Ruth Stout.

I got a little curious to see what she looked like, and thought those of you that have read her book  on no-work gardening (using mulch) would appreciate this picture. We've all been reading Ruth Stout's Gardening without Work (this link will take you to an excerpt from the book on the Mother Earth New's website); well Trav and I are in the middle of it, but we got the copy from my Mum and she was recommended to it from Liz. I think Steve should borrow it when we're done. Liz is waiting on another one of Stout's books, which all but the one listed above seem to be out of print. So the library and subsequently SELCO do not carry any except for Gardening without Work, BUT they do have a movie called Ruth Stout's Garden. Its only 23 minutes long, and is described as: "Ruth Stout, age 90+, gives out advice on topics from aging to child-rearing in her free-thinking and unorthodox way as she shows off her garden. I'm intrigued.

On a somewhat related note- eccentric figures from the past that care what goes into their bodies I guess- I recently watched the documentary Netflix has on Dr. Bronner, called Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox. I liked it very much. I had recently purchased some of the fragrance free variety, for various uses (including making foam soap for our hand dispenser, Charlie likes his foam) and was hoping that the movie wouldn't turn me away from the brand. He's wacky (Dr. Bronner), but I really appreciate how the family has maintained their integrity and the quality of ingredients has only changed for the better. Currently they are heavily supporting Washington state's push to require a label on genetically engineered foods. They are even spreading the message on their bottle (which is very appropriate).

~Becky