AGRICULTURE

What the Cluck! Raise Some Chickens
Natural Home
Backyard chickens are fun pets that provide fresh eggs, eat pests, and recycle food waste. Raising chickens in the city is a cinch. Here's how.

The Golden Wealth of Honeybees
Today's Diet & Nutrition
As honeybee populations continue to decline, scientists begin to worry about the future of some of our major food supplies. What can you do about it?

Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots
The Progressive Farmer
Young people transitioning out of the military have big opportunities for getting back on the farm.

FFA Today
AGCO Advantage
As membership approaches record numbers, the National FFA Organization reflects the changing face of agriculture.

Solar Solutions for the Farm
Grit
As solar technology grows cheaper and more efficient, powering the farm by harnessing the sun makes more sense than ever.
 

BOOK REVIEWS

The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner
SUCCESS Magazine
Lessons for living longer from the people who've lived the longest.
 
 

Fight For Your Money by David Bach
SUCCESS Magazine
How to stop getting ripped off and save a fortune.
 
 
  

BUSINESS / REAL ESTATE

With Metro Area Market on the Mend, Foreclosures Drop
The Washington Examiner
While foreclosures continue to have a massive impact on the real estate market nationwide, particularly in hard hit states like Nevada (where one in every 29 housing units received a foreclosure notice last quarter), the Washington, D.C. metro area may be slowly on the mend.

Large Down Payment Could Thwart Many Homebuyers
Appraiser News Online
With a 20 percent down payment mandate on the horizon, CoreLogic has released statistics showing 70 percent of buyers will be left out in the cold if it is enacted.

Arlington Couple Finds Fixer Houses Still Profitable
The Washington Examiner
When Aaron and Sharon Hase of Arlington purcahsed their first fixer-upper home two years ago, they knew from the start they wanted to resell it with the goal of making a tidy profit.

Inside Track
Hampton Roads Magazine
A look at Norfolk Southern Railway Company’s behind-the-scenes role in the history and economy of Hampton Roads.

Ranch Dressing
Club & Resort Business
Snowmass Club’s new look combines energy-efficient design with a style that reflects the surrounding Colorado ranch land.

CELEBRITIES

Shiva Rea: Chatting With the Queen of Yoga
Today's Diet & Nutrition
Often hailed as the "queen of yoga," Shiva Rea may not be familiar to you if you're not a yogi yourself--but she should be. This "full-on mom," as she calls herself--lean and lovely and incredibly down to earth--isn't all about yoga.

No Balance Necessary: The TODAY Show's Nutritionist Joy Bauer Today's Diet & Nutrition
Nutritionist and health expert for the TODAY show, petite and slender Joy Bauer knows all about eating right and staying fit. What's remarkable, however, is that she's able to manage it all herself.

Jaclyn Smith is More Than a Pretty Face
Success
Her looks brought the Charlie's Angel fame.  Her tenacity brought her retail success.

Sharing the Bounty
SUCCESS Magazine
Art Smith, Oprah's longtime chef, shares lessons in life with at-risk youngsters.

ESSAYS & SHORT STORIES

The Power of Place
Cooperative Living
We humans are not so unlike the landscape that surrounds us. Like yellow jonquils and redheaded tulips that press forth through thaw-softened earth after their annual slumber, we sometimes lie dormant as winter for years until the opportunity comes for us to throw off the mantle of our former selves and transform into something akin to spring. Like the grass beneath our feet, we find ourselves changing and expanding with the seasons of our lives, often imperceptibly but occasionally with great force like the reinvented course of a mountain stream after a flood.

My Grandmother's Garden
Nantahala Review
First it had been the tulips she’d ordered from Holland, their heads drooping like sick bells. Then the geraniums, brown from blossom to root. And later the tomatoes and cucumbers, all covered with nasty little black bugs that hovered around them dizzily, captivated by the smell that always accompanied the death.

A World Without House Calls
Cooperative Living
My family’s doctor has served pancakes with me at the local Maple Festival, chowed down hotdogs with me at Ruritan Club picnics, and even backed into my car with his Jeep. You may wonder why this matters. I didn’t think it did until I was expecting my first child.

Constitutional Rights Should Not Be Forgotten
Cooperative Living
Whoever thought the structures of the word’s greatest republic would be patrolled by guards with machine guns, that people would be searched like criminals at airport checkpoints, that citizens and non-citizens alike could be held indefinitely without access to counsel in the name of “public safety”?

My Country Is Changing
The Progressive Farmer
The key to preserving Virginia’s rich agricultural heritage, her forested mountains and coastal woodlands, pristine waterways and scenic beauty, is in understanding how humans can very quickly, easily, and often irreversibly change her landscape.

The Taste of Earth
Now & Then
My suburban acquaintances clamored for a taste of the earth they did not know.  It took six years of living alongside city interstates for me to appreciate their hunger.

HEALTH & FITNESS

Power to Choose: Options for Women with Fibroids
John Hopkins Health

Although it's true that hysterectomy offers the only permanent solution for fibroids, there are other options.

Side Effects Include....
Military Officer
The number of prescription drug ads on TV continues to increase, but are consumers (and doctors) making the right choices for better health?

Aspirin a Day Cuts Colon Cancer Risk
AOL Health
People at high risk of developing colon cancer can cut their risk of developing the disease by taking a low dose of aspirin once a day, according to a new study.

Stopping Childhood Anxiety Before It Starts
John Hopkins Health

Although it's perfectly normal for children to worry sometimes, it's not always harmless.

Eat Well, Spend Less
Natural Home
You don't have to sacrifice healthy eating to protect your pocketbook.

Low Cholesterol Levels May Mean a Lower Risk of Alzheimer's
Rodale.com
Eating right and exercising wards off heart disease, but now it looks like those same long-term healthy lifestyle habits will also ward off dementia as we get older.

HISTORY & CULTURE

Legends: Doctor for the Soul
SUCCESS

After surviving the Holocaust, Viktor Frankl brought the soul back into Western medicine.

The Consummate Nationalist
SUCCESS
Born the illegitimate son of a Scottish trader, Alexander Hamilton overcame the obstacles of his childhood to become one of the foremost shapers of American republicanism in the years following the Revolutionary War.

Music on the Mountain: A High School String Band Keeps Traditional Music Alive
Farm Life
In the Appalachians of Virginia, mountain music and culture are one and the same. Musician Emily Spencer and the kids in her high school string band are helping to make sure it stays that way.

Finding George Masa: The Forgotten Immigrant Who Helped Map the Great Smokies
Blue Ridge Country
A Japanese immigrant with no known family, George Masa came to the U.S. seeking his fortune. What he found instead were the Smokies and a penchant for photography. Until recently, his legacy was nearly forgotten.

Fort Mose
American Legacy
Long forgotten remnants of a military outpost give us a new look at the lives of Africans in colonial America.  
 
 

HOME AND COMMERCIAL
CONSTRUCTION AND REMODELING

The Next Linn Cove
Precast Solutions

Like the Linn Cove Viaduct in North Carolina, on which it is partially modeled, the Foothills Parkway Bridge No. 2 in eastern Tennessee is being designed and built to protect the landscape it crosses.

French Country Casual
Chesapeake Home & Living

When Victor and Debby Marshall purchased their 1937 estate home on three acres a few miles north of Baltimore, they were living something of a dream come true.

Do Your Own Home Energy Audit and Save
All You
Cut your utility bills by diagnosing problems and fixing them.

Sustainable in the City
Smart Homeowner
An urban home in Seattle features a compact design and efficient systems that reduce energy consumption.

10 Easy Ways to Cut Your Heating Bill
Grit
As fuel and electric costs continue to rise, there are ways you can minimize the hit to your pocketbook. From replacing your outdated HVAC system to simple sealing solutions, here are some energy saving techniques for every budget.

Timeless Gem of the Blue Ridge Parkway
Precast Solutions
As the Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates its 75th anniversary, its final piece, the Linn Cove Viaduct, still stands as a crowning achievement of how precast concrete can both protect and beautify landscapes.

HOME DESIGN / RESTORATION

Ceilings Are a Room's Fifth Wall
The Washington Examiner
If you are looking for a way to spice up a room, it might be time to look up, way up — at the ceiling, that is.

The Art(work) of Self-Expression
HomeFurnishings.com
Your home says a lot about your personality and lifestyle. From the style of your furniture to the colors of your walls, your choices communicate your taste. Here are some ways to ensure your artwork creates the impression you desire.

Painted Beauty
Preservation Magazine
In the foothills of North Carolina, an unusual early 19th-century house regains its vivid colors.

Rock Solid
Old House Journal
Recognizing ageless structure beneath vines and crumbling mortar, Bob and Macon Hilton turned a 1790s estate on Virginia’s western frontier into a family retreat.

LIFESTYLE

Hitting the Road, Seas, and Skies in Retirement
Military Officer
Traveling is one of the major enjoyments of retirement. Here are the nuts and bolts of how to do it on your own, in a group, and around the world.

Three's Company
Ladies' Home Journal
Bighearted Brownie creates bonds of love between those who need it most.

NEWS & POLICY

Hospital CEOs Weigh In On Health Care Debate
AOL Health
With some Americans paying health insurance premiums bigger than their mortgages, senior citizens concerned about the bill's impact on Medicare coverage, and some 40 million Americans who have no health insurance (and sometimes no access to care either), it's obvious the system is broken.

How do we fix it?

AOL Health has asked the leaders of some of the nation's top hospitals to give us their take on health-care reform.

What Is a State-Run Health Insurance Exchange?
AOL Health
If you've been uninsured up to this point, don't have health insurance through your employer or are self-employed, there are some potential positives to the new bill, one of which is the creation of state-based heath insurance exchanges. Though not a new concept (two states already have them), more Americans will have access to them.

OUTDOOR RECREATION

Farm Hunts
Progressive Farmer

When Tommy Porter and his wife Julie purchased a 124-acre farm northwest of Springfield, Tenn., Tommy had it in the back of his mind that he would one day use his farm as a hunting preserve.

Four Days...Whitewater Rafting in Gatlinburg, TN
Women's Health
Looking for a good place to try out whitewater rafting? Take a ride on the Big Pigeon River in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains.

A Cabin in the Clouds
Disney's FamilyFun
Hike to this lodge for great views, home cooking, and wilderness all around

Wild Weekend
The Washingtonian
Ride the rapids, hike along a creek, and walk to a waterfall in unspoiled West Virginia.

TRAVEL

A Walk in the Park
AAA World
With more than nine million visitors annually, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can get pretty crowded on the main roads. If you want to find some peace and quiet, check out these quiet back roads and hiking trails

No Passport Necessary
Military Officer
Looking for a tropical island getaway to beat the winter blues? You don’t have to wait to get a passport. The U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico offer fun in the sun passport-free!

Naturally Appealing: Recreational Variety
in Scenic La Paz
Alaska Airlines Maggazine
I'm floating in clear, blue-green water with an abundance of angelfish and wrasse. A white-sand beach spreads out behind me to intersect with the rugged red-rock cliffs of Isla Partida.

Taking the Waters
Virginia Living
The era of Jane Austen still lives at Virginia’s springs, where the elite resorts of yesteryear continue to cast their summer spells upon new generations of visitors.  Head to the mountains of Virginia, where ancient resorts come with loads of history, but not a hefty price tag.

WILDLIFE / ENVIRONMENT

When Water is Tight
BlueRidgeCountry.com
Often recognized for their beauty and recreational opportunities, the reservoirs of the southern mountains fuel local economies, provide clean drinking water, power homes and businesses, and protect countless acres of farmland from flooding.

Marking the Past, Preserving the Future
Blue Ridge Country
As the three great southern parks prepare for milestone anniversaries in the next three years, their keepers see those commemorations as an impetus for the future.

Where the Wild Things Are
The Progressive Farmer
A public-private partnership gives landowners the opportunity for economic gains through the beauty of nature.