Master of None- Adventures in a Hands-on Life

We're finally planting the food forest.  This is a small area where we're replicating natural forest ecosystems, but we're doing it with food-producing plants.  

In this conclusion to our discussion on beaver restoration and reintroduction, we go over many of the benefits of restoring beavers to the landscape and discuss the work we're actually doing on the ground to make that happen.  

Just what it sounds like.  This is my recipe and method for making fried cheese curds at home.  Enjoy.  

In this episode, we're taking a new backpack, off the shelf, and doing some upgrades, improvements, and streamlining.  It's worth taking a few minutes to get your gear dialed in, even if you're just using it to carry your laptop to the office.  

Don't worry, beavers are still really cool, and totally beneficial for habitat restoration.  They're so much cooler than I thought though!  And they do way more for wetland habitats than I ever imagined.  

In the last episode, we covered the basics of riflescopes.  In this episode, we talk about how to actually mount it on your rifle.  Even many gunsmiths do this incorrectly, but you can easily learn how to do it yourself.  

In this episode, we cover all of the basics that you need to know to select a scope for your rifle.  In the next episode, we'll cover how to actually mount that scope on your rifle (the right way).  

Lard is healthy! Lard is one of the highest quality cooking oils available! Lard is easy to make at home!

I don't care for liver.  I also don't like to waste anything, especially meat from an animal.  I had two pork livers in the freezer though and needed something to do with them.  Various sausages are a great way to use some of those cuts of meat that some of us don't really enjoy.  Today, we're making cajun boudin, which uses pork liver, and tastes amazing!  I'll run you through my whole process and give you some ideas for making your own.  

Have you ever seen a preacher pounding on a Bible and yelling that we're all going to burn in hell because we're not following some obscure law given to the ancient Israelites thousands of years ago?  I know I have, and I didn't like it much.  In this episode, we take a look at how to actually place some of those ancient texts into a realistic historical/cultural context.  We also cover several different perspectives on how we should (or shouldn't) apply any of that to our own lives in the modern world.  Whether you go to church or not, whether you've ever read the Bible or not, I think you'll find this one really informative and thought-provoking.  Or maybe I'll just get burned as a heretic for daring to question so many traditional beliefs.  

Do you want to make the best turkey or chicken that your friends and family have EVER tasted?  This is the episode for you.  Forget that dry, stringy chicken that most of us are used to.  This method will give you the most tender, juicy, sweet, drippy, luscious meat you've ever wrapped your lips around.  

We're putting creatures in the basement tidepool!  Here's your complete breakdown of what we're adding- from the microscopic to the giant kraken.  

Last time we talked about preparations for getting out on the road in the winter and the things you need to know about your vehicle.  This time, we get into specific safety gear for winter driving, treating a road incident as a survival situation, vehicle handling tips, and how to get yourself or someone else out of a snow drift and back onto the road.  

Winter weather can throw some serious hazards and challenging driving conditions at us.  What do we need to do to tackle these challenges?  We discuss some specific situations, planning, vehicle considerations, gear, vehicle handling, and emergency procedures. 

Another crossover episode with the Book Besties, we discuss Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein.  

Special crossover episode with the Book Besties Podcast!  Thanks for the invitation to be a guest on the Book Besties Podcast.  In this episode, we cover the book "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline.  

Here's a quick and easy cooking project that will really impress your friends and family.  We're making empanadas!  Empanadas are a Latin American handheld "meat pie."  In the episode, we cover how to make your own tortillas from scratch, options for filling the empanadas, and how to succeed at frying them.  For a more detailed recipe on empanada fillings and tortillas, check out Hank Shaw's website, honest-food.net.  

With many of us considering resolutions for the new year, let's talk about a unique fitness option.  We're talking sandbags!  The functional fitness advantages and versatility of an exercise sandbag might really surprise you.  In this episode, we'll talk about why sandbags make such great home gym equipment, what they can do for you, what I'm using, and some simple sandbag exercises.  

I hope you enjoy this selection of Christmas readings.  Merry Christmas!

I'm building a tide pool in my basement.  Sound crazy?  Probably.  Listen to learn about the tidepool ecosystem, what actually causes tides in the ocean, and how I'm replicating it in my basement.  

I brainstormed a quick list of several things that I use 550 cord (paracord) for.  There are hundreds of things you can use the stuff for, but these are just a few as they relate to survival skills and bushcraft.  

This week, we put some other aquarium projects on hold to fight a major algae bloom in one of the tanks.  What causes algae blooms?  What treatment methods are available?  What's the best way to get rid of algae?  

We're tackling some new aquarium projects.  Existing tanks need some work.  Why are the tilapia growing so slowly?  Why did I have a giant black algae bloom in the tetra tank?  Are algae blooms bad for fish?  Why did my cherry shrimp stop breeding?  In addition to addressing these questions, we have some old tanks that we're repairing and getting up and running and some very exciting plans for what's going into them.  

Who needs a GPS or compass when you can navigate by the stars?  In this episode, I teach you some of the basics of celestial navigation.  

Today, you get to come along with me as we take a look at a bunch of different ongoing projects.  Sometimes things work well, sometimes they don't.  Sometimes we have to adjust our tactics, but we always learn.  In this episode, we'll talk about some habitat restoration work, aquaponics, gardening, fitness, growing mushrooms, home construction, and others.  

As usual, we have three items to cover for the monthly bonus episode.  This month, we talk about one of my best productivity tips, a book that has impacted my mindset on conservation, and sober October!

We made Italian lonzino!  Lonzino is a traditional air-cured, dry-aged, pork loin.  It's pretty amazing, and you can easily make it at home with equipment that you probably already have in the kitchen.  

This week is all about knives.  What knives are best suited to particular uses?  What is the best knife for you?  What do you need to know about knives before you buy one?  What knife terminology should you know?  What is the best steel for a knife blade?  What knives do I actually use?  

In this episode, we're working with a 60-ish year old Snipe sailboat.  While many aspects of this boat are in great shape, it's going to take some serious work to get it ready to sail again.  By the time we're done, though, we'll basically have a brand new boat.  

In this final installment, we cover the last four skills on our list of ten critical bushcraft skills.  We discuss knife-handling, building fires, recognizing danger in the wilderness, and backcountry emergency medicine.  

This week, we continue our discussion of my top-10 bushcraft skills.  We cover the next four skills on my list.  Many people carry 550 cord, but how do you actually use it?  Can you tie a knot that you'd bet your life on?  How scared of grizzly bears should you be?  How do you even choose where to pitch your tent?  What happens if you need to cross a stream?  Am I more likely to be struck by lightning or eaten by a grizzly bear?  Is pepper spray just hot sauce for that bear's breakfast burrito (me in my sleeping bag)?  

Here's your bonus content for the month.  How do you get a fish bone out of your throat?  Our book of the month is Ireland by Frank Delaney.  The challenge for the month is to do a pencil drawing- don't worry, I give you some tips.  

Survival skills are one thing, but bushcraft skills will keep you out of a survival situation.  If you want to fish, hunt, backpack, or recreate in the backcountry, these ten skills are absolutely critical.  

I get a lot of questions about "survival skills," so I decided to pick a few of them and answer them on this episode.  We're going to discuss some basic fire starting techniques, essential survival gear, and practical exercises you can start doing to improve your own odds of survival.  

Lambsquarters are one of the easiest wild plants to identify, gather and cook.  That's exactly what we're doing in this episode.  

Today is all about situational awareness.  This is a skill that's trained and practiced, not something that's inherent in a select few.  

Ok, seriously, this week I've been working really hard on moving around a lot of heavy dirt and stone.  Maybe it's not so glamorous, but it's what I've been working on, so it's what I get to talk about.  

More bonus content!  We're back to our regular three items for the monthly bonus episodes- pro tip, book recommendation, and challenge.  This month, we talk about how to light a match like a boss.  Our book of the month is "All the Pretty Horses" by Cormac McCarthy.  The challenge for the month is to do something you've never done before.  

Many wild plants are edible.  I recommend learning one at a time.  Start with plants that grow where you live.  Learn how to identify them, how to harvest them, and how to prepare them.  Today we're doing that with wild wavy-leaf thistle.  

Words are important.  Words are arguably one of the most decisive single factors in human history.  So it's important to know what you're saying.  Speak accurately and correctly, know your implications, and be aware of the context of your expressions.  

In recent years, "rucking" has become a popular form of exercise.  For many decades, the ruck march, rucksack, and rucking were terms only heard in a military context.  The benefits of rucking for exercise, though, apply to everyone, so let's talk about how to start rucking safely, the gear you'll need, and how to track your progress.  

Last time, we talked about getting over your fear of public speaking, building confidence through competence, and some tips and tricks for putting your talk together.  This week, we're actually going through our talk, line by line, and discussing and editing it as we go.  

In this episode, we're talking about talking.  I was recently invited to give a talk, so there's a bit of work that goes into preparing for it.  Just like many of my other projects, I wanted to bring you along for the actual process of putting the talk together.  In this first part of the series, we go over some tips on getting over your fear of public speaking, general tips on how to conceptualize and outline your talk, and the general subject matter we'll be covering.  In the next episode, we'll actually cover the talk itself, line by line, as I polish it up. 

We're mixing it up a little for this month's bonus content.  Instead of our regular monthly items, this bonus episode is all about the "card deck" workout.  It's simple, requires only a deck of playing cards, and is an effective whole body workout no matter what your current fitness level looks like.  

40 acres of severely overgrazed, depleted, and eroded land, and we're going to restore it!  We're embarking on a massive habitat restoration project, and you get to come along for the journey.  

Today, we're planning out our food forest.  What is a food forest?  Basically, it's a method of creating a forest habitat where you get to step back and just be a hunter-gatherer.  We talk about why this is a good idea for you, how it helps your local ecosystem, and how it helps the planet.  

We're tackling the next step in dog training.  Everyone loves a dog with good manners- greeting strangers politely without jumping, no excessive barking, coming when called, not pulling on the leash, and so-on.  Dogs don't naturally exhibit good human manners though; they're dogs, so they exhibit natural dog behavior.  It's our job as trainers to teach them to do something different than what they would naturally do on their own.  We also don't teach a dog "etiquette" as a general idea; each individual behavior must be taught, trained, and reinforced.  For more guidance on the particulars of positive reinforcement dog training, check out the two books "Zak George's Dog Training Revolution" and "Zak George's Guide to a Well-Behaved Dog."  

With all of the questions that I got about our recent episodes on sailing, I decided to go ahead and do a sailing question and answer session.  Thanks to everyone who sent in questions.  

Here's your bonus content for the month!  As always, we cove a pro tip, book recommendation, and monthly challenge.  The pro tip is how to keep ice in milk jugs to make your freezer run more efficiently AND have it on hand for preserving your wild harvest.  The book is "The Toilers of the Sea" or "Les Travailleurs de la Mer" by Victor Hugo.  The challenge for the month is to repair something that's been sitting around your home in need of repair.  

Spring is almost here, so we're getting geared up to take advantage of the warmer weather and get some projects done.  In this episode, we talk about tree planting, land restoration, bird habitat, fences, breeding rabbits, and going fishing.  

There's something beautifully simple about life at sea.  The idea of casting off and sailing the world on your own boat may seem far-fetched, but it's actually well within reach for most of us.  In the first installment, we covered the hardware that you'll need (a seaworthy sailing vessel).  In this installment, we cover how to gain the knowledge and skills required to sail safely.