I received this book from a colleague of mine, and I had no clue what 'xeriscape' even was. Living here, southwest, I knew I had to do something, and this book was the opened the door! I have just begun, but I am already confident and happy. As the review said, it the plant notes were wonderful, and the color photos were beyond that. The tips help. Looking at this, you would think it'd be terribly hard to do waterwise landscaping, I sure did, but give it a try! It's a terrific book, or at least it served me great.

I have been planning family vacations using this book for five years now and it has yet to steer me wrong! The authors know children and have an excellent grasp on what will entertain them and what will bore them. We have found small out of the way gems using this book, like the Great Sand Dunes Monument in Colorado...a place we would not have looked at if it hadn't been mentioned. I highly recommend this book to anyone travelling to the four corners region or the Black Hills of South Dakota with or without kids. You will not be sorry!

Magnificent prints directly from the old glass plates - the originals. These are kept by the Western History Section of the Denver Public Library. I have had the folio since about 1975 and continually find nuances in these pictures that I had previously missed. I also wonder what a copy brings at present. Not that I would part with mine!

This book was written for those of us who live in the arid west, love to garden and desire an attractive landscape, but who are faced with an uncertain water supply. As water resources are becoming more expensive, and in some cases rationed, we all need to consider how to garden appropriately for the climate zone in which we live. This book begins with the rationale for water-wise gardening, takes the reader through an easy to understand planning and design phase, and finishes up with excellent photographs and plant descriptions. Xeriscaping is definitely the wave of the future, no matter where you live!

This was a wonderful book. I loved Low Down Louise and Max and Livvy, Gilly, and all the rest - even Philadelphia, who provided such a terrific counterpoint to Louise. This is my favorite, so far, of Ms. Osborne's stories and the 4th one I have read. It truly is a heartwarming story with a great cast of characters.

Silver Lining will not let you put it down! Totally original, this romance is one of the best I've read in years. This is a heroine that hooks you from the first page. You'll never forget this love story!

I was absolutely blown away by Maggie Osborne's SILVER LINING. As Max and Louise struggle to make a life and a child together I found myself becoming more and more wrapped up in their story. There were moments where I laughed out loud and moments where I teared up. Great secondary characters, too. Definitely a must read for anyone who likes historical romances!

This book is definitely one of my favorite Lori Wick books. It seems to be "deeper" than the rest. It is the story of the Fontaine family and Clayton Taggart, set in the 1870's in Colorado. "Where The Wild Rose Blooms" focuses on the romance between Clayton and Jackie, one of the Fontaine girls. I particularly liked the characters in this book. They were certainly not perfect (especially Jackie) and seemed much more believable in their flaws than some of Lori's other characters. Because of the "believability" and development of her characters, we really enjoyed the romance a lot more and felt very rewarded when it happened-even though we knew it was coming. This is a nice, fun, and sometimes thought-provoking read that you'll enjoy.

While I enjoy Lori Wicks books, this story seemed to have more depth to it than some of her other books. I must admit, the book jacket synopis misled me. I thought it was going to be a nice, heartwarming love story -- and it was to a point. But it was much more than that. It was a story of unconditional love and determination. I admired Jackie's spunk and determination. I admired the love the Fontaine family showed for one another. I especially enjoyed Jackie's sister and brother in law who were such a force in working with Jackie after her tragic accident. I loved Clayton and how he never gave up on Jackie, even after he received the disturbing letter from her telling him she had met someone else. This story was a wonderful read and inspiring. I'm now looking forward to reading others in this series.

this was the first book that i read by lori wick and it had me absolutely hooked. i smiled with the characters, cried with them, felt like i was living their life! i know my family got mad at me because i was reading it every chance i got....i just couldn't put it down! i bought the next three books in the series almost as soon as i finished it. now i have a fairly good-sized collection of lori wick's books just because this first one was SO good. i can't even describe how good it was. and they are very eye-opening. all of lori wick's books make me look at my spiritual life and wonder if i couldn't do better, like the characters in her books.

I really enjoy Lowell. She's one of my favorites. Somehow in my reading, I'd overlooked this latest book in the series. Don't know how! I expected something as wonderful as ONLY YOU, Reno and Eve's story. This book had all the makings to satisfy that urge. The opening pages were wonderful and I liked the characters. Then a funny thing happened--I stopped understanding them. Whip, despite the fact he cared about Shannon in a way he'd never cared about anyone, knew he couldn't stay because he was a yondering man. What??? That's his only reason for leaving. He wasn't sure he could hack staying in one place? Lowell tried to give a reason why he thought remaining in Colorado will kill his soul, but I wasn't buying it. Shannon also didn't make any sense. Why on earth would you stay in a cabin where you might easily starve or freeze to death over the winter, or if you weren't, be raped by the odious Culpepper brothers? Why not go to the nearest town and find some job? I never understand these characters who are willing to risk death to prove a minor point. It wasn't like she loved this cabin or had anything truly sentimental to hold her there. Whip said leave, so she said no. That was their conflict. If you can swallow all that and keep reading, the writing is beautiful, as usual. The emotions were poignant and touching. The story is vivid, and Lowell even like this is still better than a whole bunch of the romances out there. It's worth a read, especially if you don't expect the sizzling conflict of ONLY YOU.

I had to special order this book because I couldn't find it around town. What a treat! I think this was the best of the Only series, and I've read them all. I really enjoyed Whip and Shannon's pains and joy and couldn't put it down. And Lowell makes you feel like you are out west with them. A must read if you are an Elizabeth Lowell fan!

This book was stunningly good, not only the best in the series, not only the best by Elizabeth Lowell, but the best romance I've ever read.

The conflict in this was so much more than you'll find in other romances - not the silly misunderstandings that are cleared up as soon as the man catches up with the woman, not the man's refusal to admit he loves a woman, but a real conflict about a man who's driven with a restless spirit that's so much a part of him he can't give it up. The human drama of the hero's struggle is portrayed so well you feel it all the way to your bones.

Commonly, one is tempted to feel contemptuous of the hero's hardheardedness or plain stupidity. However, in this book, the hero is entirely sympathetic, the conflicts spelled out, both characters understanding what they feel and what they need and how to reconcile the two.

There's a scene in a cave near the end that is absolutely cinematic in its timing, drama, and visuals that it conjures up. I was amazed. After I read this book, I sat for a full five minutes just contemplating what I'd just read, and how good it was. I am not a gusher, but this novel is the pick of the litter, immensely sophisticated and satifsying. Thanks ,Elizabeth Lowell!

Why do authors feel compelled to stretch out their books to inordinate lengths? There are some books -- "War and Peace" -- that deserve long, lengthy treatment. Others are just padded -- and that applies to "Carry the Wind." The novel is 700 pages long. It would be better if the author had cut it back to 400-450 pages.

Well, amidst this over-wordy novel is a good story and a lot of authentic information about the days of the Mountain Men -- ca. 1832 -- perhaps the most heroic and adventurous, although unwashed, characters in American history. The novel is worth reading for its description of buffalo hunts, Indian fights and homely crafts like moccasin making, beaver skinning, etc. I especially enjoyed the author's description of the Battle of Pierre's Hole, a real event.

The plot of "Carry the Wind" is pretty basic. Young man (Josiah Paddock) gets in trouble and runs away to the mountains where he meets old trapper (only 38 years old!) "Scratch" also known as Titus Bass. Old trapper initiates young man into the ways of the Mountain Men. The ending is pretty exciting although too drawn out by half. I admire the author more for his research and dedication to authenticity than I do his merits as a novelist.

Carry The Wind introduces the reader to grizzled mountain man Titus "Scratch" Bass who befriends young Josiah Paddock. Johnston weaves a detailed saga of the encounters of these two in the rough western country of 1831 North America. The novel is fantastically researched and character development is sensational. Johnston's knowledge of mountain man survival and Native American customs and language borders on scholarly and is worth the read for this fact alone.

I really enjoyed being transported to the era of the mountain men, quite a drift away from tradional Westerns. My only negative comment is that the novel seems to drag at times, especially when Bass and Paddock are travelling between plot lines, and as such is a bit too long-winded. Perhaps Johnston intended for the reader to feel the slowness and isolation of the mountain men when travelling from Point A to B. Regardless, Carry The Wind is an excellent work, especially considering this was Johnston's first work (the author sadly passed away last year).

I plan on reading Johnston's "mountain men" works as well as his other titles as well. Overall, Carry The Wind is a great historical read if you have the time and interest in this period of American History.

Equal to any if not the best book I have ever read. A unique gift and presentation by the author.

Scraping Heaven is a beautifully written story. Cindy Ross describes the landscapes so vividly, you imagine yourself there. She talks about the family and social dynamics so openly, you feel like you are with them on their journey through the Continental Divide. As in life, it's not all about beautiful views and happy times. She doesn't leave out the hardships of bad weather, failing equipment, and strained family and friend relations. She also shares with you the joys of nature's rewards and the kindness of strangers. You experience life's lessons along with them.

My favorite parts are those involving their son Bryce. I'd often laugh out loud, even days later, just recalling stories of his antics. "It's only recently that Bryce's three year old brain has realized that the Oscar Meyer song he likes to sing is about one of his favorite foods. He is so taken by this discovery that he shouts to every hiker he sees on the widened, graded trail that leads to the parking lot: 'Do you know that an Oscar Meyer wiener is a hot dog?'"

It was thoughtful of her to have an Epilogue, updating you on her and her family's lives, because by the end of the book, you feel like you know them, and so would naturally be interested in how they are doing these days.

I would recommend this book to hikers and non-hikers alike. It keeps you interested and entertained from the inside cover until the last word.

I had no idea when I began reading "Scraping Heaven" that it would be such an exciting story, so full of love and emotion. I have long been a fan of true adventure books and have read many, and the best. And "Scraping Heaven" is now included among those I will recommend to friends. I thought it was so brave of Cindy to include the issues of her heart- to question her parenting skills, to examine her marital relationship. Who among us hasn't done that at some point, but NOT for public scrunity! It took courage to be self-critical, and to be honest about what she wanted from her husband, her children, and her life. There were times when I laughed out loud, and times when I shed tears for her.
I was pleased to read in the epilogue that her sense of adventure has not waned, and that she continues to seek out exciting ways in which to relate to nature. Perhaps one day Cindy will write another book, dealing with how she is living life to its fullest.

Helen Keller said,"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." And it is with this in mind that seasoned trekkers Cindy Ross and Todd Gladfelter set out to hike along the 3,100 mile Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico with their two toddlers, Sierra and Bryce,and a string of llamas. When Ross (A Woman's Journey) and her husband first met, two of the main loves they shared were of hiking and the outdoors. But when their children arrived, they were afraid they would have to wait years to return to the wilderness- until hearing of the docile nature and great versatility of the llamas, inventing more efficient ways to wash diapers on the trail and keeping two toddlers entertained, warm and healthy while trying to stay sane and absorb the vast beauty of the trail that drew them. After 2 months, 500 miles, bags of candy, wet and smelly socks, lightning storms and temper tantrums, what their friends and family thought would end early in disaster was completed with success and the desire to do it all over again. That summer in 1993 ends five years later as the Ross family returns summer after summer to the Continental Divide Trail in their quest to grow closer and be one with nature.
NOT ONLY ARE READERS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE THE SHEER BEAUTY AND AT TIMES FRIGHTENING DANGERS OF THE TRAIL, BUT THEY ALSO WATCH TWO CHILDREN GROW AND LEARN TO CALL THE TRAIL THEIR HOME. WELL WRITTEN, CAPTIVATING AND INCREDIBLY EDUCATIONAL, THIS ADVENTURE IS A LESSON IN THE SIMPLICITY AND THE BEAUTY OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.

Dances With Wolves tells the story of a white man's first encounter with Native Americans. In a stomach-knotting scene, Red Willow's Quest relates the opposite side of the coin when a Native American woman first encounters those paragons of virtue and culture--the white men who settled the West.

Red Willow is a terrific heroine, a study in paradox. She is larger than life with feet of clay, fearless in the face of nagging fears, and conservative even while she flauts convention. She surpases her human limitations when she dwells in the high worlds of Spirit. At once larger than life, Red Willow is genuinely human. She is what is best in all of us.

This enjoyable and highly readable book has a dream-like quality to it--at times brilliant and at times just short of the mark. It was as if the author had seen these lands only in dreams and some of the visceral and tactile quality I was looking for was missing. As a student of dreams, however, I feel that in spite of any historical inaccuracies, her representation of meeting her vision had a real "been there" feel to it. And it is that connection to the Inner World that sets this book apart. I look forward to the next chapter in Vision Woman's story.

Author of Shipmates

RED WILLOW'S QUEST takes its readers into the world of the Plains Indians of the early 1800's. Red Willow tells her story as she sets out on her spiritual journey. The descriptive narrative leads the reader through the many obstacles Red Willow must face to become a medicine woman.

Heidi Skarie does a beautiful job of conveying a culture whose spirituality graced every facet of life.

The world of the Plains Indians has always been a powerful draw for me. When the movie Dances with Wolves came out, I went to see it three times. So, when I found out Heidi Skarie's book, Red Willow's Quest, was set in the early 1800's in the Rocky Mountains I was eager to visit that world again. Red Willow's Quest is the story of a young Shoshoni woman beginning her spiritual journey to become a medicine woman. The descriptive narration reads much like the passages of her diary giving the reader an intimate look inside Red willow's mind, heart, and soul. Red willow struggles to step free of the confining boundaries society had, and still does, set for a woman. Everything, including the rugged landscape becomes an obstacle, attempting to stop her from achieving her goal. Red Willow's greatest obstacle, however, was her awakening feelings of love for a Koottenai warrior. That love interfered with the path she thought her life should take. Thank you, Heidi, for a chance to go back to that time and learn about a heroine whose spiritual culture graced every facet of life.