With a little knowledge and basic equipment, raising sheep is totally doable. From "So You Want to Be a Shepherd," by Kim Goodling, Vermont Almanac, Vol. I #Vermont #sheep #shepherd #rural #agriculture #homesteading

Never having hung around country post offices much, it came as a surprise to me that it’s legal to stick stamps on a brood of newborn Rhode Island Reds or a colony of stinging insects and pop it in the mail. From "Snail Mail," by Anita Rafael, Vol. III #vermont #rural #bees

When it comes time to lay out a garden plot, we want to know the four cardinal directions – exactly – to get every last bit of sun exposure. From "Build a Solar Compass," by Mark Kutolowski, Vermont Almanac, Vol. V #Vermont #gardening #sun #solar #compass #skills #rural

“More and more land is not being used…big farms don’t want smaller lots, so there is an opportunity for small farms,” said Mark Rodgers, who owns MKVT Farm in Glover with his wife, Karen. From "The Promise of a Rare Sheep Breed," by Laura Hardie, Vol, V #Vermont #ag #sheep #wool

Don Lewis (age 84) and Madeline Leach (age 97) were leading a gang of us out to the back corner of Ken Leach and Joanne Chickering’s corn field in North Rupert to see what we hoped would be a state record black cherry tree. From "Big Trees and Deep Roots," by Dave Mance, Vol. III

This spring, avoid the number one mistake people make when planting a tree: planting too deep. Art credit: TTU. From "Plant it High, it Won't Die," Vermont Almanac, Vol. IV Credit: #Vermont #trees #planting #homesteading #tips #skills #tree

There are few crops we can grow in our home gardens that are as enchanting as grains. From "Grains in the Home Garden," by Sylvia Davatz, Vermont Almanac, Vol. II (Pictured: Hulless Barley - Excelsior Purple, photo by Sylvia Davataz) #Vermont #grains #garden #gardening #plants

Breathable outdoor chairs make great morel drying racks. And the spores left behind that end up on your butt probably aid in dispersal (that’s our story, anyway). From "Nature Notes," Vermont Almanac, Vol. III #Vermont #morels #mushrooms #foraging #homesteading #diy #tip

Nathan Perkins made a two-month solo journey on horseback through Vermont in 1789. This life-long city-dweller was sent to take stock of the new frontier—the land, its people and the state of religion there. He liked only some of what he saw. #Vermont #history #settlers #rural

I have discovered an effective exclusion method that relies simply on understanding the nature of white-tailed deer: They don’t like to jump into confined spaces. From "Keeping Deer Out of the Garden," by Joyce Amsden, Vol. V #Vermont #garden #gardening #deer #homesteading #fence

I hope the creation of Vermont Forest Cemetery inspires a movement in this state and that people are moved to create additional natural burial grounds that meet the needs of their communities. From "Eternal Ecosystem," by Michelle Acciavatti, Vol. IV, #ecology #cemetery #forests

There was a time when wild ferns were big business in Vermon; the towns of Woodford, Searsburg, Stamford, and Readsboro alone, over 50,000,000 ferns were gathered annually. From "The Ackert Fern Industry in Danby, Vermont," by Chick Ackert, Vol. I #Vermont #ferns #nature