Barb Webb - Getting Laid: Everything You Need to Know About Raising Chickens, Gardening and Preserving — with Over 100 Recipes!

getting laid

getting laid

Everything You Need to Know about Raising Chickens, Gardening and Preserving
With Over 100 Recipes

By Barb Webb

Copyright 2015 by Barb Webb.

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, online, or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Viva Editions, an imprint of Start Midnight, LLC, 375 Hudson Street, Twelfth Floor, New York, New York 10014.

Printed in the United States.
Cover design: Scott Idleman/Blink
Cover photograph: Life on White/Getty Images & iStockphoto
Text design: Frank Wiedemann
First Edition.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Trade paper ISBN: 978-1-63228-021-3
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63228-028-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

The recipes contained in this book have been created for the ingredients and techniques indicated. The Publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. You are, of course, free to make substitutions or modifications to suit your personal dietary needs or tastes. However, the Publisher shall not be responsible for any adverse reactions that you may suffer, whether to the recipes as contained in this book or as modified by you.

To the chickens that have graced our homestead, Im indebted to your wise teachings. To the powers above and the earth below, I am grateful for your abundant blessings. To my husband, my children, and all the amazing people in my life, I am thankful for your support and your love, which sustain me.

Contents

1. Get Started: Living a Sexy Sustainable Lifestyle

The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.
e.e. cummings

There are four simple facts that govern this guide:

1. Baby chicks are crazy-huggable-adorable and they grow up to be beautiful, bountiful chickens.

2. Everything fresh and organic looks, tastes, and is better for you.

3. Conserving our natural resources is vital to the future of our planet and better for our pocketbooks.

4. Sexy doesnt come from a bottle or a well-fitted brassiere. It radiates from inside and illuminates the world through our actions and choices.

Sustainable living has acquired a bit of a bad rap over the years. From extremist position visions of zombie apocalypse shelters to real little houses on the prairieany way you slice it, the vision often doesnt mesh well with the advances of our modern world.

As someone who grew up watching Little House on the Prairie, I certainly day dreamed about hanging out in that simpler time, but it wasnt as if I was willing to give up my Billy Idol T-shirt or Star Wars figure collection to get there.

Though I opt to embrace a sustainable lifestyle today, Im still resistant to giving up certain things like my smartphone or dishwasher. Instead, I make informed decisions about the products I purchase; reduce energy use whenever and wherever possible; and reuse, repurpose, and recycle. To conserve resources, grow your own food, raise your own backyard chickens, and utilize all the glorious tools nature gives us is not only practical, its doable!

Sustainable living boasts no boundaries. You dont need massive amounts of acreage or even a fenced-in backyard. We may not be 100 percent sustainable in our lifestyles, but we can become better in tune with our environment and conscientious about our actions. Like all aspects of life, its about balance, finding ways to live a greener, cleaner life within the parameters of our current lifestyles.

Theres no need to turn your world topsy-turvy or morph into Laura Ingalls Wilder overnight. Simply make one decision right nowand youve already accomplished that by picking up this guide. Bravo!

Make another change tomorrow, then another, and so on. Each step will lead you toward reducing your eco-footprint. Each step will lead you toward a lighter, greener, sexier youa modern, sustainable chick who embraces change and flaunts her eco-savvy chic!

What initially drew you to the idea of raising chickens, organic gardening and incorporating more sustainable-living practices into your lifestyle? Are you interested in saving money, eating a more healthy diet, being on trend, going more green, or saving the planet one plant at a time?

Whatever the reason, the good news is that all of the above motivators are real, tangible end-results of sustainable living.

What does sustainable living mean? When you think about the term, what definition would you choose? (Circle the definition you feel fits best.)

Sustainable living is

a) reducing your carbon footprint

b) eating organic and living off the land

c) living in harmony with the earth

d) using resources efficiently and investing in renewable resources

e) creating a better future for the next generation

f) protecting and nurturing our natural resources

g) eliminating waste and recycling

h) actively pursuing a simple and balanced lifestyle

i) spending money and resources in a frugal way

j) our economy, social structure, and natural environment working in agreement for the betterment of the world

If you circled all of the above answers, you are correct! Sustainable living has many definitions and interpretations that have developed over time. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines sustainable as able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed and living as full of life or vigor.

In a nutshell, as sustainable-living agents, we are ultimately defenders, main-tainers, and supporters of life!

Our mission is of the utmost importance to ourselves, our environment, and our future generations. Our mission is also easy. In fact, it takes less than five minutes to incorporate one sustainable-living practice into your life right now, but the effect of your action may have an everlasting positive impact for the world.

Let me tell you a secret. Its honestly amusing to me that my life has brought me to this crazy-cool juncture where I find myself writing a book on sustainable living and chickens.

Twenty years ago, the closest I got to a farm or a chicken was when I picked up a fresh package of meat from the butcher. I was a big-city gal, with minuscule exposure to raising animals. The landscape changed dramatically when I relocated to a rural area and saw the first little coop full of fluffy chicks. It was truly love at first peep!

The nurturing I did have, though, came from the three women who influenced my love of nature and do-it-yourselfmy maternal and paternal grandmothers and my mother. These vivacious, creative women used the resources available to them in amazingly clever ways. Though we were pocketbook-poor, I had a rich childhood full of hearty meals, handmade clothes, and artisan crafts. Long before sustainable living became a popular trend, these dynamic women, along with others from their generations, defined frugal living and eco-friendly habits.