Many A Hard Nut

Cassie’s father and grandfather don’t get along, but despite their differences, Cassie is resolved to bring her family back together, no matter what it takes Cassie Bell’s father and grandfather had a falling-out years ago, so Cassie has never had the chance to meet her grandfather. But when her dad gets a call saying that Grandpa Ruben is in the hospital, the family heads off to Kentucky to make sure he’s all right. Grandpa Ruben is nothing like what Cassie expected. From the way her dad talks about him, she pictured a mean old man, but it turns out that her grandfather is lively, goofy, and loving. Still, Cassie’s dad and Grandpa Ruben can barely be in the same room with each other. A plan slowly starts to form in Cassie’s mind: What if she could find a way to get them back together again? Cassie doesn’t know why her dad and grandpa don’t speak anymore, but she’s determined to find out. If only they weren’t so stubborn! She wants to have her grandfather in her life, and she’s going to solve this problem whether these two like it or not!

Read all about history's hardest hard nuts. Who were the most famous (and not-so-famous) ruthless, brave, fearless and intrepid men and women of all time? Could you fight in the greatest battle ever, or wow the whole world with your brain power? Each spread reveals a different historical character and readers can learn all about what made each person a hard nut. Spreads also include special features such as quizzes, hard nut ratings, and coverage of amazing and important historical events.

Lindy Blanchard has devoted five years of her life to saving the pecan trees on her family’s farm—but someone is going to deadly lengths to see that she fails… Riverville, Texas, is pecan country, and the Blanchard family farm is famous for its acres of tall pecan trees and the delicious pies and cookies sold at the Nut House, the aptly named family store. Miss Amelia, Lindy’s feisty grandmother, makes the best pecan pies for several counties and the farm is attracting visitors from far and wide to sample the wares. Until the day Lindy walks into the greenhouse to find her uncle Amos murdered and her new stock of trees destroyed, with the best of the bunch stolen. Who is out to ruin the Blanchard family? And who wanted Uncle Amos dead? With the sheriff stumped, it’s up to Lindy and Miss Amelia to save the ranch and tree a killer. INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES

On the outskirts of west Belfast in Northern Ireland, and in the shadow of the Black Mountain, is situated the predominantly Catholic community of Andersonstown. Between November 1971 and March 1972 this small area of land, which is just two miles long by one mile deep, became the scene of many gun-battles between the men of 9(Plassey) Battery, Royal Artillery and 1st Battalion Belfast Brigade, Irish Republican Army. This book is a record of the violent clashes which took place on an almost daily basis on housing estates which looked no different than those found on mainland Britain. After the events of ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Londonderry on the 30 January 1972 in which thirteen civilians were shot dead, the attacks against the soldiers intensified to an unprecedented scale. The whole community of Andersonstown appeared to rise up against the small band of men from 9 Battery. There are truly terrifying accounts from twenty of the men who took part in the struggle to maintain the peace on the streets of Andersonstown. They describe how it felt to face the rioters, and how it felt to be under attack from the Provo gunmen. Contemporary newspaper reports have been used to illustrate the viewpoints of both sides involved in the conflict. The book contains many recently discovered photographs of the arms and explosives found by the battery in their searches. None of these images have ever been published before. There are also reproduced statements issued by the Provisional IRA which originally appeared in the ‘Volunteer’ news sheet issued around the estates, and these serve to corroborate some of the astonishing tales told by the soldiers. This is the only book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland which covers just one single tour of duty as seen through the eyes of the men who were there. By the end of the tour in March 1972 the IRA in Andersonstown had been almost completely destroyed as a fighting force. The 110-strong unit of men of 9 Battery were given a task to do, to crack The Toughest Nut – and they gave it their all.

A comprehensive guide to growing, harvesting and processing nuts, written by forest gardening expert Martin Crawford. Nut trees are perennials, requiring little maintenance or soil cultivation, so it is no surprise that nuts are such a popular forest garden crop. A crucial source of protein and a delicious snack, nuts also have a number of surprising health benefits. They lower blood pressure, are full of antioxidants, and decrease the risk of heart and neurodegenerative diseases. Filled with gorgeous illustrations of trees and nuts, How to Grow Your Own Nuts contains old favourites like hazelnuts and walnuts alongside less common varieties such as hickories and butternuts and the exotically named chinkapin. It considers how nuts can be planted in a variety of ways: singly in a small area, in an orchard or nuttery, as silvopasture around grazing animals, in alley cropping between cereal crops or intercropping between fruit bushes. This beautiful guide also features a handy A-Z, which details nut trees' many secondary uses from timber, oil, dyes, fodder and cosmetics to medicines and honey. Martin also discusses how the beautiful spring blossom is attractive to bees, particularly from almond and sweet chestnut trees, making them excellent for supporting pollinators. Whether you are planning to grow nuts at home or commercially, this book is essential reading.