The Apple Branch


Book Description

In The Apple Branch, renowned scholar Alexei Kondratiev combines the history, folklore, and language of the Celtic world in a unique guide for understanding its spirituality. He explores the myths, legends, and cultural figures, from Brigit to King Arthur, and he explains how the ancient Celtic religion survives in the context of modern Christianity. Discover how to observe the calendar customs from the six remaining Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Man. Learn the practices and rituals of the Celtic tradition, including how to organize a Celtic ritual group, celebrate the phases of the moon, and participate in the great quarterly feasts. This is a seminal book which presents seekers with dazzling visualizations and the beauty and power of a vital, living path. The Apple Branch will inspire in everyone a new way of looking at the world. Book jacket.




Celtic Rituals


Book Description

In the rat race of our lives, the loss of our connection with the world of nature, and the lack of alternatives to society's conventions for marking important events in life, aspects of Celtic tradition can help. In this guide to Celtic ritual one of its great devotees brings to life the ancient rituals.




Apple Tree Christmas


Book Description

Originally published over twenty years ago, and out of print since 1998, Sleeping Bear Press is proud to bring this beloved Christmas tale to a whole new audience. Moving and nostalgic, and brought to life by glowing watercolor paintings, it reveals the joy of a very special present and the love that a father and daughter share.




The Apple Doll


Book Description

Lizzy loves the big apple tree in her yard more than anything. So when the first day of school comes, she picks a beautiful apple, turns it into a makeshift doll she names Susanna, and takes it along to keep her company. But her teacher tells her that dolls aren't allowed at school. Even worse, her sister says that Susanna won't last forever. Then Lizzy's mom shows her a way to turn Susanna into a real apple doll. And with the help of Susanna the Apple Doll, Lizzy overcomes her shyness at school and makes plenty of new friends to bring home to play in her beloved apple tree. Detailed, delightful collage illustrations accompany this sweet story about one girl's success in bringing together her home world and her school world. Instructions for making an apple doll just like Susanna are included!




The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree


Book Description

This book about nature and the changing seasons focuses on a young boy and a very special apple tree. In Gail Gibbons's bright illustrations, Arnold collects apple blossoms in spring, builds a tree house in summer, makes apple pie and cider in the fall, and hangs strings of popcorn and berries for the birds in winter, among other seasonal activities. Includes a recipe for apple pie and a description of how an apple cider press works.




The Apple Pie Tree


Book Description

We have a special tree in our yard -- an apple pie tree!Colorful collage illustrations follow each season as an apple tree grows leaves, fragrant blossoms, and tiny green apples. Soon the fruit is big, red, and ready to be picked. It's time to make an apple pie! Here is a celebration of apples and how things grow -- sure to delight young readers all year long.




Eat the Apple


Book Description

"The Iliad of the Iraq war" (Tim Weiner)--a gut-wrenching, beautiful memoir of the consequences of war on the psyche of a young man. Eat the Apple is a daring, twisted, and darkly hilarious story of American youth and masculinity in an age of continuous war. Matt Young joined the Marine Corps at age eighteen after a drunken night culminating in wrapping his car around a fire hydrant. The teenage wasteland he fled followed him to the training bases charged with making him a Marine. Matt survived the training and then not one, not two, but three deployments to Iraq, where the testosterone, danger, and stakes for him and his fellow grunts were dialed up a dozen decibels. With its kaleidoscopic array of literary forms, from interior dialogues to infographics to prose passages that read like poetry, Young's narrative powerfully mirrors the multifaceted nature of his experience. Visceral, ironic, self-lacerating, and ultimately redemptive, Young's story drops us unarmed into Marine Corps culture and lays bare the absurdism of 21st-century war, the manned-up vulnerability of those on the front lines, and the true, if often misguided, motivations that drove a young man to a life at war. Searing in its honesty, tender in its vulnerability, and brilliantly written, Eat the Apple is a modern war classic in the making and a powerful coming-of-age story that maps the insane geography of our times.




The Apple Grower


Book Description

For decades fruit growers have sprayed their trees with toxic chemicals in an attempt to control a range of insect and fungal pests. Yet it is possible to grow apples responsibly, by applying the intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation. Since The Apple Grower first appeared in 1998, orchardist Michael Phillips has continued his research with apples, which have been called "organic's final frontier." In this new edition of his widely acclaimed work, Phillips delves even deeper into the mysteries of growing good fruit with minimal inputs. Some of the cutting-edge topics he explores include: The use of kaolin clay as an effective strategy against curculio and borers, as well as its limitations Creating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem through understory management of plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganisms How to make a small apple business viable by focusing on heritage and regional varieties, value-added products, and the "community orchard" model The author's personal voice and clear-eyed advice have already made The Apple Grower a classic among small-scale growers and home orchardists. In fact, anyone serious about succeeding with apples needs to have this updated edition on their bookshelf.




Heart of the Home


Book Description

With an emphasis on simple preparation and fresh foods, the author offers seasonal recipes for Forth of July picnics, Valentine's Day treats, and warming winter meals.