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Homesteading has become increasingly popular these past several years. People interested in being more self-sufficient and leading a simpler life have taken up growing their own food, tending livestock, and making homecrafts to use and sell.

It’s not just for those with 150 acres of land, five tractors, and 80 head of cattle, either. The agrarian lifestyle is attractive to those in urban settings with smaller outdoor areas, as well. It can be for you, too. Start off small and see where it takes you. Plant some fruit trees, raise chickens, consider solar options, pickle your own vegetables. Whether your goal is to live off the grid completely, or grow a bed of vegetables for a salsa garden (absolutely), the enhanced connection you’ll feel to the land will offer quite the reward.

“The Tiny But Mighty Farm: Cultivating High Yields, Community, and Self-Sufficiency from a Home Farm” by Jill Ragan is full of guidance and inspiration for those ready to start producing their own food. From deciding what type of grower you want to be–a hobbyist, a homesteader, or a full-time farmer, to mapping out your garden and cost analysis, Ragan offers practical tips to get started. She shares different growing techniques and possible business opportunities, imparting the important message that cultivating also means connection and community. Check out her YouTube channel at Whispering Willow Farm.

In “The Seven-Step Homestead: A Guide for Creating the Backyard Microfarm of Your Dreams,” Leah M. Webb starts off small, showing you how to prep, plant, and tend a couple of 4 x 8 foot garden beds. As you advance through the book, the growing space for the homestead gradually gets larger and the diversity of plantings include trees, shrubs, and storage crops, like potatoes and beans. Also included is a chapter on raising chickens, their care, food, and types of enclosures.

“The Sustainable Homestead: Create a Thriving Permaculture Ecosystem with Your Garden, Animals, and Land” by Angela Ferraro-Fanning has all the important information you’ll need to run a full-fledged homestead. Not only does she include information on soil health, planting, and sample layouts for different sized homesteads, but expands to incorporate information on animals and orchards. All of her animals, in addition to being super cute, are contributors to the farm, as well. The horses provide manure for compost and pull carts. The ducks provide eggs and control the insect population. Her chapter on designing a pasture covers the many considerations that you’ll need to address, like grazing and pasture rotation, when keeping livestock.

Both my great-grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Maxson Sr., (1841-1899) and grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Maxson Jr., (1879-1928) were pioneers in the walnut farming industry in the El Monte and West Covina areas. Along with other local growers, my grandfather founded the La Puente Valley Walnut Growers’ Association in 1912 and was its original member until his death. I inherited a bit of that growing passion too and enjoy tending a small grove of olive trees in my backyard.

The Redlands Adult Literacy Program is preparing to publish its sixth volume of Our Stories, A Collection of Writings, composed of writings from adult learners and tutors who participate in the Redlands Adult Literacy program.

The anthology includes writings that express empathy and gratitude for those who have impacted the authors’ lives, reflections about home or books that the authors have read, significant memories of family and friends, recollections of unexpected happenings, and stories about being close to nature.   

Through their writing, participants of the literacy program describe the challenges they face due to their low reading and writing skills and the joy they experience when they learn to read and write proficiently. “It is very hard to live on our world if you cannot read,” wrote one learner who is working diligently with his tutor to improve his reading skills. His dreams are to be able to comfortably read in public and share stories with his grandchild.   

Another learner shared that her mother is a housewife who is the hardest worker in her entire village. Her mom had big dreams for her children. The adult learner wrote, “My mom does not know how to read and write. She sent us all to school.” Education is an important part of her family because her mother knows the struggles of those who cannot read and write and the opportunities that arise when people are educated.   

Stories in this collection reflect the wide range of writing levels of adults in the literacy program. Each author worked diligently through the writing process with the assistance of a volunteer tutor. By working with their tutors, learners develop vital literacy skills that help them overcome obstacles in their lives.   

On September 19th, the Redlands City Council will consider the approval of a proclamation declaring Sunday, September 24th, Adult Literacy Day in Redlands. In prior years the City Council declared Adult Literacy Day to emphasize the importance of literacy in employment, family education, and civic engagement. To further celebrate the life-changing impact of literacy, the Redlands community is invited to join the Adult Literacy Program in its Celebration of Authors on Sunday, September 24th at 2:00 p.m. at the Contemporary Club, 173 S. Eureka St., Redlands. Adult Learners will read from their works which are published in the anthology. Light refreshments will be served. 

Our Stories, A Collection of Writings, Volumes 1 through 6, are available for checkout at Smiley Public Library. Additionally, many of the authors who submitted writings for the anthology accepted an invitation to read their stories on videotape and share them with the Redlands community. Some of these stories are available on the literacy webpage, www.akspl.org/literacy. 

If you would like to volunteer with the Redlands Adult Literacy Program, please contact Diane Shimota, Adult Literacy Coordinator, at (909) 798-7565 ext. 4138, or email literacy@akspl.org. You can learn more about the adult literacy program by attending the next volunteer tutor orientation scheduled for October 4, 2023. Please contact Diane for more information.   

If you know of someone who needs help in reading and writing, please encourage them to take the first step in changing their life by contacting the Redlands Adult Literacy Program. Tutoring is free and confidential.

The ol’ “Back-to-School” saying has arrived! Parents, teachers, and students rejoice, right?! Well, have no fear, the Young Readers’ Room has a book to help your student with homework assignments or pleasure reading – we aim to please!

You can browse our non-fiction shelves for some interesting, educational reading, and peruse the New Book shelf for the newest selections. The non-fiction books in the Young Readers’ Room range from early learners, such as first or second graders, all the way up to middle school students. Come in soon to find that ‘just right’ book! The suggestions below can be found on the “New Books” shelf.

We’ll start with dinosaurs and go allllll the way back in time! Written by Jill McDonald, “Exploring Dinosaurs” will have your youngest paleontologist reading their way through this book in no time flat! Each colored page you will find not only written information, but a full-colored drawing of a dinosaur as well. Even cooler is the Stats section about each dinosaur. Find this book at J 567.9 M145e.

Shark Week has come and gone this summer, but we can always admire these great beasts through a book or two. Check out “Megalodon” by Kate Moening this week. Explanatory text will introduce you to this underwater beast from the Neogene period of the Cenozoic era, about 20 million years ago! The illustrations by Mat Edwards may have you double checking the pool, bathtub, and backyard for any unwanted guests! Find this book at J 567.3 M722m.

In keeping with, perhaps a tad scary for some, animals and such, you may enjoy checking out, “A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider, Jumper.” Written and illustrated by Jessica Lanan, this non-fiction treasure will have your youngsters exploring the smallest of spaces, searching for jumpers and imagining what life would be like, if they were just like her! The last four double-page spread contains single paragraphs of interesting information about jumpers. The final back pages contain a glossary, author’s note, and a section of finding and identifying spiders with resources included. A treasure indeed, as we come to understand the lives of jumping spiders. Find this book at J 595.4 L22j.

Heading back to the ocean, we’ll discover Suzanne Slade’s “Behold the Octopus.” The left-hand pages declare a one-word adjective which is explained in paragraph form on each right-hand page. The illustrations have you feeling as if you are under the waves, in the ocean, discovering these incredible creatures. Perhaps a trip to the aquarium will result in your family plans after checking out this book! Please find this title at J 594.56 SL12b.

My final recommendation for books this week is “Invisible Things” by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller. A fun, inviting, colorful book about senses, written at a third grade AR level, this book will be read over and over again. Complete with ‘invisible glasses,’ er, “invisible things” – spotting glasses that kids pick up on the very first page. A fun, intriguing book for kids; adults will enjoy looking through as well. Once you’ve finished the book, the end page reminds you to be responsible by stating, “Please return your invisible “invisible things” – spotting glasses here.” Find this book at J 152 M612i.

Please let the Youth Services crew know which of these new books were your favorite… I know – I know; it will be hard to decide!

If you grow summer vegetables or are a lucky recipient of garden produce, then definitely stop by Smiley Library and check out our latest crop of cookbooks for new recipes and meal ideas. Here is a sampling of what’s in store.

Chef, gardener, blogger, and author Luay Ghafari shares his passion for growing seasonal produce and creating tasty vegetable-forward recipes in his new book, “Seed to Table.” Chapter 3 is where you can find Luay’s recipes for Tomato Tart, Peach Panzanella-Style Salad, Pasta alla Norma, and several cocktails such as Paloma Picante. Chef Ghafari also includes tips and techniques for preserving your harvest to enjoy all year, like herb-infused salts, refrigerator pickles, and fermented hot sauces. Many of his recipes include a QR code so you can access further content from his website with your smart phone.

There’s nothing like the sweet, juicy flavor of a home-grown tomato. Summer is the peak season for harvesting, sharing, and enjoying this edible gem. “Simply Tomato” by Martha Holmberg features 100 tomato-centric recipes that can be savored all year long. Familiar dishes like caprese salad, classic tomato soup, and fried green tomatoes are joined by Ravioli in Brown-Butter Tomato Sauce, Pasta with No-Cook Tomato Sauce with Feta, Mint, and Parsley, Roasted Green Tomato Salsa, and Braised Beef Short Ribs with Tomato, Dried Porcini, and Red Wine.

In the third volume of “Magnolia Table,” Joanna Gaines encourages home cooks and bakers to slow down, savor, and enjoy the process of food preparation. Just like many restaurants, Joanna begins her book with bread. Warm from the oven varieties include Truffle Butter Rolls, French Bread, Garlic-Cilantro Naan, and Beer Bread. Fancy and casual main dishes like Seafood Paella, Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Tarragon Sauce, and Chicken Cordon Bleu, as well as Smash Burgers, Chili Pie with a Golden Cornbread Crust, and Cheesy Baked Ziti can fulfill most all of your dinner plans. Other notable dishes to try are Bananas Foster Pancakes, Chunky Blackberry Applesauce, Bacon Butternut Squash, and Peach Pie Trifles.

If one homemade cookie is good, then two must be better! Especially when they have buttercream frosting, ice cream, or chocolatey ganache in the middle. “Stuffed: The Sandwich Cookie Book” by Heather Mubarak gives us 65 delectable mix and match and filling recipes with color photos to tempt and delight dessert fans of all ages. A few of Heather’s swoon-worthy pairings include Candy Cane Shortbread with Peppermint Buttercream and White Chocolate Drizzle, Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Whipped Nutella Ganache, Brown Butter Toffee Walnut Cookies with Bourbon Ice Cream, and Gingerbread Cookies with Pumpkin Spice Buttercream.

Walking through the Redlands Bowl amphitheater today I read the inscription engraved over the stage, “Without vision, a people perish.” I pondered the meaning of the biblical verse. Does it mean that failing to examine ourselves, our culture, and the possibilities of our future, will lead to our downfall? Hm, too bad we can’t ‘phone a friend’ from ancient Rome…

Oh, I thought, in a sense, we can do just that—by crossing the street to Smiley Library. We can probably find some ancient Roman writings, or some historical analyses of ancient Rome right inside that building. If we study with these tools, we can learn from our ancient friends. Libraries are tool shops of critical-thinking implements for the self-examination that we need to survive. “Critical thinking” is defined as “disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.” With such discipline, we can teach ourselves and create that needed “vision.”

Of course, our society relies heavily on professional teachers who take on that burden of creating critical thinkers of us. As most are preparing now or have already begun teaching school for the 2023-24 year, we really must honor them, (thank you, teachers!) for it is an unenviable task, and a gift, to be able to pull out of each of us individuals our own unique vision and voice.

To gain some insight into what these heroes go through, we return to the library for a tool of learning. New to Smiley Library is, The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Vulnerable, Important Profession, a new bestseller by investigative journalist and substitute teacher Alexandra Robbins. She provides detailed accounts of the lives of three teachers working in various regions of the country over a period of a school year. Robbins describes everything from the challenges they encounter in their work to how that work encroaches on their personal lives (as well as busting the myth that teachers laze around all summer). She sprinkles in interviews with additional teachers nationwide who share their challenges and wins. Robbins also provides essays on many of the big issues facing the profession today, everything from “school violence to outrageous parent behavior to inadequate support, staffing, and resources.”

You know, whether we are studying for ourselves in the library, or presiding over a classroom of students, we, each of us, is a teacher. Not all may be cut out to be a professional one, but all of us are teachers. It may be as simple as your new co-worker asking you how to complete a task, or a tourist on the street asking if you know how to get to the best sandwich place in town. You think on your feet, put yourself in their place, and try to lay out the path for them.

One group who does this type of teaching, as well as a more formal kind, are parents, and others in the village who help raise our children. We have a book for them too, Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age. Curriculum developer and longtime homeschooling parent Julie Bogart provides methods in this guide for “objectively evaluating data, learning investigative skills by making room for dissenting points of view, examining one’s own prejudices and biases, and understanding how bias plays into opinion making.” And she makes it fun with stories and activities for students of all ages.

Finally, Lessons Learned and Cherished: The Teacher Who Changed my Life is a feel-good and inspiring little book by ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts who curates a collection of essays and musings from celebrity friends and colleagues that share “how teachers changed them, imparted life lessons, and helped them get to where they are today.” Roberts has made a donation to DonorsChoose.org, a non-profit that encourages people to empower public school teachers by funding their classroom resources.