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Perhaps. More prose than song or poem. Sassy is the hungriest little cat girl I have ever known. She eats more than Sam and I combined, pound for pound. No, she isn't fat, or not any more. I put her on a bit of a diet and watch things a bit more carefully. Back when I couldn't focus, and before I created a plan that allows me to monitor food intake much more easily, and when my days were mixed affairs running from a few hours to a few days and so I would feed when I was awake and the best I could, she had really started to buffalo out.
Still, she learned to beg at a professional level. Sam, on the other hand, only begs fairly. If Sam is begging I know I have slipped up and they get fed right then and there... urhm... give or take. Remember, I am an ogre, so hints aren't always taken easily. Beside begging, Sassy has learned to understand some words. Food, hungry, treats? Bam, she's on those like a wife hearing credit card and mall. She has also learned that, when she begs early, poppa can be a bit... cruel. Food? Meow! Not a chance. *runs away and attacks chair she isn't supposed to claw* *gets chased by ogre until he is pooped and collapses back into place, never having gotten close* *sneaks back and begs a whole day (20 minutes, max) later* Twerp!
Oh, for some reason, I am frequently being logged out of blogger when I try to comment. I am trying to remember to save the comment, and relog in order to post it again. If you aren't getting comments, it's because I didn't remember to save the comment. Vox and Dum Vivimus, Vivamus seem to be almost automatic failures, as to being unlogged. When I am logged out, the comment is always lost. I don't know if they have some setting, or blogger is just picking on conservatives in some new and nefarious manner. Just understand, this is just the beginning for the statists. Second class citizens by default and in a seemingly automated manner. Yes, they have your file. They "know" who you are. Government, big business, the rest. And, if you aren't complying, you will be punished.
Sigh, last comment way too true. I needed to buy a new gas can today. The OSHA has infiltrated and there is no sense to the only new mechanisms for dispensation of gas. You have to fight the f'ing thing to get the cap off then end of the spout, then the spring loaded spout requires considerable force to push back so you can dispense into a tank. You literally have to lean on the can while you try to pour neatly into a small engine tank. This is guaranteed to pour gas all over the engine you are filling.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Because too many dopes have left spouts on open gas cans in the back of vehicles and they have tipped over, some apparently causing fires. These will be the people who will now leave the lid and spout off because they are impossible to operate easily. Fill a chain saw with this contraption - ha! They will put the gas in a milk jug and use that. I have already improvised a funnel for filling my ATV so I can get gas in it without bathing it and me in gasoline. Yeesh!
BTW, I actually stopped by to say I left an answer for you on snowshoes at http://tidewrack.wordpress.com/
Serendipity
Thank you quite kindly. I have been digging on this material for years, but found no one with actual experience. It might seem a simple thing, but the opinions are so wild and rhetoric so strong in this area. I might just get out this winter.
ReplyDeleteMay seem strange, but it was dreams of being up in the mountains, in the cold and snow, camping and traveling, that brought me here. I dreamed of it for four years before finally getting everything together for the move and then another four years settling here.
Time to make those dreams a reality, even if only rarely. Dreams can move even the mostly dead, it seems. Thanks again!
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As to the other? Every day, more and more. Prayers, I suppose. And planning as I may. I would disappear into the world, as only few know how and dare, if I should get health back. No, not an insane wildman of uncivilized places, solely, mind you... Just a son of the earth, child of no nation, wanderer of all places as needs require. Noman Anyman. Been there, done that. Been a while, and had substantial resources. Still do, if I can remember/learn how to access them, I think.
After a little more thought on the guy who complained about the position of the toehole on the 36 inch shoe...If he had short feet like mine, maybe that could explain it. Perhaps he did not know how to compensate in setting up his binding, and put his foot too far forward. It can take some experimentation. Your "petite" size 12, especially in an insulated boot, should counteract that. You should stand with your weight further toward the tail than I would.
ReplyDeleteBut with that said, there is some adjustment to how much you let your toe overlap over the toehole. You do have to make sure it can rotate freely, so you can't position your foot too far forward over the toehole. Otherwise your sole will catch the top of the hole, stick and you may trip.
I should have explained the ski poles more. Not only can you help catch yourself if you lose your balance or step on your opposite snowshoe, but you can plant the pole behind you to help push yourself, palm on the top of the pole, up a steep hill.
One other thing - a trick for getting back on your feet in deep snow. Should you fall, and it happens, if you are in deep snow it is very difficult to find anything to push up against. If the snow is over 2 feet good luck pushing up with your hand and arm. If it is quite deep, your pole will be too short to be effective if you can't reach the ground. But if you make an x cross of your two poles flat on the snow surface, hang on at the center with your hand, and push up from those, then you are pushing essentially from the snow surface, rather than below it. Few people I know are aware of this trick, but it works for XC skiing and snowshoe falls. If you don't know to do this you flounder and become exhausted.
Once you make a selection, if I can be of assistance, please ask questions. I grew up using these. I do have my opinions of what works for me and I do have a very practical nature, but I can step out of my opinion to examine what is happening and find practical solutions for someone else.
Serendipity
I actually do understand, I think, what you are talking about regarding the boot. You are suggesting that the toe hole needs to allow your foot to act as a sort of 'snowpaddle', it has to be able to pass through, and then flex once in, flex deeply enough to bite the snow through the snowshoe. When I check out the snow shoe, I will also check out some boots. I have snow boots, but cheapies that don't support the ankle. Great for snow blowing and such though.
ReplyDeleteAs to the snowpole x? While I've not worked cold survival in this form, I have mucked around with warm water wilds. True, quicksand isn't, mostly, a real thing, but very deep mud/muck is. That is the same idea we were taught, both with our bodies to get to the surface, and with other items, such as branches, to get up or out even quicker. So, yeah... I've actually used that, just not on snow. Funny how things work here and there, but I might not have thought about it. It's been a while.
Survival is one part knowledge, one part physical readiness, one part will, a little luck, and sometimes a shot of whiskey, at least when it's over! :) We get enough snow around here that, even in the valley, I should be able to get plenty of flatland practice in my own back yard. And I know of several groomed trails that aren't so flat. It's the wilds that spook me a bit. But being near a college town, I might be able to find fellow trekkers. I really want to camp out there.
Ah, thanks again. And, once I get things going, I will ask if I have some difficulty or other. Once mastered, I keep a skill. It's the strength and stamina that comes and goes.