Readera

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 14: Survival Skills

Survival skills make up a large assortment of knowledge and activities that keep people alive in challenging circumstances. Mostly people focus on what is called bushcraft or woodslore -- skills for use in the wilderness. However, survival skills also deal in things like first aid that apply to everyday emergencies; and to things like self-defense needed primarily in settled areas. Aspects include emergency preparedness, food (see my Cooking and Gardening posts; you'll also need foraging and hunting), water, shelter, repair and maintenance (see my Repairing post), health care, historic skills (like fire-starting and flint-knapping), self-defense, and self-sufficiency. Some cultures have retained an emphasis on survival more than others; Mormons recommend storing one year of food for your family. Here on Dreamwidth, there are no dedicated communities for survival but you can find subtopics such as common_nature, crafty, creative_cooks, gardening, or renew_repair_refashion.




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svgurl has posted a list of current fandom events in DW communities. 

Today is partly sunny, breezy, and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches plus a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

I set out a few potted plants to get some sun.

More white peonies are blooming, along with deep pink ones under the apricot tree.

EDIT 5/7/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a male Baltimore oriole eating the orange I put out. :D 3q3q3q!!!

EDIT 5/7/26 -- I planted the tulip poplar from Douglas-Hart at the north edge of the savanna. This species hosts multiple moths as well as the tiger swallowtail butterfly.

I've seen a male rose-breasted grosbeak, a male and a female cardinal separately, and a gray catbird.

EDIT 5/7/26 -- I did some bushwhacking to clear the mow space between the flowerbeds and the Midwinter Grove.

EDIT 5/7/26 -- I did more bushwhacking and stick pickup along the path around the prairie garden. I dumped a trolley of sticks into the firepit. There is still one sapling-sized branch too big for me to handle alone. Frustrating.

EDIT 5/7/26 -- We moved the big branch from the prairie garden to the ritual meadow.

I did more work around the patio.

I can see rain to the northwest, so I am done for the night.

This Alberta Startup Sells No-Tech Tractors for Half Price

Ursa Ag, a small Canadian manufacturer, is assembling tractors powered by 12-valve Cummins engines — the same mechanically injected workhorses that powered combines and pickup trucks decades ago — and selling them for roughly half the price of comparable machines from established brands. The 150-horsepower model starts at $129,900 CAD, about $95,000 USD. The range-topping 260-hp version runs $199,900 CAD, around $146,000.

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This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...


* Posted "Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Repairing" in renew_repair_refashion.

* Commented on "Just One Thing" in awesomeers.

* Commented on "May Day Full Flower Moon" in common_nature.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" in birdfeeding.