For a dose of delight in the closing days of summer, I recommend  Barynard Confidential: An A to Z Reader of Life Lessons, Tall Tales, and Country Wisdom.  This charming, illustrated guide to the rural life is an anthology of short articles and excerpts of books by writers like E.B. White, Michael Perry, Roger Welsch, Gwen Petersen, and more. Some piece  are moooo-ving (sorry!) and evocative; others are good for a laugh. Here’s a sample:

Meadow: Like a pasture, but classier. Pastures are used to graze animals, but meadows are used for lovers in movies to run across in slow motion, accompanied by romantic music, into each other’s arms. Never try that in a pasture, not if you know what a cow pie is. (Terry Chamberlain, The ABC’s of Farming, 1999)

Check out Barnyard Confidential on Amazon »