While I am laid up with a worthless back, I thought I would finally blog about my favorite farm books.  These are books that have taught me a lot over these years on our little farm.

The overall farm Bible for me is the Country Living book.  Unfortunately the author has died, and I never will be able to thank her, but this book has everything.  I still refer to it all the time for information about gardening, animals, recipes, preserving, etc.  It is also a fun read.  I bought it in the nineties in a Berkeley bookstore, just meeting it there on the shelf and having never heard of it.  This book lives on my kitchen bookshelf so I can reach for it when I need it.

The Merck Manual is a mainstay.  I do not use the book though, but the online site instead.

This is the book I keep in the night stand by our bed.  This is in case of an emergency, I can dose medications properly before calling the vet.  This book is well used.

The Storey’s book I got before I had sheep and learned a lot from it.  I do not look at it much anymore though.  The Lawson book however is another nightstand book during lambing season.  I refer to it when there is a lambing situation and I need a fast answer before calling the vet.  None of my goats books are all that good although I have a few.  I find the Saanendoah and Fias Co Farm‘s websites to be more helpful.

Again the Storey chicken book was quite helpful when I first got chickens, less helpful now almost 15 years later.  The rabbit book is a fair reference.  Betty Chu’s website is more helpful to me now.

This llama book has a lot of good information as does the Storey book (not pictured).  This donkey book is quite helpful, especially with hoof trimming when I cannot get a farrier.

The animal housing book has a lot of great ideas.  We used it when we added the hay loft to the barn last summer.  The farm conveniences book is an interesting read and presents ideas for old-fashioned farm equipment.

Finally there are my gardening books, of which these two are the best and most used.  I do not pick them up much anymore, but you can see they have been read a lot.

I hope this is helpful to someone.  You can comment on your favorites too.

INJURY UPDATE:

Vanessa had surgery yesterday which went well.  She is back home today and recuperating in the laundry room. We will be doing rehab sessions with her 3 times per day as well as 4 different medications.

My back is getting worse with increasing numbness in my legs and excruciating pain in my feet.  I basically am not walking today.  The second MRI is finally authorized by the insurance and scheduled for next Tuesday.  They are scheduling me for a neurosurgery appointment, but they may be booked out until December!  If that is the case I may ask to see a different specialist.