What's a lost skill that no one seems to remember how to do anymore?

[wcwbf]

Servicing your own car, it can't be done without a
computer and the know-how today, I used to do
cars, but I wouldn't dream of touching a modern
one, a few years ago somebody mentioned that
BMW owners couldn't even check the engine oil
level, but I am not sure if that is true.

Mike.

my dad had his on requirements for driving HIS car. my sibs and i learned how to change tires... hands-on. my b-day and brother's are at end of winter, so we had to take snow tires off his car. sister's late-september b-day meant she had to put snow tires on. first time we had 2 cars... a vw beetle in early 70s. one of dad's coworkers said... change oil every 25-3000 miles and it would run forever. so we each learned how to change oil... and filter.

now with AAA and cheap oil change places (and AGE), would never think of dealing with a flat or changing oil.

 

[Murrmurr]

Thank you.
Yes, I do bring some in and set it by the fireplace, so that it's always ready to go, when I am.

I'm currently burning some of my magnolia wood from my tree, that's fairly dry.
But, the Spruce tree I had cut down is still kinda wet.

I've never burned wood from a magnolia. Does it smell nice?

There were a lot of Manzanitas where I lived in my wood-chopping days. Even so, I didn't cut them down because the folks around there considered them kind of precious, but I did sometimes take branches from the large ones. They smelled great.

No home fire smells better than pine, though. To me, it smells like home. (and these days, like home and nostalgia)

 

[oldpop]

Wattle and Daub.
Mike.

I still wattle never daubed though. I find it therapeutic. I have a never ending supply of wattle material on my property. I use it to make fences to keep deer and rabbits out of my garden. Never done a roof though. I had some pics but I cannot seem to find them. If I do I will post some. I would say empathy is a dying skill.

 

[dobielvr]

I've never burned wood from a magnolia. Does it smell nice?

There were a lot of Manzanitas where I lived in my wood-chopping days. Even so, I didn't cut them down because the folks around there considered them kind of precious, but I did sometimes take branches from the large ones. They smelled great.

No home fire smells better than pine, though. To me, it smells like home. (and these days, like home and nostalgia)

I didn't really smell anything, but it burns really nice...but too quick. Yes, pine would smell good.

Manzanita...I was just thinking about those recently. My mother had one when we were kids, and I remember she dolled it up (not too much) like a Christmas tree. It was probably 3-4ft tall. I was wondering where I could find them, cause I never hear anything about them now a days. So weird you should mention it.

 

[Murrmurr]

I didn't really smell anything, but it burns really nice...but too quick. Yes, pine would smell good.

Manzanita...I was just thinking about those recently. My mother had one when we were kids, and I remember she dolled it up (not too much) like a Christmas tree. It was probably 3-4ft tall. I was wondering where I could find them, cause I never hear anything about them now a days. So weird you should mention it.

They still grow in the Sierra forests but I don't see them in the foothills anymore. The higher you go, the larger they grow. Rumor is, they disappeared (from lower elevations) because people kept cutting them down for their unusual wood, and digging them up to take them home.

The last couple times we went hiking up north, I only saw a few between about Cherokee and Quincy. But I saw a lot more of them north of Quincy. They're protected in Plumas and Lassen Nat'l Forests, and probably in Trinity Forest too.