In the tradition of Thoreau's Walden, William Paul Winchester offers a chronicle of everyday life on Southwind, his farm of twenty acres. As a subsistence farmer, he builds his own house and barn, puts in a garden and an orchard, acquires a milk cow, and takes up beekeeping. In these pages, we hear his thoughts on such subjects as the weather, seasonal changes, machinery repair, the flora and fauna of the region, and vegetarian cooking. His philosophy, like his lifestyle, is simple, yet profoundly wise.

William Paul Winchester graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in botany. His essays have appeared in Country Journal, Buying America Back, Oklahoma Today, and elsewhere. He continues to live on his small farm in Collinsville, Oklahoma

Carol Stanton is Creative Services Director for the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in Missouri.