Give your daydreams a reality check You know the daydream: "We'll move to the country and have a little farm or open a B&B, and it will be so peaceful."
Give your daydreams a reality check
"Living the Country Dream" might not give you nightmares, but it could give you pause before you plunge.
By SHARON S. KESSLER
August 10, 2010 at 9:06PM
Before you sell the house and start packing, take a moment to peruse Tom Cruickshank's "Living the Country Dream" (Firefly Books, $29.95). This collection of stories from Harrowsmith CountryLife magazine is like a splash of cold water on that overheated daydream.
These stories collected from the Canadian magazine cover everything from restoring an overworked farmstead to creating a self-supporting 35-acre spread, rehabbing a mail-order farmhouse and opening a spiffy B&B. Even the can-do, upbeat tone of these modern-day pioneering stories is guaranteed to make your back hurt and city life seem safe and sane.
Cruickshank vividly describes the rewarding but difficult work. It seems the projects all take 20 years, tons of ingenuity, boundless energy and lots of extra cash. He throws in recipes, detailed maps to lay out an heirloom vegetable garden, an orchard or even a barnyard for maximum efficiency.
Among other things, he shows you how to build a birdhouse, an earth-sheltered home and your own outdoor adobe oven. There are detailed plans for rotating your garden to keep down pests and building a dry stone wall.
Heck, there are even tips for rural greenhorns, so you don't insult the real country folks.
It's fascinating reading, but after every daunting how-to chapter I felt like I needed a nap or a massage. The tales of dedication, determination and cost overruns could send your dream of country life heading for the hills.
But even if Cruickshank's reality check dashes your dream, at least you'll have some new recipes and a deeper appreciation for the vendors at the farmers market.
