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.