals";
- The police are overworked apprehending these "criminals";
- The governmental budgets are overdrawn pursuing these "criminals".
McWilliams takes a distinctly libertarian position: If what I do hurts someone else, it should be illegal. If it hurts only me, then it "ain't nobody's business if I do!"
This book, along with ALL of Peter McWilliams' books, is available at his website, http://www.mcwilliams.com.
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