Storey's Curious Compendium of Practical and Obscure Skills

Build a Fire Pit for Outdoor Roasting
Smoke Meat on the Stove
Make More Houseplants for Free
Build a Self-Watering Container for Houseplants
Make a Terrarium
Stitch Leather
Make a Leather Belt
Mount a Horse
Dismount a Horse in an Emergency
Predict the Weather by the Clouds
Navigate by the Sun, Moon, and Stars
Make Probiotic Pickles
Make Sauerkraut
Make Tempeh
Grow a Straw Bale Garden
Grow Vegetables in Bags
Grow Upside-Down Vegetables in a 5-Gallon Bucket
Dye Your Hair with Herbs
Make Toothpaste and Hair Conditioner
Learn about Nature by Drawing It
Make Prints from Nature
Weave a Paper Basket
Make Paper in a Tin Can
Make a Pop-Up Paper Lantern
Make a Flowerpot Smoker
Bake Bread in a Flowerpot
Tell the Difference between a Sheep and a Goat
Milk a Goat
Make Greek Yogurt
Make Farmhouse Cheddar
Restore a Forgotten Fruit Tree
Growing a Fruiting Espalier
Carve a Wooden Spoon
Braid a Rug
Know Your Honey Bees
Put Together a Beehive
Extract Honey
Make a Medicinal Honey
Make a Water Filter from a 2-Liter Bottle
Make a Still for Collecting Water
Grow a Garden to Help You Sleep
Make a Tincture to Ease Aches and Pains
Make Antifatigue Essential Oil Drops
Read Your Weeds for Pasture Management
Use Weeds to Treat Bites and Rashes
Make a Reusable Dish Cover
Make Beeswax Candles
Store Potatoes Seven Ways
Store Winter Vegetables
Give a Full Body Massage
Give a Foot Massage
Relieve Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Shear a Sheep in Ten Steps
Make 4 Little Projects from Scraps of Felted Wool
Make Pot Holders from Recycled Sweaters
Rewire a Table Lamp
Re-Cover a Lampshade
Make Beer the Easy Way
Pour a Beer for Great Foam
Build a Raised Garden Bed
Build a Garden Dolly from a Golf Cart
Bake Gravy Cookies for Your Dog
Teach Your Dog to Weave through Your Legs
Set Up a Dog Agility Course
Darn Socks
Patch Clothing
Unclog a Drain without Chemicals
Thaw Frozen Pipes
Fix a Burst Pipe
Make Compost in Four Easy Steps
Build a Moveable Compost Bin
Make Compost with Worms
Identify Animal Tracks
Spot Common Signs of Wildlife
Speak Chicken
Catch a Chicken
Bathe a Chicken
Make Body Butter
Make a Super Skin Salve
Make Herb-Infused Oil
Understand the Anatomy of a Timber Frame
Build a Homestead in (and from) the Woods
Grow the Most Vegetables Possible
Can Your Bountiful Harvest
Blanch and Freeze Vegetables
Dry Herbs
Make Herbal Vinegar
Yoke and Hitch an Ox Team
Move a Pig
Move a Cow
Make a T-Shirt Quilt
Make a Cardigan from a T-Shirt
Make Quick Strawberry Jam
Dry Fruit
Test the Freshness of an Egg
Identify 10 Popular Chicken Breeds
Field Dress a Deer
Scout for Deer
Clean a Fish
Shuck an Oyster
Dig Clams
Knit a Hat without a Pattern
Knit a Scarf That Records the Weather
Finger Knit
Make Your Hellstrip Heavenly
Create an Edible Driveway Hedge
Learn How to Never Mow Again
Find Your Way around the Night Sky
Make Silky-Smooth Shaving Cream
Make a Natural Aftershave Tonic
Plant a Tree or Shrub
Rejuvenate a Shrub
Prune a Flowering Shrub
Grow a Lemon Tree Indoors
Hang a Tire Swing Using a Bowline Knot
Make a Heavenly Hammock (and Learn Another Knot)
Build a Tin Can Stove
Sharpen and Hone a Knife
Cut Up a Chicken
Carve a Turkey
Peel a Tomato the Easy Way
Save Tomato Seeds
Grow Vegetables Vertically
Make Easy, Perfect Pie Crust
Make a Lattice-Top Pie
Learn Five Funky Chicken Coop Designs
Identify 10 Native Pollinators
Hive a New Colony of Bees
Capture a Swarm of Bees
Fix a Flat Bicycle Tire
Put Your Bike Chain Back On
Make Large Gardening Pots with Hypertufa
Grow Plants from Seed
Grow an Avocado Tree from a Pit
Bottle-Feed a Baby Goat
Clip a Cat's Claws
Make Cat Chow Cookies
Teach Your Cat to Jump through a Hoop
Cut Hay
Eat Wild Plants
Grow Mushrooms on Logs
Make an Inner Tube Stool
Build a Clamp Table
Identify and Tap a Maple Tree
Make Maple Syrup
Make Easy Fruit Wine
Know Birds by Their Song
Understand the Language of Crows
Identify Beef Cuts
Identify Pork Cuts
Make Jerky
Make Fresh Sausage
Grow a Sprout Salad
Create a Pollinator-Friendly Meadow
Build a Butterfly Landscape
Make a Chunnel (Chicken Tunnel)
Milk a Cow
Make Cream Cheese
Make Butter
Crochet a Pair of Earrings
Finger Crochet
Set Up a Lobster-Clambake
Eat a Lobster
Remove a Limb from a Living Tree
Sharpen a Chainsaw
Go Owling
Adjust Binoculars to Avoid Eye Strain
Make a Wreath
Change a Flat Car Tire
Make Biodiesel
Jump-Start a Car Battery
Make Herbal Energy Balls
Make No-Knead Sourdough Bread
Make Charcoal in a Homemade Crucible
Bake Bread over Coals
Make Medicinal Basil Pesto
Make Bitters
Read a Rabbit's Body Language
Pick Up and Carry a Rabbit
Tell If a Rabbit Is Pregnant
Divide Perennials
Pollinate by Hand
Hold a Farm Bird
Determine Whether a Chicken Is Healthy
Identify the Scat of Predators
Split Firewood
Stack Firewood and Keep It Stable
Build a Wall with Cordwood
Sharpen an Ax
Hang an Ax
Make Kombucha
Identify a Horse's Gait
Read a Horse's Body Language
French-Braid a Horse's Tail
Fix a Toilet That Runs Constantly
Set Up a Composting Toilet
Build a Wattle Fence
Build a Stepping-Stone Path
Build a Drystone Wall
Harvest Rainwater
Divert Kitchen Sink Greywater to the Landscape
Create a Laundry-to-Landscape Greywater System
Spatchcock a Chicken
Render Animal Fat
Make a Medicinal Infusion
Make a Medicinal Decoction
Make Rosemary's Original Fire Cider
Make Herbal Pills
Make Seven Tents from Tarps
Build a Tiny Shelter on Wheels
Reupholster a Seat
Sew a Pretty Pillowcase
Build a Manually Operated Outdoor Shower
Fix a Broken Windowpane

Skills by Topic
Index
Book Credits
Art Credits