The Woodsman's Journal Online: February 2025

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Fighting that Tired Feeling©

Author’s note -- I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

Deadlines, I hate it when they unexpectedly shorten. But, hey tis the season and I am an accountant in my day job, so to work I go to make the money to feed the family. Unfortunately, there just wasn't time this week to write a high quality article, one that I would have wanted to read, so your regularly scheduled installment from The Woodsman’s Journal Online is going to be a bit delayed. My apologies and as soon as I get through the end of year accounting stuff, you can be assured that I will have a researched, outstanding article on something fascinating to share with you all.

Sunday, February 16, 2025

The Great Bear and the Big Dipper©

Everyone knows how to find the North Star with the Big Dipper, right? ... Well, okay most people know how to ... Right, right, but anyways, everyone should know how to!

But what hardly anyone knows is the part that the Great Bear and the Big Dipper have played in human culture and thought since as far back as paleolithic times, that is more than 400 generations or at least 12,000 years.

The Great Bear (Ursa Majoris) and the Big Dipper are two different star patterns that both make up one larger star constellation. This constellation can be seen from most places on Earth, except those locations closer to the South Pole, such as Argentina, the south of Australia or some parts of South Africa. It is considered to be the oldest constellation and has been known by many names over many years and many different cultures. It was called the bear in Asia, in northern Europe, and in Egypt and Greece. In North America, the Native Americans called this constellation the “Bear and the Hunters”, since they envisioned the three stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, as three hunters hunting the bear in front of them. For some of the Finno-Ugric people of northern Europe, the Big Dipper was seen as a celestial elk (a moose in North America) during the winter and a celestial bear during the summer.

In fact, there is some thought that the paleolithic bear cult that was common throughout northern Europe, might have been tied to the Great Bear constellation, because of remnant legends and practices that continued until the 18^th and 19th centuries in northern Scandinavia, the Baltic areas and Finland.

Since the Great Bear is a northern circumpolar constellation and since the Greeks called this constellation “Arctos”, the area around the north pole is called the Arctic, and the south pole, is called Antarctic, which means “opposite of the Arctic”.

The Great Bear/Big Dipper rotates slowly around the current north pole star, Polaris, in a counter-clockwise direction through the night and through the seasons. In the spring it will rise upside down directly over the North Star and set to the west of the star; in the summer it will rise west of the star and before setting below the star; in the autumn it will rise directly under the star, before setting to the east of the star; and in the winter it will rise to the east of the star and then set upside down directly over the North Star.

For information on how to tell time with the Big Dipper go HERE.

So now we know, and next time you are enjoying a game of Trivial Pursuit, maybe this will help!

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

Banksy; “Fast Food Caveman”, from Pyramid America Framed Plexi Posters on Amazon.com, https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Pyramid-America-Caveman-Graffiti-enmarcada/dp/B01NBC0CIB, accessed November 12, 2024

Harding, Arthur M.; Astronomy, [Garden City Publishing Company, Garden City, NY, 1935] pages 278 to 283, https://books.google.com/books?id=pf8_AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA278&dq=%22great+bear%22+%22the+plough%22+%22big+dipper%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjeu_-9r8aLAxXPkokEHQg-EKIQ6AF6BAgNEAM#v=onepage&q=%22great%20bear%22%20%22the%20plough%22%20%22big%20dipper%22&f=false, accessed February 15, 2025

Kinney, Muriel; Stars and Their Stories, [D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1926], page 23, https://books.google.com/books?id=6Dl0twR6WnQC&pg=PA23&dq=%22great+bear%22+%22the+plough%22+%22big+dipper%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNwIS0_8OLAxWHFVkFHbAkB7UQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=%22great%20bear%22%20%22the%20plough%22%20%22big%20dipper%22&f=false, accessed February 15, 2025

Ridderstad, Marianna P.; “The Bear and the Year: On the Origin of the Finnish Late Iron Age Folk Calendar and its Connection to the Bear Cult”, Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 16, No 4, 2016, pages 355-341, https://helda.helsinki.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/ba73551f-3c12-46bc-bae2-3cbcdfc222d8/content, accessed February 15, 2025

Stone, Elena; “Ursa Major (The Big Dipper) Explained For Kids. Facts, Myth & Stars”, [Little Astronomy], https://littleastronomy.com/ursa-major-explained-for-kids/, accessed February 15, 2025

Wikimedia, “Starry Night Over the Rhône”, by Vincent van Gogh, 1888, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone.jpg, accessed February 15, 2025

Sunday, February 9, 2025

The Eyes Have It©

Number five of “The Ten Commandments of Situational Awareness©”, HERE, states to always be AWARE of your surroundings, and to do that you need to use all your senses, but 80% of the information that your brain processes in any fast paced situation is received by your eyes and most of that is from your peripheral vision, so the eyes have it!

Your field of vision is the area you can see when looking forward without moving your head. The human field of vision is determined by the shape of our skulls, the placement of our eyes on the front of our skulls, and the structure of our eyes.

Because of these biological givens, the normal human visual field is between 160^o to 170^o, side to side and 130^o to 135^o, up and down. There are two types of vision; central vision, which is a cone 60^o to 70^o wide directly in the front, and peripheral vision, which is also called “side vision” or “indirect vision”, and covers between 95^o and 100^o to each side of the head.

This means that your visual field, horizontally, is from about “9” to just past “3” on the clock dial and vertically, from about “1” to almost “5” on the dial.

Your peripheral vision, or as it sometimes called “peripheral awareness”, is less focused than your central vision, and because of this it is weak at distinguishing detail, color, and shape, but it is extremely strong at detecting movement and light. The visual information picked up in your mid and far peripheral fields, actually travels 25% faster to your brain than information coming from your central vision. Your peripheral vision is also used to help you stay upright; in fact, your brain uses 20% of its visual capacity just to keep you standing!

Directly ahead of you at “12” on the clock, in the central vision cone, is where you can see the best, with the most detail. And in the very center of your central vision cone is the foveal cone, and this is where your vision is the sharpest. The foveal cone is only about 1^o wide, and outside of this cone your visual acuity drops off rapidly. Outside of the 10^o degree cone, surrounding the foveal cone, you can only see about one-tenth of what you can see within the foveal field. That is why you must “put your head on a swivel” and actively scan your surroundings.

By scanning your surroundings, turning your head to the right and left and using your peripheral vision, you are able increase your visual field by 60^o on each side, or to “5” on the clock dial, and all the way around to “7” o’clock.

So, actively scan your surroundings, by turning your head from either your left or right to your center over a count of one second, or “one-mississippi”, then scanning your forward area for one second, or “two-mississippi”, before moving your head to the other side over a count of “three-mississippi”.

Keep your head on a swivel and stay aware and stay safe.

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Strengthening the Eyes©”, where we will talk about strengthening your peripheral vision and how this will help you.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

FAA’s Civil Aeromedical Institute; “Pilot Vision”, FAA Aviation News: A DOT/FAA Flight Standards Safety Publication, April 1998, page 19 to 20, https://books.google.com/books?id=6QL35AnwsD0C&pg=RA1-PA20&dq=%22field+of+vision%22+aviation&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjin77h87KLAxXcm4kEHbviJzQQ6AF6BAgKEAM#v=onepage&q=%22field%20of%20vision%22%20aviation&f=false, accessed February 7, 2025

George, Fred; “Can You See In Time To Avoid”, Flying Magazine, April 1991, pages 81 to 84, https://books.google.com/books?id=l29cHVBNFhMC&pg=PA81&dq=%22field+of+vision%22+aviation&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivmoLFhbOLAxVCD1kFHSWUNSs4KBDoAXoECAUQAw#v=onepage&q=%22field%20of%20vision%22%20aviation&f=false, accessed February 7, 2025

Grand Developmental Vision Institute; “2 Ways Strong Peripheral Vision Can Help You Avoid Sports Injuries”, January 12, 2021, https://www.grandvisioninstitute.com/2-ways-strong-peripheral-vision-can-help-you-avoid-sports-injuries/, accessed February 8, 2025

Langewiesche, William; “The Eyes Have It”, Flying Magazine November 1978, page 116, https://books.google.com/books?id=S8rkR5Hozv8C&pg=PA116&dq=%22field+of+vision%22+aviation&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj738f6hrOLAxVCMlkFHVyVEso4PBDoAXoECAsQAw#v=onepage&q=%22field%20of%20vision%22%20aviation&f=false, accessed February 7, 2025

Newman Therapy Services; “Exercises for Your Eyes”, https://www.newmantherapyservices.com/exercises-for-your-eyes/, accessed February 8, 2025

Peter; “Peripheral Vision Training”, June 28, 2024, https://www.eye-hero.com/blog/peripheral-vision-training/, [Smart Optometry Ltd. ©], accessed February 8, 2025

Reflexion Admin; “How To Improve Peripheral Vision With Simple Exercises”, June 1, 2020, [© 2023 Reflexion Interactive Technologies, Inc.], https://reflexion.co/blog/how-to-improve-peripheral-vision/, accessed February 8, 2025

Sports Vision Training; “What Are the Best Exercises to Train Peripheral Vision?”, https://sportsvisiontrainingmn.com/what-are-the-best-exercises-to-train-peripheral-vision/, accessed February 8, 2025

Wikimedia, “Field of view for both eye - human binocular vision”, November 9, 2014, by Zyxwv99, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FOV_both_eyes.svg, accessed February 8, 2025

Wikimedia, “Vertical field of view of the human eye”, November 2, 2014, by Zyxwv99, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vertical_FOV.svg, accessed February 8, 2025

Sunday, February 2, 2025

The Ten Commandments of Situational Awareness©

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

So, last week I wrote the first part of an article on how to stay safe in an urban setting, and how it all starts with situational awareness, and staying in “condition yellow”, in response to the death of a Mackenzie Michalski, a beautiful person, who was murdered recently. But what specifically can you do to bring your awareness from “condition white” to “condition yellow”?

I BE SAFE, REDUCE SITUATIONS THAT MAKE YOU UNSAFE

Be safe, reduce or eliminate situations that make you a target.

· Stay in well-lit areas with other people. Avoid short cuts that take you through areas that are off the beaten path, avoid traveling or taking short cuts through parks or parking lots especially after dark.

· Travel in groups. There's always safety in numbers.

· Have a plan or a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the different situations you might find yourself in, this way you won’t have to think before you act.

II INCREASE YOUR AWARENESS, DON’T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN

Increase your awareness, especially in places where you're most comfortable, don’t let your guard down!

· Before entering your apartment building or car, have your keys ready. Don't hold doors for anyone whom you don't know.

III TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS

Always trust your instincts even if you feel embarrassed.

· TRUST your INSTINCTS. Trusting your instincts is another important aspect of situational awareness. If something feels off or out of place, it's essential to trust your instincts and react. Your subconscious mind or instincts are excellent at noticing subtle clues that our conscious mind misses and trusting your instincts can help you avoid dangerous situations. So, if your subconscious starts ringing the alarms, at the very least, you should pause and observe your environment with full attention for a few seconds.

· A person’s body language can provide important clues into their intentions and emotional state. By paying attention to nonverbal cues like facial expressions, posture, and gestures, you can better recognize threats and anticipate potential risks.

For example, almost 30 years ago, after a particularly hard day as an assistant manager at an urban Woolworth’s Store, I was walking to my car, through a rather dicey neighborhood, head down, shoulders hunched, fists clenched, flicking the razor blade of my box cutter in and out of its handle, and muttering to myself. On the sidewalk, in front of, and walking towards me, was a rather rough looking character, who sized me up, and then quickly crossed to the other side of the street. True story, he had excellent situational awareness!

IV DON’T ACT LIKE A TARGET

Don’t act like a target, take active measures to not appear to be a target, don’t end up in someone else’s crosshairs.

· Walk with your head upright. Violent criminals often target victims who are not paying attention or who are looking down.

· Make eye contact. Give people a split-second glance so that you have put them on notice that you know they are there. This tells them, “I see you, and I am not an easy target”. When a predator knows that he or she has been seen, they may look for another target since the element of surprise is now lost.

· Pay attention to your surroundings when using electronics on the streets, subways & buses. Don't TUNE out, and don’t walk and TEXT.

· Walk assertively and confidently. Swing your arms and feet smoothly and naturally, keep your chin up, spine straight, shoulders back and look around you. Walk at the same pace as the rest of the people around you, so that you don’t draw attention to yourself, or just a little faster, so that you give the signal that you are more athletic or energetic than the rest of the crowd.

· Don't display electronics, or other valuable belongings. Carry your purse or wallet securely and don’t carry extra money or valuables.

· Ask for a security escort to your car whenever you are at a mall, office building, store or any place or time one is available.

V ALWAYS BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS

Always be AWARE of your surroundings.

· Use all your senses.

· Look around you, seeing what types of people are in your area and be aware of your surroundings. Use your peripheral vision and keep your head on a swivel, actively scanning from side to side, periodically looking over your shoulder to check your six, to see what’s behind you, to make sure you are not followed. This prevents surprise attacks.

VI ALWAYS LET SOMEONE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING AND WHEN YOU WILL BE BACK

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS let a responsible person know where you are going and when you will be back. If your plans change, get in touch with someone responsible and let them know about the change. Like Rod Stewart sang in 1978, “Give me a dime so I can phone my mother”. Also prepare your daily schedule with safety in mind.

VII BEWARE OF MIND ALTERING SUBSTANCES

Beware of alcohol or other mind altering substances, they lower both your situational awareness and your ability to respond to a crisis, so don’t become impaired.

· Be aware, if you are in a nightclub or other drinking establishment, of “drink spiking”. “Roofies” refers to a drug called Rohypnol, or Flunitrazepam, a CNS depressant that belongs to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines. It is a date-rape drug that is used to target victims for sexual violence and is anything that is slipped into people’s drinks without them knowing. Rohypnol is the most common date-rape drug, but there are others, for more go HERE.

· Never leave your drink unattended, whether it's alcoholic or not, and if you can, keep an eye on your friends’ drinks.

· Be careful about accepting a drink from someone you don’t know.

· Think about drinking bottled drinks and avoid sharing drinks.

VIII CONSTANTLY MONITOR YOUR SITUATION

Constantly and continuously monitor and assess your situation and surroundings. Your situation constantly changes, and you must continuously assess your situation and adjust your actions, this way you can avoid potential risks and keep yourself safe. For example, if you're walking down the street and notice a person or a group acting aggressively or watching you, cross the street, or change directions. If you're in a crowded area and the mood of the crowd suddenly changes and you feel uncomfortable, move to a less crowded area or get away from the crowd.

IX BE ADAPTABLE AND FLEXIBLE

Learn to be adaptable and resilient; things WILL change, and alternate plans are ALWAYS necessary.

X PRACTICE YOUR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS SKILLS

Develop and constantly practice your situational awareness skills.

Remember it is up to you to be safe and be alert – the world needs more Lerts! Be aware, stay in “condition yellow”, and don’t forget, check your six!

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

Bonnafoux, Patrice; “Situational awareness: practical safety tips”, [© 2012-2023 Patrice Bonnafoux], https://www.urbanfitandfearless.com/2014/03/situational-awareness-safety-tips.html, accessed January 25, 2025

Endsley, Mica R.; “Toward a Theory of Situation Awareness in Dynamic Systems”, The Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 37, No. 1, March 1, 1995, pages 32 -64, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/210198492_Endsley_MR_Toward_a_Theory_of_Situation_Awareness_in_Dynamic_Systems_Human_Factors_Journal_371_32-64, accessed January 20, 2025

Kardian, Steve; “The Seven-Second Rule: How to Avoid Being an Easy Target”, Aug 6, 2017, [© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC], https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/seven-second-rule-how-avoid-being-seen-easy-target-ncna789226, accessed January 25, 2025

Oglesby, “Pamela; “Instinct - Are We Born With a Protective Instinct?”, July 18, 2022, [© 2025 The Arena Media Brands, LLC], https://discover.hubpages.com/health/Instinct-Are-We-Born-With-a-Protective-Instinct, accessed January 20, 2025

Wikimedia; “Crowd in the street’, by Christopher Amrich, July 3, 2016, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crowd_in_the_street_%2827890306640%29.jpg, accessed January 25, 2025

Wikimedia; “Stubai - Tiroler Bergschaf -BT”, by Basotxerri, July 16, 2018, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stubai_-_Tiroler_Bergschaf_-BT-_01.jpg, accessed January 25, 2025

Younis, Ola; et al.; “ Peripheral Vision Loss using Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality”, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, March 2019, Vol. 10, No, 2, pages 1 to 9, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331409336_A_Hazard_Detection_and_Tracking_System_for_People_with_Peripheral_Vision_Loss_using_Smart_Glasses_and_Augmented_Reality, accessed January 25, 2025

About Me

I live near Buffalo, New York and have more than 25 years of experience in the outdoors. I enjoy being in the wilderness, paddling a canoe or exploring the woods, when I am not researching survival, woodcraft, camping skills or life on the Old Northwest Frontier of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I am a published author and I have been a guide for Birchbark Expeditions and an Outdoor Skills trainer for the Boy Scouts since 2014. I am also a martial artist, having studied several different combat arts over the past 30 years. Currently, I am the author of The Woodsman’s Journal Online and BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.

The Woodsman's Journal Online

Pages

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Fighting that Tired Feeling©

Sunday, February 16, 2025

The Great Bear and the Big Dipper©

Sunday, February 9, 2025

The Eyes Have It©

Sunday, February 2, 2025

The Ten Commandments of Situational Awareness©

Blog Archive