#this week it's only -5 on average and I keep thinking it's above the snow melting point

[thesinglesock]

saw grass today. which was weird because I was out in the woods and the snow was up to my elbows. but I walked on some trails that had been shoveled and grass was poking through. it was green. why was it green. we've had sub-zero temperatures for 4 months. how is grass? green?

[feathers-scales-and-tails]

My ‘unhealthy’ chickens

My blog has a lot of cute chicken photos on it, and sometimes I get comments such as “wow I want a chicken like that!” Which is lovely! I’m glad to spread the chicken love! However I want to take a second to address this. Just like with dogs, there are many breeds of chicken which are unhealthy and have health consequences because of this. I have a couple of birds like this. I just want to make people aware that if they seriously want a bird like this, to take into account what health issues may come with them.

Sooty - Frizzle feathers

Sooty is a fan favourite, and one of my favourites too. I do admit that I love the frizzle feather gene, it just looks so cool! However frizzle feathering causes some issues and I didn’t intentionally get a frizzle, Sooty hatched from a mystery egg. Her Dad was the only frizzle in the flock, with 13 other roosters, so she was a surprise to say the least!

Weather intolerance: Due to the feathers sticking out like that, birds can’t warm up in the cold since their feathers don’t provide a protective barrier and body heat escapes. This also means they have no natural shelter from rain and wind. Sooty doesn’t have to worry about any of this, it’s never cold where I live and she lives inside. She really struggles in the heat, however that’s likely due to her leg and foot feathering which I’ll discuss later, rather than the frizzle feathering.

Flight: Birds can’t fly well, since their primary wing feathers are curled or brittle. This puts them at risk of leg and spinal injuries if they try to fly from too large a height. Sooty did severe nervous damage to her spine when she was 8 weeks old, causing her to become paralysed in the legs for 3 months. Thankfully, she fully recovered after 5 months of physiotherapy.

Sooty’s wings look like this. Not all frizzle feathered birds have flights this poor, however it is a potential consequence of the feather type.

Communication: Another issue frizzle feathers cause is communication within a flock. Sooty used to get pecked a lot by her top hen Kath, because Kath thinks Sooty is always challenging her to fight! Chickens use their neck feathers, called hackle feathers, to communicate a whole bunch of things. From fear, to aggression, to even asking another flock member to clean their feathers. Since frizzle feathers stick out like that, the bird struggles to move them into the positions used for communication so can’t talk to their flock very well. Sooty’s curled hackle feathers make it look like she’s always challenging another hen to a fight

You can see how those raised hackles kinda look like Sooty’s ‘mane’ of curled neck feathers! Thankfully, Sooty is second in command and her head hen, Kath, seems to have learnt that Sooty just looks like that! So she doesn’t get attacked very frequently anymore.

Unethical breeding: The gene which causes frizzle feathers in homozygous form (two copies of the gene) also causes serious issues. These birds are called Frazzles or ‘over frizzled’ and their feathers are very weak, often falling out and leaving the bird naked. It can be painful for them, and if they��re left outside, they certainly wouldn’t survive. Therefore frizzles should never be bred together. To breed frizzles you should use a frizzle feathered bird with a smooth feathered bird. However, this means you hatch only 50% frizzles, so some unethical breeders breed frizzle x frizzle to reduce the amount of smooth feathered birds they get.

A Frazzle chicken

Heart failure: These feathers have also been linked with enlarged hearts, increasing risk of heart failure. Since the feathers cause loss of body heat, it causes an increase in metabolism and other physiological functions to keep the body temperature at the appropriate level. This means the heart has to work harder, increasing its size and putting more strain on it. Sooty tires out easier, and when she used to be out ranging she’d frequently come inside to sleep on the couch while her flock was still outside having fun. I could see this putting them more at risk of predation, since if they’re already tired they don’t have the same stamina of another bird to flee a predator.

Solo - Heavy foot/leg feathering

Not the most flattering photo of her but the best one I have to show her foot feathering! As you can see she was quite cranky with me! She’s a Silkie X Pekin, which are both breeds known to have heavily feathered legs. There are many breeds with healthy foot feathering, such as Langshans

But some like the show-type Pekin bantam, have a number of issues associated with their foot feathering. Here’s a Pekin in comparison to the Langshan above

As you can see the feathering is much much heavier!

Mobility: Very heavy leg and foot feathering significantly reduces mobility. The large feathers make it harder to move toes, making perching more difficult, and are a tripping hazard. Solo is always tripping over, stumbling, and ‘shuffling’ when she walks since her feet impair her movement a significant amount. I’m probably going to cut her foot feathers off so she can move about easier. They’d never hindered her movement until now, this molt they grew in humongous for some reason. Obviously having a built in tripping hazard isn’t a good idea, since it predisposes the bird to a higher risk of leg injuries.

Thermotegulation: As mentioned above, legs and feet are very important in helping a bird regulate their temperature. Lightly feathered legs like the Langshan has don’t have this issue, since the bird has majority of its foot free to cool down with. Heavily feathered legs like the pekin provide little surface area to cool down with, so the birds can really struggle in hot weather. Solo is one of our least heat tolerant birds, and she thankfully has wattles and a comb unlike poor Silkies!

Cleanliness: Heavily feathered feet get disgusting! They’re more prone to getting dirty and are harder for the birds to keep clean. Solo always has poop, sticks, food, mud, and all sorts of other gunk crusted into her foot feathering. I have to clean them quite frequently so that she doesn’t get bacterial build up.

Other health ailments: In my experience, heavily feathered feet tend to be a beacon for related leg and foot health issues. We don’t have to worry about this where I live, but foot feathers can get wet in snow and heighten frostbite risk for toes. Although I don’t have to worry about the cold, sadly these foot feathers also have heat related issues! I live in a sub-tropical environment, so humidity levels get pretty high here. Bacteria loves humidity. Solo has had a bad case of Bumblefoot which was really hard to treat due to this humidity. Sweep, another bird with heavy foot feathering, has had 2 cases of bumblefoot now. I’ve never had a clean-legged bird get bumblefoot, so it’s definitely linked to trapping bacteria and humidity. I haven’t had to deal with this parasite myself, but apparently feather-legged breeds are more prone to Scaly-leg mite too.

Cujo - Heavy layer breeds

Cujo is a Hamburg, sometimes referrred to as ‘Everlayers’ since they have a reputation for reliably laying an egg every day. They rarely go broody, and if they do are very easy to dissuade. I am very against production breeds if they’re not within an agricultural industry, where they have a purpose, since it tragically shortens their lives so much. The Hamburgs lay on average 200 eggs annually, which isn’t too bad and makes them a healthier layer breed, but it’s certainly heavier laying than most of the other breeds I have. Cujo is actually very healthy, I took great care in picking a breeder to get her from and most of his birds are lighter layers than they ‘should’ be. Cujo was laying 3-4 eggs a week before her current molt, much better than the 5-7 her breed has a reputation for.

Heart failure: One of the most frequent ends to laying birds is heart failure. Their bodies are under so much stress to make an egg every day that their bodies eventually just give up, usually from heart failure.

They don’t go broody: A lot of people don’t like broody hens, since they stop laying and sit on their nest all day, however I really like them. A broody hen gets a much needed break from laying eggs! Some breeds continue to lay eggs over winter, and some birds don’t stop laying when they molt if it’s a light one. So broodies give the bird a choice to stop laying and sit on eggs when she wants, if she didn’t get a break over winter or molt. Breeding this behaviour out of production breeds contributes to their issues, since they can’t take that break.

Shortened life span: Due to the strain mass egg production puts on their bodies, average lifespan is 3-4 years compared to the 6-10+ of healthy heritage breeds. I had a utility leghorn as a pet many years ago, her heart tragically gave out on her one day while I wasn’t home. She was dirtbathing in her favourite spot when it happened, so I hope to think it was a peaceful end. She was only 2 years old.

Reproductive complications: Heavy layer breeds are more prone to experiencing issues with their reproductive tract. This includes cancers, tumours, prolapses, egg binding, and egg yolk peritonitis (infection). They’re also more prone to nutrient deficiencies, especially with calcium, since it takes so much out of them to lay eggs. This is easily preventable with a balanced diet, however if calcium deficiency does occur the hen can suffer from brittle bones.

Sweep - Aggressive breeds

Now Sweep isn’t nearly as bad as this title frames her to be, but it’s still worth a mention. We can only guess what her parentage is since she came from mystery eggs, but we think Sweep is an Old English Game cross Pekin. In Australia, Old English Game are a hyper aggressive breed. They were bred for the cruel sport of cockfighting, where two roosters are forced to fight to the death. Thankfully this sport is now criminalised, but nobody bred the aggressiveness out of this breed.

Injury risk: hyper aggressive breeds pose a greater risk of injury mainly to other flock mates, but also to themselves. These birds often antagonise others despite there not really being a reason to, resulting in more fighting, disharmony, and injury within a flock. If another bird is stronger than them and gets sick of their shit, they themselves could be seriously hurt since they often don’t know when to back down from a fight like non-aggressive birds do. Sweep has to be housed separate from my main flock with her mother, Solo for company. She has tried many times to outrank birds in my main flock but her fighting is very brutal compared to the normal pecking order fights. She aims for the eyes, and came close to blinding a bird once before, I can’t risk that sort of injury.

Mortality risk: continuing on from that first point, some individuals will take their aggressiveness too far and kill fellow flock mates. What might start out as a simple pecking order fight can turn very bloody and very brutal with these breeds fast. Roosters can kill hens and hens can kill hens. This obviously should never happen in well bred, good tempered birds. I do not say this jokingly when I say that Sweep and Sooty would kill each other if I let them. They’re both Pekin X Old English, and although Sooty is good with other birds, she’s terrible with Sweep. I’m hoping Sweep will mellow with age (she’s currently 2) and I can integrate her and Solo as part of Blossom’s flock.

Social interaction: I think this is something a lot of people don’t seem to consider, but having hyper aggressive birds which have to be housed seperate will obviously hugely impact upon their social needs. It doesn’t matter how aggressive the bird is, a chicken is, and always will be, a social animal. They need companionship, and while this can be provided by us, it’s easiest to provide it with other chickens. Keeping a social animal by itself, never letting it interact with others, and not providing that companionship yourself is incredibly inhumane in my opinion. It doesn’t matter if that bird is incapable of interacting without trying to kill the others, the fact is that this animal is still hardwired to live in a social group. By breeding such aggressive animals, it’s very cruel since it deprives them of such a basic need.

Now this post isn’t to say people can’t get a breed if they like it but it has health consequences, because something like those heavy foot feathers don’t cause the bird any harm or pain in itself, it’s just a consequence of poor management. So if you’re willing to do the work to ensure those features don’t hinder the animals quality of life, then excellent! Go ahead and get those basketball-shaped Pekin lads! This post was merely a reminder to think critically and research any animal/breed before you get them, and to make sure you’re prepared for any future consequences or adjustments for that animal/breed. Sooty and Solo need fans set up on their pens during the Summer, Sweep needs a seperate coop, and all three need adjusted perches and weekly foot health checks because of their heavily feathered feet. Once again, the importance of you screening for ethical, responsible breeders is crucial when deciding to bring a new family member home.

Thanks for reading!

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Wednesday 4 January 1837

7 ¼

11 40

No kiss F31° now at 8 ¼ am and fine morning – the snow a good deal gone – this return to freezing convenient to me for getting the Long goit scale carted to under the Mytholm bridge wall – Had Joseph Mann a few minutes – stones wanted for the Long goit – ordered at Hipperholme quarry – the measures perpendicular and crushed and bad as ever in Pearson’s land about 10 yards on this side the road – breakfast at 9 ¼ to 9 ¾ - before and after till 10 35 wrote out Rent audit – 2 copies – 1 for SW one for myself – went down to SW at 10 35 – settling with him about the rent day etc till 11 ¼ - He thought £100 for Lower brea too much – I said my uncle had laid out £1000 upon it, and I heard enough of what GR- has laid out, the place ought to be worth £100 a year – SW- to consider about and let me know how much too much he thought £100 a year – the Soughtedge Harrison field to be paid for on the 2nd of next month – I said SW- must explain why he thought A- ought to have it – I did not quite see why – it was on the other side of the road – but if it would be a greater convenience to her than to me, she had certainly have it – at any rate, her tenant Mr. Holmes should have the 1st refusal of it – SW- to consider about it – time to make out the deeds – time to settle whether A- or I should have the field – either of us – it matters not much – had written the above at 11 ½ -

SH:7/ML/E/19/0184

Holt at 11 ½ come to see the Long goit and to say the Bowling Engineer would be here on Friday or Monday next – told him the estimates the Manns had given in – no objection – but he seemed to think the middle band water drift unnecessary – it would be easy driving – should be done at 3/6 per yard instead of 4/. per yard as for the rag-water drift - - the drift in Godley Lane for water should also be done at 3/6 – mentioned Mr. Jeremiah Rawson’s application for the coal – R- cannot now get more than 2 acres per annum because obliged to pull all up at the marsh pit – It will be 3 years before they can spend the level they are going to drive for next spring (Joseph M- told me this afternoon from Low bed to Little band coal = 28 yards) If they sink 28 yards (the coal dipping 1 at 17) 28x17 = 476 yards breadth of coal they will loose – a great breadth but the job is not done yet – Ever with the out the water that will be thrown on them, they cannot get 28 yards with their present engine – what an outlay! R- says the coal does not pay him now – How can it pay him hereafter – nothing no coal for him to buy but of me or Mr. Walker Priestley 40 or 50 DW which Holt can get at ½ the expense R- can – R- cannot get them of 2 or 3 years nor Mrs. Machan’s of 5 or 6 years – H- bade Mr. WP- £80 per acre Low bed and £70 per acre upper bed – not taken – will not apply again till their pit is bottomed – to be bottomed in November next – R-‘s colliery cannot last many years – must now turn off half his colliers – cannot employ more than 10 or 12 – they cannot get coal enough now for their supply – Stocks can only get Micklemoss loosed thro’ Wilson – W- told Holt S- had been at him often, but he (W-) would have nothing to do with him – this rise in coal makes a difference of £5 per week to W- who says he can weather it out – H- told him he might make a fortune in loosing other people – told H- if I did not clear £300 per acre I should be forced into letting my colliery – H- all in good spirits – said it would pay that – coal would keep up – my coal would always average 10d. per load at the platform – I said I allowed 6d. per load to cover all expense – 10d- 6d = 4d. per clear profit – that would do – all above £300 per acre would be benefit to pay me for my trouble in keeping the colliery in my own hands –

Joseph Mann told me this afternoon I should allow 2d. per load for carting –

Bad job at the Long goit the stuff being again so crushed and irregular – the men gave up working during last night – could not get on – Holt will see after it –

walked down towards Mytholm with Holt about 12 – met Mr. Freeman – took him to the wheel-race – he said £350 would not pay for it – I told him I thought it would be about £400 masonry and digging – asked the value of power   15 horse – he said £300 per annum – 2 horse power = 3 worsted frames which let easily at £17 per frame (Henry Bates had told F-) I said this satisfied me – the mill was let – I was not at liberty to say to whom – nobody should have a corn mill here (F- did now know this mill was for corn) of more than 10 or 12 horse power – F- turning a corn mill of his into a worsted mill – would cost him £2000 – left F- downstairs while I went upstairs at the Stag’s head and sent for Aquilla Green – had him till after 1 (dinner waiting on the table) asked if he was quite decided about the mill – yes! would abide by his agreement – could keep on both mills this here, and the mill at H-x – I said he took it at £255 per annum – not by power he was to take it as it would stand – He wanted to take the Staups cottages that William Green had for William daughter – I said the cottages were let – but I would not let them to WG-‘s daughter at any rate – too disreputable a person – AG- said more for her than was quite consistent with morality – on leaving the Stag’s head sometime in Mytholm Ing with Joseph Mann – then with the gardener placing large oak yew trees wood on the embankment near the great sycamore – then with John Booth – came in about 4 ½ - had SW- who paid me the rents he had received this morning at the Stag’s head – spoke of making the best of the land during my absence the fog would not let for more than 14/. per DW for sheep to remain on the ground till the middle or end of February – I proposed netting off 2 acres at once – the net said SW-  would = £8 at Knaresborough 300 to 400 stakes required – 1 for every 2 ½ yards – to see Thomas Greenwood and make the best arrangement he can about the Conery Ing – I said G-‘s land would be thought poor enough by anybody wanting to take it – G- not my best farmer – no! said SW- evidently agreeing in what I had said and owning that he (G-) was a very bad farmer – SW- to settle with Mrs. Dewhirst – he should [said] she should let the fixtures against the overtime she was allowed to stay in the house and for which she paid nothing – A- and I to settle by Saturday which should have the little Southedge field bought of Mr. Harrison – I said perhaps we should toss up for it, if she had no particular wish either way – I wished it to be done for the best – SW- thought £3.10.0 a fair rent – I said I could let it for £4 SW- did not doubt – satisfied when he heard A-‘s Southedge was at all rates to have the 1st refusal – A- returned about 5 – dressed – read a little of last nights’ paper – dinner at 6 ½ - coffee upstairs – very sleepy afterwards – asleep on the sofa about ½ hour – then reading the architectural magazine that came tonight  with the other periodicals – no newspaper – then till 11 40 wrote all the journal of today but the first 14 1/3 lines – George on returning from H-x this morning (went with A- to Mr. Gilmores’) brought me a letter from Mr. Watson – the Misses Preston would be glad to accommodate me – could not give an answer till after Wednesday when they would hear from Mr. Parker!  getting them a security for £8000 would prefer 2 securities – I shall wait their answer – all very well – I can m’arranger dans tous les cas? fine day F34° now at 11 374 pm sat up with A- talking and what?

[ahs-source]

Happy Friday! Welcome to this week’s Fanfiction Friday! Thank you to those who submitted these fantastic works for this week’s Fanfiction Friday. Let’s celebrate these wonderful works that you can all read while in quarantine! Please stay safe!

As Above, So Below (Completed) by 7_wonders (AO3) Relationships: Michael Langdon x Female Reader | Tags: Hades & Persephone au | Completed (23/23 Chapters) | 71441 words

Your average, mundane life as a college student is flipped upside down when the man you thought you knew as your next-door neighbor turns out to be the God of the Dead. When Michael lures you down to Hell, everything that you thought you knew about the world is proven wrong.

Headache (Completed) by heramew (AO3) Relationships: Fiona Goode x Myrtle Snow | Tags: Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, young Fiona and Myrtle | Completed (1/1 Chapters) | 2098 words

1971, Fiona and her friends sneaked up to a party in town, but things didn't go as planned.

Headfirst for Halos (WIP) by @hellish-ramblings-of-an-emo​ (Tumblr) Relationships: Tate Langdon x Female Reader | Warnings: allusions to both physical and emotional abuse from a family member, actual physical abuse between a freshman and a senior, allusions to mental illnesses such as depression, student v. student violence. A certain way an event was phrased could be considered an allusion to molestation. strong language. a reference to homophobic slurs (none were used) | Completed (1/? Chapters) | 1240 words

I truly believe there isn’t a sound as horrible as the sound of my alarm. The repetitive chimes shoot straight to the center of my brain. It’s horrible. My bones crack as I attempt to get out of bed, a groan instinctively leaving my throat. I was dizzy, the light peeking through from between my blinds making my head throb. My shitty alarm clock read 6:27AM. 15 minutes until my ride gets here.

Love Like Winter (Completed) by @dailylangdon​​ (Tumblr) Relationships: Winter Anderson x Female Reader | Warnings: Oral sex, alcohol use, fingering, lack of plot | Completed (1/1 Chapters) | 549 words

How did you end up like this?

You hadn’t seen her in god knows how long. She was just a girl you knew from school. It was Christmas break from college and by chance you ran into her on your first night back in town.

She took you to her place and you split a frozen cherry lime wine cooler. The two of you talked about old times and dissolved into giggles. Next thing you knew, every piece of your clothing was hastily peeled off your body.

Resistance is Futile (Completed) by Sojourne (AO3) Relationships: Michael Langdon x Female Reader | Tags: Dubious Consent, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Demons, Bondage, Begging, Size Difference, Size Kink, Dirty Talk, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Fingerfucking, Hand & Finger Kink, Overstimulation, Choking, Hair-pulling, Demons, Demon Summoning, Spanking, Rough Sex | Completed (1/1 Chapters) | 5355 words

Soon after moving into your new apartment, you realize that something isn't quite right. It's constantly cold, you always feel like someone is watching you, and things start moving around on their own.

Turns out, one of the past tenants summoned a demon and then trapped him here, and now he's upset with you invading his territory. Uh-oh.

Demon AU

Run Rabbit Run (Completed) by @maso-xchrist​​​​ (Tumblr) Relationships: Michael Langdon x Female Reader | Warnings: PURE SMUT. Non/dub-con, chasing, violence, mimicry, knifeplay, cutting, stabbing, choking, hanging, & blood consumption. In other words, not for the faint of heart! | Completed (1/1 Chapters) | 6k+ words

A single heart beats in the outpost.

Security Blanket (Completed) by @mxnstersarehuman​​​​​​ (Tumblr) Relationships: Kai Anderson x Female Reader | Prompt: Hey could you write something maybe for a softer Kai Anderson x reader idc what I’m sorry I know this isn’t really specific just softer Kai thanks if you can! | Completed (1/1 Chapters)

You hear the slam of the door and immediately know Kai is home. Things had been so hectic as of late and he was always so busy with his cult so you always made sure to stay up for his return home just so you could see him. Even if it was only for a few minutes before fatigue took over and you both fell asleep.

Kai was a terrifying person, mean and vindictive and manipulative and cruel, all things that he had never been towards you. Everyone in the cult had thought you were crazy for accepting his proposal of a date when he had offered a year ago, but you saw something in his eyes when he asked you. His request wasn’t demanding like you would’ve expected, rather polite and genuinely inquisitive as to whether you actually liked him romantically.

So of course you had said yes.

thanatos (Completed) by SophieGraceJ (AO3) Relationships: Michael Langdon x Mallory | Tags: Immobilisation kink, Smut, Rape/Non-con Elements, Creepy, Blood and Gore, fairytale!au, Snow White!Au, dark!millory, this is dark, Death, cosmic horror kinda | Completed (1/1 Chapters) | 2537 words

“There’s something in these forests.” “Something … something venomous. It’s been killing me since I arrived here. It is what drains me of life, what keeps me bed ridden.” “But I cannot leave. I protect the people. Now I pass this onto you, this destiny is yours now Mallory.”

She fell, fell deep into the grave, body unmoving. At first, she suspected it was sleep. But it wasn’t. No.

Her eyes blinking again, vision clear. She could see, hear, smell … but not touch. Couldn’t move a finger, couldn’t wriggle her toes, couldn’t open her mouth to gasp when time passed.

He met her gaze, and his eyes widened. Only just discovering an intimacy. He smiled some more. This time, it reached his eyes, although they wept with tears, copying her own.

The Devil Incarnate (Completed) by jeromevaleska​​​​​ (AO3) Relationships: Michael Langdon x Female Reader | Tags: POV Second Person, Eventual Smut, Banter, Slow Burn, Family Drama, Lots of plot, Reader-Insert, Explicit Language, Slow Build, Sexual Tension, it starts off when miriam brings michael into her home, there will be smut ya'll already know, Reader-Interactive, Eventual Sex, there's some tension between you and michael, you don't trust him at all, Porn With Plot, i'll add tags as the story goes on, Love/Hate, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dysfunctional Relationships, Explicit Sexual Content, Developing Relationship | Completed (23/23 Chapters) | 142022 words

You're Miriam Mead's daughter, and you two have a complicated relationship to say the least. You think she's more than a little bonkers with her religious beliefs, and no matter how much she has tried to make you follow the same dark path, it's in vain. But when Miriam welcomes Michael into your home, you start to question everything and you just might become a believer.

the love that discovered the sin (Completed) by @lvngdvns​​​​​ (Tumblr) Relationships: Michael Langdon x Female Reader x Timothy Howard | Warnings: Fingering, oral sex (fem. receiving), threesome, rough sex, double penetration, anallingus, anal sex, vaginal sex, degradation, choking, cum eating, religion kink, biblical allusions/perversion of scripture, all things blasphemous and unholy. Literally just sacrilegious PWP. (+ crack ship pairing) | Completed (1/1 Chapters) | 4.4k words

“Bless me father,” she breathes into Timothy’s ear as she crawls astride his lap, slipping a finger underneath the rim of his collar and pulling it free in a single, effortless motion, “for I have sinned.”

Untitled pt. 2 (pt.1 here) by @writerforprompt​​ (Tumblr) Relationships: Kai Anderson x Female Reader | Warnings: Oral Sex, Manipulation, Mention of Drug Use, Vaginal Sex, Dark Themes, Pregnancy | Completed (1/1 Chapters) | 2350 words 

You were kneeling in between Kai’s legs, head tilted towards the sky, arching your throat into his grip. You brought your chest forward to make sure it was directly within his line of sight. Based upon the number of hungry glances he shot down your plunging neckline, you’d say it was.

Thank you to those who sent in these works! Please continue sending submissions to ahs-source.tumblr.com/submit or through the Tumblr mobile app to continue celebrating the writers in the community!

Previous FF Fridays: 1 | 2a + 2b | 3 | 4a + 4b | 5 | 6

[thefanficdude]

The Winter Months: OCTOBER, Part 1

The wind blew through the barren trees, the only petals left from the previous season struggling to stay on their branches. The ground was no longer grass, but rather a medley of yellow, orange, and red leaves that fell from the looming forest above. The soft yet violent breeze was cold with a familiar change, yet it usually didn’t come this early. He knew this was all but good.

Wilbur walked back to the village, navigating through the masses of bark and stumps that were all too familiar to him. After all, this had been his home for his whole life. While on his way, the wind picked up and he adjusted his coat and hat to conserve heat. Leaves from the ground flew up into the air and created a swirl that could be described as a tornado of fall colours. The leaves wisped past Wilbur with the effortless force of the breeze. He watched them pass, admiring the beauty of the changing seasons while also knowing the winter would not be kind to him and his people. He continued to walk.

Eventually, he got to the town he called home. There were 8 buildings made of sticks, stones and mud, all designed to withstand the four seasons. 7 of the buildings were the houses of the 7 people that occupied this area, but the last building was the Community House, a place where they held meetings, discussed local issues, and planned their strategies for war (They were all generally peaceful people, but when threatened they were some of the best fighters in the land). Wilbur was making his way to the last, which was the biggest of the 8 and located right in the middle of the town. A voice stopped him before he could step through the door.

“Wilbur!” A young boy about 17 years old with golden hair ran towards him with a smile on his face.

“Tommy, right on time!” Wilbur said as Tommy slowed his pace and stopped in front of him. “I was just about to call a meeting. Round everyone up for me and tell them to meet here.” Tommy’s smile was replaced with a more serious tone.

“Is it about winter?” He asked. “We still have quite a while until snow comes. At least 8 weeks if I’ve been counting right.”

“You’ve been counting right,” Wilbur said. “But the leaves have fallen much quicker than normal and the air is getting colder every day, much more than it should.” Wilbur sighed, thinking about his next words. “Just get everybody to come as soon as possible, alright?”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll get everyone here in less than 5 minutes” Tommy said dismissively.

“Thank you,” Wilbur stepped inside the Community House as he heard Tommy’s footsteps run through the village.

There wasn’t a single soul Wilbur knew that was more stubborn and determined than Tommy. Sure, these traits often lead Tommy to most, if not all of his problems, but they were also his greatest strengths. When something needed to be done, Tommy was always the first one on the case, despite being the youngest out of everyone. Wilbur admired that about him. He wished he was like that when he was Tommy’s age.

Wilbur looked around the Community House, taking in everything about it; the nostalgic smell of the wood and charcoal, the mural painting that went all the way around the four walls, the chilled air inside, the-

Wilbur suddenly realized how cold it was inside. He looked at the fire pit in the center of it all with frustration. It would have to be lit sooner this year, maybe even tonight. Of all the seasons, winter was the one Wilbur hated the most because of how impossible living conditions were, let alone the sheer vulnerability and complete inability to fight. Being the leader of these people, he had to reassure everyone that everything was going to be ok, but in reality he was always on edge during the snowy months.

Wilbur looked up from the fire pit to the door, where the first resident silently stood in the frame.

“Will,” The resident stepped through the door, struggling to get his giant wings through the average-sized frame. “Tommy knocked on my door saying you were calling a meeting. If this is another prank of his, it’ll be the third time this month.” Wilbur chuckled.

“Keeping track, eh Phil?” Wilbur sat at the head of the Community House, right before the fire pit and directly across from the door. He gestured for Phil to sit. He did, tightly yet effortlessly folding his black wings behind him.

“Oh yeah, been keeping track since he was 10.” Phil said. “He’s always been a trickster, but at some point I decided to start keeping count. It’s been keeping me busy.” Wilbur nodded with a smile. It was true.

Philza was the wisest person Wilbur knew, and that wasn’t just bias because Phil was his father. Out of everyone Wilbur had ever met (and he met a lot of people), Phil was the one that taught him the most, from how to hunt and skin a deer, to how to flirt with the ladies. Regrettably, he was teaching all this wisdom and advice to Tommy since Wilbur had heard everything he had to say.

“What’s the meeting for this time?” Phil asked after a moment of silence. Wilbur snapped back to reality and realized he had been zoning out. He looked at Phil.

“I want to give all the details once everyone is here,” Wilbur said. “But it’s about the coming winter.” Phil nodded in understanding.

“Ah,” He said. And that was all. Phil was probably the only one who understood the stress Wilbur was under, for he was the leader of this town before Wilbur was. Usually a position of power is given to someone else when the current leader passes away, but Phil didn’t want to wait until his deathbed to teach Wilbur how to properly and successfully lead an army and protect his people. Instead, he retired from his position to teach Wilbur everything he knew. Many people, including himself and Wilbur, would agree that he did a good job raising a pretty awesome kid and leader.

“Tommy said there was a town meeting,” A young woman with pink hair came through the door and sat herself down on one of the benches.

“Yes, I told him to round everyone up for me,” Wilbur said. “I’m glad you could join us, Niki. I hope I didn’t disturb your baking.”

“No, you didn’t disturb me at all,” Niki said. “I actually just pulled a batch of muffins out of the oven. I put them by the window to cool right as Tommy knocked on my door.”

“Ah, perfect! Make sure to ration some of those for winter.” Wilbur said.

“Winter?” Niki asked. “Isn’t that still two months away?”

“...Well-”

“What flavour are the muffins?” Phil asked. Wilbur silently sighed and looked at Phil in thanks. He always somehow knew the right time to insert himself into the conversation.

“Blueberry. They were the last I had of what we picked this year. Any longer and they would’ve gone bad.”

“Good,” Phil said. “With winter coming into our sights soon, it's good to conserve food as much as possible. Those blueberries will last a little longer in those muffins.” Niki nodded.

“You’ll have to split one with me after the meeting.” Wilbur said, smiling at Niki.

“Of course!” Niki replied. “I’ll make sure to set aside the best one for you.”

Niki was the sweetest and kindest person Wilbur knew. You’ll never meet a more caring soul. She spent most of her time baking and making food for the whole village. It was mostly her work to make rations for winter. If it wasn’t for Niki, everyone would’ve died of hunger during the first snow.

“And you remembered to put out the fire in the oven this time, right?” Phil leaned his elbows on his knees and adjusted his wings. Niki gave a nervous laugh.

“Yes, yes!” Niki buried her face into her hands in embarrassment. “How could I forget after nearly burning down the whole village?”

“Hey, I already said don’t worry about that,” Wilbur said. “It was an honest mistake. And as the saying goes, ‘we learn from our mistakes’.”

“Yes, I recall you saying the exact same thing on that day.” Niki moved her hands down and rested her chin on them. The three of them laughed as they looked back on that day, which then was nearly a disaster, but now was just a funny story.

“Hey guys!” Another man entered the building. His hair was brown and curly, and he wore a navy blue dress that went all the way down to his ankles. Over the dress was a grey, light-weight jacket.

“Eret!” Wilbur greeted.

Eret was the plant-keeper. She didn’t want the title of a farmer because it sounded like he did more work than he actually did. So, his title was made the plant-keeper. During summer, he grew plants that grew various kinds of food, and that was when the plants most flourished. But during winter however, Eret had to do everything he could to make sure they were at the very least still alive for the next summer. It was a miracle if one or two of the plants could make a single serving of food during the snow.

“Welcome to the group! Stylish as always I see.” Niki said. Eret looked down at the dress he was wearing and gave a quick spin. The dress's thick fabric flew into the air effortlessly.

“Ah, ya know. I gotta present myself nicely to the plants.” Eret said, taking a seat beside Niki.

“Speaking of the plants, how’s the greenhouse going?” Wilbur asked. Eret copied Phil and rested his elbows on his knees.

“Very well, actually! Just a few more weeks with fall temperatures and we’ll be all set for winter.” Wilburs expression dropped. He cleared his throat.

“Has Tubbo been helping you?” He asked.

“Yes,” Eret replied. “He’s been a great help, especially with his ability. It’s made things move along much faster.”

“Good.” Wilbur said, folding his hands on his lap. “Once Tubbo gets here, I’ll discuss it further. He’s the only one left besides-”

Tommy burst through the door arguing with a boy who looked about the same age as him.

“What the fuck were you doing Tubbo!?” Tommy yelled.

“I was trying to get into his house! Meanwhile you were trying to burn his house down!” Tubbo yelled back.

“Yes because all he does is sleep all day and Wilbur told me to get everyone!”

“You were going to kill him Tommy!”

“Hey!” Wilbur stood up and everybody looked up at him. Tommy and Tubbo stopped fighting and stood still. “First of all, stop arguing with each other! Especially in the Community House! This is not a place to be joking around, do I make myself clear?” Tommy and Tubbo nodded, but Tommy was more hesitant. “Good. Second of all, Tubbo, explain what happened.”

“I was trying to-” Tommy began, but Wilbur put a hand up to stop him.

“I didn’t ask you.” Wilbur said calmly. “I asked Tubbo.” Tommy looked at the ground with the same energy as a 2 year old about to have a temper tantrum. Wilbur looked at Tubbo.

“Well,” Tubbo started. “Tommy knocked on my door saying a meeting was happening and that he was put in charge to tell everyone about it. I asked if there was anyone else he needed to visit and he said George. So I offered to come with him, just because.” Wilbur nodded. “We got to George's house, Tommy knocked, but nobody answered the door. A few more knocks, still no response, and Tommy started getting... impatient.”

“I was not-!” Tommy tried defending himself but Wilbur gave him a stern look that made him stop talking again. He looked back at Tubbo.

“So I proposed we could calmly go inside to see if he was ok, but Tommy interpreted that as ‘use my ability to cause the most amount of damage I can get away with’. I stopped him before he could do anything.” Of course he did, Wilbur thought with a sigh.

“Thank you for controlling him, Tubbo,” Wilbur said, sitting himself down again. “You two can have a seat.” Tubbo sat beside Phil, and Tommy sat beside Tubbo. Tommy was angrily mumbling to himself. “And Tommy, could you do me another favour,” Wilbur said. Tommy looked up, still pissed. “Would you mind lighting up the fire pit?” Tommy looked confused.

“What do you mean? It’s still October. We don’t light the pit until late November.”

“I said what I said. Light it, and I’ll explain.” Tommy rolled his eyes but did as he was told. With a flick of his wrist, sparks and flame emerged from his hand and engulfed the few pieces of wood and charcoal that remained from last year's winter. It wasn’t much, but there was enough fire there to heat up the building to a good room temperature. Wilbur cleared his throat.

“As you all know, it usually doesn’t snow until December. Late November at the earliest…” Wilbur looked around the room and could already see people's faces change as they realized what was happening. It wasn’t as hard as telling someone the news that someone they know has passed away, but it was still hard because it meant telling your loved ones that just simply surviving will be a lot harder this year. Wilbur continued speaking.

“And, as always, I’ve been taking weekly trips into the deep forest to examine the natural changes of the environment. This time around however…” Wilbur looked to Phil for support. Phil simply took a deep breath and gestured Wilbur to keep talking. Wilbur did exactly that. After a deep breath, he continued.

“It seems like the snow will be coming a lot sooner than other years.” Everyone had different reactions, but they all had one thing in common: worry. Everyone started either talking to themselves or the person beside them. And, as per the duty of any good leader, he needed to reassure them that everything was going to be ok, despite all the odds.

“But, I’ve already created some plans of what we can do to make sure this winter is just as good as the ones before.” Everyone looked up with intrigued and hopeful expressions. “However, it requires everybody's effort and ability.” Everyone nodded in agreement, and Wilbur was now hopeful himself.

“Firstly, Tubbo and Eret, the people on greenhouse duty.” Tubbo and Eret straightened and paid close attention. “Eret, you said with a few more weeks, the plants will be strong enough to withstand winter. However, I don’t think we have weeks. I predict we’ll have snow in the next 5 days.” Eret and Tubbo looked at each other with a common thought. How are we gonna pull this off?

“Tubbo, your ability is Earth, meaning you are especially knowledgeable about different types of dirt, fertilizers, and more. With the little time we have left, I’m requesting you find something that will make the plants grow faster to be prepared by next week.”

“Yes sir.” Tubbo replied.

“Eret, with your ability of light manipulation, I need you to store as much light as possible, more than what you normally prepare. With winter starting earlier, we should expect it to last longer too.”

“Of course.” Eret replied.

“Phil, if it starts snowing before the plants are ready, it’s your job to use your air ability for as long as you can to keep snow away from the greenhouse. And if it’s also possible, see if you can keep a piece of the sky cloud free so we don’t have to use up the stored light source right away.”

“Can do.” Phil replied, stretching his wings back.

“Niki and Tommy, I need you to scavenge for as much scrap food as possible. If you can find more ingredients for your baking Niki, even better. As I said before, we should expect this winter to last longer, so we need to prepare more.”

“Got it.” Niki replied.

“I have a question,” Tommy said. “By food scraps, do you mean like… dead rats and birds?” Wilbur sighed.

“Unfortunately, yes. But it will only be a last resort if we run out of our main rations.”

“Ugh, alright.” Tommy groaned. “Niki and I will be on the lookout for dead shit.”

“Fantastic.” Wilbur clapped his hands together and looked around the room. “Does everybody have a job?” Everybody collectively nodded, but Niki raised her hand.

“What about George?” She asked. “He isn’t here, so what’s his job?”

“Don’t worry about George.” Wilbur said. “Once dismissed, Phil and I will stop by his house.” Wilbur looked at Phil and he nodded. “Any other questions?” The room fell silent. “Alright, that’s that! Meeting dismissed.” Everyone stood up from their seats and started making their way to the door. Tubbo and Eret went to each other to discuss their job, as did Niki and Tommy. Wilbur and Phil were left alone in the Community House together.

“What do you have in mind for George?” Phil asked. Wilbur sighed as he got up from the bench.

“Well, because George doesn’t have an ability like the rest of us, his job will be a little easier, but just as important. He’ll be in charge of making sure the pathways and trails in the town and forest are clean before the snow comes. And when the snow does come, I’ll have him help shovel the snow off the roads.” Wilbur made his way to the door and turned to wait for Phil, who was only getting up now.

“Makes sense,” Phil said. “But why do you need me?” Wilbur and Phil started walking through the town.

“You’re aware of what my ability is, right?” Wilbur asked.

“Of course, mind reading. It was a big problem when you were younger, you know. I could never keep a secret.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Wilbur laughed. “But I’ve been noticing George has been missing more and more meetings due to his ‘sleep schedule’.”

“And you think it's not just that?”

“Yes.”

“But what else could he possibly be doing?”

“I never like to assume. I need more proof first.” Wilbur and Phil stopped in front of a house with red accents. One could say it looked like a mushroom house, a little home for fairies.

Wilbur knocked on the door with enough force that if anybody was sleeping, they definitely would have woken up.

“George!” Wilbur yelled. “Wake up! I got a job for you!” No response. Phil came up to the door.

“George!” Phil knocked harder than Wilbur did. Still no response.

“We need to go in.” Wilbur said. He turned the door handle, but it stopped with a sudden halt. “It’s locked.”

“Here, let me try.” Phil stepped in front of the door and took a deep breath. In the blink of an eye, his foot was floating in an open doorway. Phil calmly walked in. Wilbur stood outside in confusion for a moment, but stepped in soon after.

“George!” Wilbur called again. The main area of the house, which was the kitchen and living area, was empty. The only other place in the house was his bedroom. Wilbur slowly opened the door.

George’s bedroom was actually quite nice. A small, quaint room with shelves filled with antiques and found treasures and a bed with a red and white dotted blanket. The blanket was not flat though. There was something under it.

“George!” Wilbur went into the room and came beside the bed. Phil came through the door and watched. “George! How heavy of a sleeper are you, man?” Wilbur stripped the blankets off the bed. It wasn’t George under the sheets. It was a pile of pillows made to look like a human.

Wilbur looked at Phil.

They both knew.

~~~

George’s cloak caught on the barren branches as he ran blindly through the thick forest. He was used to having a trail to guide him, or a map at the very least, but not this time. The place he wanted to go was only marked as no-man's-land on all the maps he’d seen. He was headed in the general direction, but he didn’t have a specific route to follow. So blindly he ran, his cloak being wrecked and snagged by the trees around him.

Unlike the others, George didn’t have a power, or an ability as they called it. He was just a normal guy, and all he wanted was a life of luxury and peace. George always felt he was belittled and not taken seriously enough when living in Wilburs town. He was seen as the weak one. The useless one. The burden that others were forced to carry on their shoulders. So he went to the only other place he knew. To the people Wilbur constantly worried about. Wilbur was going to worry about George now, but not in the way of pity. For the first time in his life, George understood what power felt like.

It didn’t last long.

George stopped in his tracks when he heard a rustle in the bush beside him.

“Hello?” George said, creeping towards the bush. “Who’s there?” An arrow burst through the leaves, stopping only mere inches away from George’s throat. The person holding the bow emerged from the shrubbery, not taking his eyes off George.

“State your business.” The man with the bow said. George was still in shock from the life-or-death situation he found himself in, he was unable to speak. “Now!” He said. “Before I shoot this right into your throat!”

“Ok, ok!” George put his hands up for the man to see. “I’ve come to visit your leader. I have no weapons or ill intentions. I just want to talk.” The man slightly lowered his bow and looked at George’s face more carefully.

“...George?” Unfortunately, George was pretty oblivious most of the time.

“...yes?” He responded. A smile came across the man's face and he dropped his bow to give George a hug.

“George!” The man pulled away. “It’s me! Fundy!”

“Fundy?” George hadn’t seen Fundy since he was a small child. Wilbur would put George in charge of babysitting him when everyone else was busy. But now that he heard the name, George saw it: the fox-obsessed boy that could talk to animals. “Fundy! Oh my god! How are you?”

“Ah, well, surviving like everyone else.” Fundy said, picking up his bow again. “How about you?”

“About the same, I guess.” George said. “But I’m trying to look for a better place where I can live my life.” Fundy became skeptical.

“Did Wilbur send you? Is this some sort of way for him to get information on us?”

“No,” George replied. “Nobody knows I’m here, but nobody would care if I was gone either. That’s why I want to talk to your leader.” Fundy thought about it for a moment.

“You would have to be checked for weapons.” Fundy said.

“That’s fine.”

“You would have to be escorted by as many guards as they see fit.”

“That’s fine.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

Fundy walked George through the forest until they got to a town, but it was nothing like Wilbur’s. There were many more buildings, all of them bigger than the ones back home. They were made of concrete bricks instead of sticks and stones. It was better than George could’ve ever imagined.

A resident saw George and Fundy and ran towards them.

“Fundy,” He said. “What’s going on?”

“He’s requested to see the leader.” Fundy gestured to George. “I already checked for weapons.”

“And?”

“None, Technoblade. George said he just wanted to talk with him and nothing more.” Technoblade thought for a moment and then called for some more people. He looked back at George and Fundy.

“You may take… George, you said?” Fundy nodded. “You may take George to see him with two other guards. If anything goes wrong, it’ll go on your record.” Two other men came up beside George while Fundy took the front.

“Yes sir.” Fundy said, leading George to what looked like their version of the Community House.

It was a large building, possibly bigger than all of Wilbur’s buildings combined. It looked old and tested by nature, but it still held strong. Fundy, George, and the two other guards went in.

Large fire-lit torches hung on the walls inside the giant building, and in the center was a table that took up most of the building. Strewn on it were maps, weapons, and small bottles of god-knows-what. George didn’t dare ask what it was.

At the head of this table was the man George was looking for. He stood hunched over a piece of paper on the table with a quill in hand. Even without doing anything, his presence was the scariest thing George had ever witnessed.

“Sir,” Fundy stepped forward. “There’s someone here who wishes to speak with you.” The man at the table looked up and straightened to get a better look. Suddenly what looked like a 4 foot tall dwarf was a 6 foot tall warrior. George’s throat tightened.

“Is that so?” With the quill still in his hand, he walked over to George. “What’s your name?”

“G-George.” He stammered out. The man with the quill raised a brow as he stopped in front of George, just inches away from him.

“You’re from the other side of the forest, right?” He stroked the underside of George’s chin with the soft feather which made George instinctively look up at him. “That’s a long way, especially for a one-man army.”

“No, you’ve got it all wrong. I haven’t come to fight. I have no weapons, I…” George swallowed as the man leaned in closer. “I’d like to offer my services to you.” George said.

“I want to join you, Dream.”

[sticky-wicket-urn]

County Championship Round Up

Toby Reynolds, 27/04/2021

Three weeks into the championship and we have had double hundreds, hat-tricks and games delayed by snow. The only thing we have failed to see is a Surrey win.

A Thousand Runs by the End of May?

This has arguably been the most batting friendly start to a season in a while. In the first three weeks, there have been four double hundreds, thirteen 400+ scores by all counties and Haseeb Hameed now holds the record for the most balls faced in a County Championship match. I am not sure many people would have guessed this would be the start to the season.

Furthermore, six of the top seven run scorers are from “Division Two” sides, yet again showing why maybe this system of the County Championship could be the way forward. Personally I really like this system with three conferences as it allows any team a chance to win the whole competition and also doesn’t belittle the smaller sides and force any player with international ambitions to move to a “Division 1” county.

Now, back to the top runs scorers: David Beddingham, a twenty-seven year old, South African born, middle order batsman, who plays for Durham, has taken the top spot from former England opener Adam Lyth. Beddingham scored a magnificent 257 against Derbyshire in a tight draw. He moved to Durham as an overseas player last year and struck a career-best 180 not out against Nottinghamshire. These large scores have helped to keep his first class average above 50 and impress at county level.

There have also been three other double hundreds. Surrey and England young gun, Ollie Pope, scored 245 on a fairly flat track against Leicestershire in a game which petered out for a draw. The other two were scored by two players who have been dropped by England in the past. James Vince (13 tests) and Tom Westly (5 tests) both batted brilliantly for their double tons. Vince helped Hampshire to a great win, also against Leicestershire, by an innings and 105 runs. Both Tom Alsop and Liam Dawson scored hundreds in the match. Westly’s runs came against Worcestershire, where both sides passed 470 in their first innings, leading to a draw with almost a thousand runs in the match.

However, I think my favourite moment to come out of the first three weeks of the tournament has got to be Haseeb Hameed coming back into form. He scored one fifty in the first two matches but dominated in the final match with opening partner, Ben Slater. Hameed not only top scored in Nottinghamshire’s first innings with 111, but then batted out over a day with his partner for 114* to draw the match after Notts were made to follow on. Although Hameed has started the championship well since his short stint with England, this bodes well for the rest of the tournament if he can keep up this amazing start.

Green Seamers in Early April

It has not just been the batsmen who have been dominating though. Three potential English seamers are topping the wicket takers list, as well as two spinners. 

Ollie Robinson, a right-arm medium fast bowler for Sussex is currently the leading wicket taker with 20, after taking 9-78 in the second innings vs Glamorgan to help Sussex win by eight wickets. Robinson has been in and around the England set up over the past couple years, staring in England Lion’s victory in Australia. Robinson lead the attack with Craig Overton (who is joint second on the leading wicket takers with 17. Neither are especially quick but their accuracy combined with skill make it extremely hard for batsmen. 

Another major talking point for the second round of the County Championship was Mohammed Abbas’ hat-trick against Middlesex. Abbas took the wickets of Holden and Gubbins at the end of the second over, before getting Eskinazi in the first ball of fourth over to complete the hat-trick. He then continued to rip through the order and finished with 6-11 from elven overs, before Hampshire pilled on more runs. Abbas then came back in the final innings to take another three, along with opening partner Kyle Abbot.

Other leading wicket takers are Simon Harmer and Matt Parkinson. The two spinners have 17 and 15 wickets respectively. Harmer has dominated the County Championship for Essex since arriving ahead of the 2017 season as a Kolpak player but impressed so much he has retained his spot an an international. Parkinson, on the other hand, has struggled to get consistent games, and therefore wickets, with the red ball. However, he has really been given an opportunity this year, taking what could be the ball of the century in Round 2 and then a seven-fer in the second innings against Kent in Round 3 to mop up the tail and take victory for Lancashire by an innings and five runs. 

Ryan Higgins is the only other top wicket taker we have failed to mention. The Gloucester seamer, who is hotly tipped to be a possible replacement for the injured Ben Stokes, has taken 17 wickets and scored a fifty, helping his team to two wins and draw with three three-fers and two four-fers. His batting is arguably not quite strong enough to be a like-for-like replacement for Stokes but if Buttler and Pope shift up the order, then he may be able to bat at seven or eight with Chris Woakes. 

Standings

Warwickshire are currently topping Group 1, unbeaten on 53 points. They drew with Derbyshire in the first week but have since beaten Essex and Nottinghamshire comfortably. Worcestershire are second but without a win. They have drawn their three matches to the same sides Warwickshire have faced. The rest of the group is in tight competition: all sides are within one win of each other.

Group 2 is more spread out. Top of the table Hampshire are forty points ahead of Leicestershire, who prop up the conference. What was considered the hardest group has definitely lived up to its reputation with 2019 County Championship winners, Surrey, without a win and struggling to find consistent runs. 

Group 3 is similarly spaced with the two Roses clubs, Lancashire and Yorkshire sitting at the top of the table unbeaten, while Glamorgan and Kent have failed to get a win.

It is hard to predict what will happen over the next few months of the season, but my prediction is that the six sides making it to Division 1 will be:

Essex

Warwickshire

Hampshire

Gloucestershire

Lancashire

Yorkshire

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

agajsksns not gonna lie being 10 feet tall sounds awesome. i have no idea how tall that is because the only thing i know about feet (that sounds so wrong) is that google is telling me that i'm 5'6 (sorry to disappoint). which is. average height right? well it doesn't feel like it coz my best friends are giants. they're both 180+ cm tall and they constantly make fun of me for being short. but honestly i win because i can always make them reach things for me.

thank you! that's very sweet, i actually only saw your reply like 20 minutes before the new year so it was right on time! i loved writing to you and waiting to hear back as well, you're a really fun person to talk to!

i know you probably won't see this for a couple of weeks before going on holiday, but have fun!

i laughed really hard at the picture my brain conjured up when reading about you dropping the vampire act and starting to pretend to be a mouse, just straight up scurrying up to the houses on all fours in a bathrobe is hilarious. i'd pay to see that. and yeah! me either. the number of times i've gone outside at night is probably like 3. that's counting that time when i went for ice cream at 11pm to the store on the other side of the street in my pajamas and then had to turn back because it apparently closes at 10 pm. that was a pretty big disappointment

a halloween themed birthday party sounds awesome! it's sort of disappointing though that you can barely remember it. the only themed birthday party i had (or at least the only one that i remember) was princess themed because i was on my princess faze back then (i was 5 or 6 i think). i still remember the sheer joy i felt at being able to wear a long fancy dress. it was brilliant

oh yeah! i'm still slightly scared of blenders because of that time. now anytime i even put my fingers close to the blade i unplug it first. also i saw you got a blender? i think we have one that's similar to the one you described. so i have a couple of suggestions! i like to make banana "ice cream". you just cut up a banana into pieces and freeze it, (i have no idea how long it takes to freeze i just generally always have frozen bananas in my freezer) then you take them out, let them sit for 10 minutes (to not break the blender when you use it) and blend them. i sometimes add frozen berries or peanut butter too! depending on what i want that day. it's great, especially because i'm slightly lactose intolerant too and i absolutely love ice cream. you can also make smoothies as you said. i usually put in mine whatever fruit we have, generally apples, bananas and oranges or grapefruits. or if i'm making one for breakfast (which i know you can't, but this is just a generally more filling option i think?) i also add spinach. you can't really feel the taste but it's supposed to be good for you and it fills you up more (it does make the smoothie super green though!). but yeah i pretty much just mix and match anything i have! also: milkshakes. ice cream, berries (optional) and milk! super easy and my little cousins love it when they visit!

ohhh your grater also seems to be out to get you. i bet it's really painful if it actually falls on your feet, because like metal. on foot. ouch. especially if it hits you with a corner! and i would definitely also get surprised every time it happened no matter how many times it did! bifocal glasses do not sound fun either tho. i would constantly forget how to use them and probably would just get headache really fast too! i get a headache from my normal glasses when i wear them (i usually wear contacts) so bifocal ones would be even worse i bet.

exactly. i had no idea what "hot" means. i thought you were supposed to use it when you thought a person was aesthetically pleasing? or like you thought they look cute? i dunno. i used it a couple of times before i realised that was not what that meant and then i was just like uhhhh yeah i'm gonna delete that word from my vocab. yeah! i think that ace and probably aro too are pretty hard to figure out because it's the lack of something.

ahahsksns i can imagine tiny Lindsey waking up on Christmas morning and running to the window expecting snow in the middle of summer and it's so funny! i can't say anything though because we have this saying in lithuanian which is used essentially when someone does something unexpected and unusual for them so you say "it's gonna snow tomorrow". as in "wow, [name] did [something super unexpected from them], it must be snowing tomorrow" (because like those are equally unexpected things i guess? but it's said in winter too so it's just something you say whenever, i'm sorry it's hard to explain!) but yeah a figure of speech. and anytime i heard that, even in the middle of summer, the next morning i'd run to my window and look for snow and when there was none, i'd just stare accusatorily at my parents. like wow, i can't believe you lied/let someone lie to me

horse races sound fun, i've never been to one though! and a picnic luch sounds awesome! i love picnics but we have them very rarely, i definitely think we should have them more often

and yeah, i get that acid reflux more of an annoyance than a problem but still! i completely agree with you about peanut butter though. it's amazing, i could eat it everyday

I know exactly how tall 10 feet is purely because I’m 5 foot so two of me is 10 foot. I barely know feet but I got used to people being confused when I was like oh, I’m 155cm! so I learnt what my height was in feet but I can really only visualise heights when I put them into centimetres. Someone can be like I’m 6 foot! and that’s great but I don’t have the faintest idea how tall that actually is. 182cm on the other hand is easy. that’s just like one ruler above my height. I can picture that. 5 foot 6 is probably average but as a short person, I consider you tall. That really isn’t saying much at my height but still sdflshdfks. Biggest benefit of tall best friends is indeed making them reach high things though. 

And now we’re almost three weeks into the new year. Time seems to be flying this year. This is a very late reply indeed sdfjhskdfs. I did see this before I left but didn’t have time to reply, thank you though! I did have lots of fun. I had some birds try to invade the unit up in Orewa and I had a dotterel (I think) follow me along the beach at Ngarimu Bay playing some sort of red light green light game with me (it only moved closer and started following me again when I looked away) and I think a blackbird started some sort of mating performance at me which was flattering but uhhhh I’m a bit of a big bird mate. Maybe choose someone else. there was also beaches and gorgeous views etc etc but birds, y’know. birds.

i would 100% do that for money with no regrets. on one hand I could get a job and contribute to society. on the other hand I could do that as my main income. not a hard choice. hire me by the hour to freak your family and friends out. i have no respect for myself i’ll do it to anyone for the right price. damn. only closed one hour earlier. that’s a massive disappointment. i was out at night willingly for my high school prom and for a creative writing night at my uni and inside a car if that counts when I think my family was travelling back from the south island when I was younger. So three times that come to mind. Oh. And if stupid camp burma trails count then add a few times to that but those were not night outings I did willingly.

I can barely remember most of my life, I just assume it happened and I wasn’t just planted here at 12 years old as an alien spy. Anything’s possible though. I remember my birthday cakes more than my birthday parties to be honest with you. My mum always made the cake and when I was young she’d make fun designs. A bee, a bat, a swimming pool and a cat come to me off the top of my head. They were mostly just sponge cats but she cut them and iced them expertly. A princess-themed party seems like a very fun type of party for kids who like that. Kids always seem very happy to dress up in pretty dresses and cool outfits to attend those kinds of parties. I can imagine the joy. I know my little cousin looooves that sort of thing, and her brother isn’t willing to be left out either

thank god you unplug it first now sdfjhsdf that’s incredibly reassuring. Ooo thank you for those suggestions!!! this is great!! I was wanting to try something with bananas and that sounds easy enough. I had an apple and feijoa smoothie while I was away on holiday and all I want is another one of those. So I’m very very very interested in trying out fruit smoothies now because they seem like they can be very very tasty. Spinach seems like such an odd thing to add but I’ve heard that several times now so clearly it’s a thing. I don’t think I’ve ever even had spinach. I’ll keep it in mind though. I suppose if I just try whatever fruit we have on hand eventually I’ll get something that tastes good. I have dairy free ice cream and dairy free milk so it seems like this could work out for me in a way where I’m not regretting my entire life. Normally when I go near a milkshake I regret the day I was born.

It isn’t a super heavy grater but I have intense survival instincts every now and then so it hasn’t actually hit my foot yet. I go diving in the other direction. But I think if it did I’d probably curse a few times before moving on with my life. I don’t think it’d be THAT bad. But I live in fear regardless. oh no. do your normal glasses have a slightly wrong prescription or is this just a thing that happens when you normally wear contacts,,, I’ve never worn contacts because I fear touching my squishy eyeball and also I think my shitty eyesight is too awkward for contacts so I have no idea if that’s a thing.

oh yes haha hot has been solidly deleted from my vocab for many years except in terms of temperature. It has a word that has never naturally come to mind and I’m sure it never will. It just seems weird when I use it. 

I was a fool of a child and absolutely nothing has changed there! I mean I know how hemispheres work now but I’m still a dumbass at heart. Hahahahahaha oh nooooo. That’s incredible but oh noooo. I get what you mean by the saying though, that’d make a lot of sense here honestly since it never snows ever. Locally, at least. 

i think horse races are just a form of betting and losing money that is frowned upon less than actual buildings based on gambling and such. I mean I only ever attended those ones, idk if all horse races are like that, but I know there was buying tickets for whatever horse you thought would win, and if they did you got money, if they didn’t you lost money. I don’t think it was a whole lot of money ? just like a few bucks ? but maybe you could choose to bet more ? I really don’t remember how it worked, I just remember accidentally finding a ticket on the ground and handing it in only to receive some money because the horse won. I think it was like 5 or 10 bucks which seemed like a LOT to my kid self. picnic lunches are fun though. my family keeps a tartan blanket in the back of the car that we use whenever we have picnics and also whenever we get takeaways (we put it in the middle of the lounge floor as the rest of my family eats fish and chips and I eat sushi, normally). But we don’t have as many as we used to. They are fun though.

can confirm i do eat peanut butter everyday and it goes brilliantly.

[celestinaruns]

The joys, pains, and everything in between of conquering a 50 miler

Things I learned this week: telling people you ran 80 km in a day tends to get ta consistently shocked reaction, with the occasional person questioning your sanity.

That is definitely not a typo. 80 km, 12 hours, and nothing but love for every moment of it. While I only just got into ultra running this year, I fell in love at first... sign of debilitating pain that keeps me in bed cuddled up with a bag of Sweet Chili Heat Doritos and yet another season episode of The Walking Dead. And, like all firsts, this past weekend gave me a lot to reflect on.

This summer has been a busy one for my running endeavours. I have tacked on more long-distance races than usual and ran my first two ultras, just within three months of each other. When I ran my 50 km at River Valley Revenge in June, I was unprepared. An understatement, to say the least. Yes, I was familiar with what my body needs during a long run and made sure to put in all the mileage I could, but there’s a huge mental game to ultra trail running that I had entirely missed. I had had no idea just how technical trails could get and hadn’t realized that my trusty energy gels, a great pick-me-up in every road marathon I had run before then, were not going to do the trick here. My first ultra was less one of success and more one of learning lessons... the hard way.

I did learn them, though, and I applied them as best as I could. It was with that ambition that I registered for the 80 km event at River’s Edge Ultra. That, and the desire to go camping before snow hit, to be perfectly honest.

Okay, I could have just gone camping. It was mostly ambition.

The months leading up to REU were... great, really. I trained smart, put in the work, and modified my nutrition and running habits until everything felt just right. I had very few tough runs and felt ready to go--right up until the very last week when I caught a cold. Talk about shit timing.

My entire last week of tapering was out the window at this point as I tried to nurse myself back to health as quickly as possible. Dreams of crushing the 80k turned more into hopes of just finishing the 80k. Still, by some miracle, when Friday rolled around, all I had left was a little bit of congestion. There was some hope yet that I wouldn’t crash and burn and inevitably DNF.

I made my way over to Parkland County on Friday evening, grabbed my bib, and set up camp. It was all going smoothly, and with the peacefulness of the untouched ravines and quiet farmlands, I felt the calmest I had felt in the last week. Although there was a stressful day ahead of me, I was able to take some moments to enjoy the little slice of heaven that was so close to the city.

Despite that, sleep was restless and interrupted, as it usually is the night before a race, and I felt as groggy, rushed, and unprepared as ever as I tried to get all my gear on and double checked that I had everything in my drop kit.

Worst of all, though, it was cold.

It was supposed to warm up later in the day, yes, but the morning air was biting at whatever exposed skin I had--which was a lot, because for all of my planning, I hadn’t accounted for just how cold it would be in the dark. I had three headlamps and I had reflective bracelets and extra batteries. Clearly, I was aware it would be dark, just not experienced enough to bring any more layers aside from my bright orange reflective arm warmers.

But hey--reflective!

I huddled close to the bonfire before the start, right up until the last possible moment. Standing around in my shorts and singlet and my measly arm warmers, I was beating myself up for not thinking head. What a lousy start.

But I had learned from my 50k, hadn’t I? Ultra running took a lot of mental strength, and it was that reminder that pushed all of those negative thoughts out of my mind and replaced them with much better ones. The first loop is only 9 km. Move steady and you’ll warm up in no time. By the time the start was announced, I felt ready as ever.

The first and shortest loop went by in around an hour. I wasn’t in a rush, that had been my goal from the very beginning. No point in bursting out the gates, especially not with my congestion still sticking around. Still, that loop was all I needed. After that, I was warm and pumped up. One loop at a time, and I had no doubt I would be rolling into that finish strong.

The beauty of this course was that, with each loop, I got to make my way back to the race headquarters to replenish everything. I would get a chance to grab food, replenish my pack, and have anything I needed to be looked after by a volunteer. With a very over-prepared drop kit, all I really needed to worry about, as the racer, was making sure that I could take on those loops. All I had to do was focus on running. Throughout the day, the distances of each one passed through my mind, like a little reminder that I was inching closer to the end. 19 km, 19 km, 20 km, 12 km. Repeat.

I ate more during this race than my 50k, which is a very good thing. During ultras, it is recommended that runners eat an average of 300 calories an hour, and while during marathons I can pop back a gel, solid food is a much better option when you’re going all day. I discovered that pancakes and bacon sat great with my easily disturbed stomach, as did cherry cola flavoured Honey Stingers. Even after a 20 km loop with a brutal elevation gain, I felt mentally ready to take on the last leg of the race.

Managing to adequately calm myself down, I set out once more, power-walking my way up a hill as I popped back some Honey Stingers. My heart rate was slowing down to something more manageable instead of feeling like Hammy in Over the Hedge. I spent a little more time at the aid station this time, enjoying the hot food that was now ready--perogies and meatballs. I hadn’t had that much protein in one bite all day.

Physically, though, the exhaustion was catching up with me. Just 10 km to go, I could feel the shakiness creep into my legs and a heaviness in my stomach. Still, this was a mental game, and I knew I couldn’t give up--so I got some calories in my stomach, popped an Advil, and set out once more.

It wasn’t long after I set out on my last loop, unfortunately, that something started to feel... wrong. Now, with less than 12 km to go--now was when things went south. I was getting nauseous, my heart rate wasn’t lowering at all despite the fact that I had reduced my speed to a walk, and the sun shining directly above me was oppressively hot. I had forgotten to grab a cap, of course, because something had to go wrong today.

I made my decision surprisingly easily. With over 5 hours until cut-off, DNFing was no longer an issue. Heatstroke was. I continued to walk instead of run and hydrated smart, focused solely on getting my heart rate down and getting rid of my nausea. Soon enough, I made it to the river crossing.

You read right. River crossing. No, not in a boat.

The current was going strong and I was instantly thankful that I had gone through that lifeguard training in high school. I had to wade through the North Saskatchewan River over to an island... which was exactly what I needed, it turned out. The cold water was like an ice bath for my legs. I wasn’t 100% yet, but I was definitely feeling better. I kept up the walking, made my way around the island, got some water dumped on my head, and by the time I was back on mainland, I felt just a bit more ready to finish this baby up.

Only four kilometres to go.

It was a doable loop back, but with my runner’s brain not really keeping track of anything and my watch in power saving mode, I didn’t really know how far I was progressing. At least, until I hit a large downhill, said fuck it and barrelled my way down it like a ten year-old, then rolled into the finishing chute with that momentum, gunning it across the finish line.

I hadn’t even realized I actually finished until I stopped and glanced around. In 12 hours and 18 minutes, I had my first 80 km ultra under my belt--and I was out of it. It almost sounds anticlimactic, describing it like that, but I can tell you right now that there is no sweeter feeling than finishing an ultra. After being on my feet all day, the realization that I was done was absolutely heavenly.

In a daze, I stumbled around for a bit before taking my boyfriend’s genius advice to sit down after running around for 12 hours. I showered, ate some food, enjoyed hot chocolate by the bonfire, and chatted with other runners and race volunteers as the evening turned to night. Just your average day of camping, right?

While my sleep before the race had been restless and interrupted, my sleep after the race was restful and deeper than Sleeping Beauty’s. Endorphins were still keeping the soreness at bay Sunday morning, so I enjoyed the last of the peaceful views and grabbed some breakfast before packing up camp and driving back home to the city.

... with my prizes in hand, of course.

It is safe to say that the soreness has more than caught up with me now, as has the complete lack of sodium in my body. And yet, I can’t help but smile every time I think back on the weekend. I smile because I’m proud of myself for finishing that 80 km (and feel ready to finish one in sub-11:00 some day soon) and that I got to accomplish that at such a great event. It is one that I will be returning to as often as I can, whether it’s as a runner or volunteer. I smile because I got to do another ultra, because this time I felt prepared and was able to enjoy every minute of it.

Most of all, though, I smile because it was just another day that I had the opportunity to appreciate the nature that makes up my backyard (figuratively) and the people that make up the running community. With the cold weather setting in and my fitness turning more towards crosstraining instead of running for the winter time, I could not have asked for a better end to my long racing season. It has me excited to recover and take on more ultra running in the upcoming year... with even more ambition and dreams than before.

[illicreatxm]

Jodie

—    basics.

▸     is    your   muse    tall    /   short    /    average?

Jodie is a smol bean. She’s 5′3″, so a couple of inches below average at least. And the thing is, she doesn’t wear heels often, so she definitely looks her height at all times. She just has a big personality to compensate.

▸     are    they   okay    with    their   height?

She’s okay with it in the sense that she can use her height to her own advantage and use it to intimidate people who are afraid of short gingers with tempers. She’s not okay with it if you use it against her. She will fight you if you do.

▸     what’s    their   hair    like?

Wonderfully ginger, and pretty straight. She prefers to keep it around shoulder length or in a bob, but more often than not she’s too lazy to go and get it cut so it’s tied up and away from her face in a bun.

▸     do    they   spend    a    lot   of    time    on   their    hair/grooming?

Not really. If it’s short, she does a quick straighten and comb and then she’s out of the house. If it’s long, she’s tying it up and out of her face really quickly, and often she ties it up on the go. She usually has other things on her mind, like the fact that she’s late for the second time that week and it’s only Tuesday.

▸     does   your   muse   care   about   their   appearance/what    others    think?

She really tries not to. After all, she sees herself as more of an athlete and prefers to put more effort into the things she can do, rather than what she looks like. But really, like Allie, she cares about what people think about her appearance. If someone calls her ugly, she’ll brush it off. but she does get hurt by that kind of thing.

—    preferences.

▸     indoors    or   outdoors? Outdoors

▸     rain    or   sunshine? Sunshine

▸     forest    or   beach? Forest

▸     precious    metals   or    gems? She’s naturally more drawn towards precious metals, in any of her verses. Of course, in powers it’s generally because she has some sort of control over them.

▸     flowers    or   perfumes? Flowers (again, in powers it’s because she can control them).

▸     personality    or   appearance?  Personality. Mostly because if they have a personality that can deal with hers, they’ll likely get on really well.

▸     being    alone   or    being    in   a    crowd? Definitely being in a crowd. She is usually the loudest voice, and you’d be looking around for the source

▸     order    or   anarchy? A tough one, but Jodie likes both depending on the situation. Regardless, she will be the first to cause chaos in any group.

▸  painful    truths    or   white    lies?  Painful truths. She would rather hear the truth than find out it was a lie later on.

▸     science    or   magic? Magic sounds a whole lot more appealing to her, in all honesty.

▸     peace    or   conflict? Jodie will be the first to dive straight into a conflict, but not because she likes it. She’s naturally the kind of person who wants to create peace asap. Even if you have to create conflict to get there.

▸     night    or   day?  Day.

▸     dusk    or   dawn?  Dusk. Jodie actually likes going for runs in the evening, especially as the sun sets.

▸     warmth    or   cold?  Warmth, though she burns in the summer and does far better in the winter, particularly when it snows.

▸     many   acquaintances    or    a   few    close    friends? A bit of both. She enjoys having those close to her that she can trust, but she also likes hanging with many people she calls “friends” but are really acquaintances, just to chill and joke around.

▸     reading    or   playing    a    game? Games, all the way. Jodie likes to be kept active, both physically and mentally. Give her a good game of Mario Kart, Twister, or (one of her personal favourites) Uno.

—    questionnaire.

▸     what    are   some    of    your   muse’s    bad    habits?

She is very loud and argumentative, and that can be off-putting for many. The only times you won’t catch her in her usual state are when she’s feeling vulnerable. She is also quick to insult and slow to apologise, and can be incredibly aggressive at times.

▸     has    your   muse    lost    anyone   close    to    them?     how    has   it    affected    them?

This usually depends on the verse, but in canon? Her father left her mum because he was, in her words, “a cheating bastard and mum deserved better”. Of course, not long after this, she left her ex at the altar because he was stealing from her. So really, her romantic trust in men has been damaged more than even she realises.

In powers, the next most developed verse I have for her, she still loses her dad and is pretty jaded about it, and she also ends up losing a member of their team, Bryce, who ends up becoming an antihero and a double-spy of sorts. Of course, she didn’t know this, initially thinking he’d turned evil, and in a way it’s made her a lot more ruthless with people who hurt others. Mostly because Bryce nearly killed Alex.

▸     what    are   some    fond    memories   your    muse    has?

Most of the memories are childhood memories, generally of her time with Allie and Mandy before they all moved away from each other. Meeting Allie for the first time, meeting Mandy for the first time, and various times they played at the park or in the playground together definitely come to mind. Of course, she also has some fond memories from secondary school, mostly of her messing around with her best friends, and more often than not they include Obed calling them all idiots as they all collapse laughing.

▸     is   it    easy    for   your    muse    to   kill?

In canon, no. She doesn’t want to kill. She does, however, know how to shoot.

In powers, it is easy. Theoretically. A flick of her wrist, and she could strangle someone with vines. But she would have to be very angry for that to happen, and she tries not to do anything beyond serious harm. She doesn’t want someone’s death on her conscience.

▸     what’s    it   like    when    your   muse    breaks    down?

Jodie often tries to shut herself away before she completely breaks down, but when she does she’s very quiet and generally very shaky. She’s also a lot more prone to being hurt by words, because she just absorbs everything people say as she breaks down.

▸     is    your   muse    capable    of   trusting    someone    with   their    life?

Yes, mostly because she needs to. She trusts her best friends because they’re her best friends, but she of all people knows that people have to be trusted to stay alive. Because she can’t watch her own back.

▸     what’s    your   muse    like    when   they’re    in    love?

Jodie tries to act nonchalant, she really does, but it doesn’t always work. She’s the kind to be a lot more brash and playful with the individual she likes, but overall she pays a lot more attention to them. The turning point, or the point where she realises that she’s also in love with them, is where she finds herself going to them for comfort instead of Allie or Mandy. Putting anyone above her best friends is a scary thing to her, and if she does that means you hold a special place in her heart.

Tagged by: @lokitheliesmith

Tagging: @astrologicallyperfect/@sxpersquad, @a-simple-rper, @mirror-image-rp, @sxilingthegalaxy, @damagedbyfate, @thegallantspirit/@parttimemuses, @musesofthenight, @detholmes, @thexcourageous and anyone else who would like to!

[geezertcyclist]

I have been meaning to add my list of lessons learned.  I include  it below. I also plan to post a list of where I stopped my bike each day, maybe in a few days. I hope this helps others trying to bicycle across the country.

Lessons learned:

Bullet points for those who don't want to slog through  the text: -Granny gear and preparation -Start date -Route planning     -Motels -Days off -Routine -Food -Bike trails I found -Equipment

Granny gear and preparation - I live in flat land, so it was very important to make some practice rides over the mountain passes in Washington. In 2016 and 2017 I drove out to Washington and rode my bike over the four mountain passes. I learned that I needed a granny gear to climb over those passes. My current lowest gear is 28 teeth on the front sprocket and 32 teeth on the rear. The mountain  passes in Washington are very long and steep, the most difficult climbs of the entire biking journey. I'm glad that I had the granny gear or this bike ride might have ended right near the start.

Start date - I planned to take a break around July 4th to attend some family get togethers.  So I decided to do half before the break and half after the break.  That put me starting on May 15. That is a very early start. I was lucky this year. Washington pass had opened  about a week before I started. I was also lucky that it did not snow on me while I was riding. Anyone starting this ride before June 15 has to be prepared  for snow on these mountain passes. 

Route planning - I planned to go from west to east and take advantage of the prevailing westerly winds. I used MapMyRide.com to plan out most of my daily routes.  But as I got close, I drove some of the route to see for myself. That was especially important on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. The official Olympic Discovery bike trail takes you on Highway 20 from the intersection of Highways 101 and 20, but the first 6 miles of Highway 20 are steep and winding.  There is no shoulder and with all the logging trucks and other traffic on highway 20, they recommend taking highways 104 and 19 to bypass this dangerous section. It is 20 miles farther. I took the bypass. I recommend that to anyone taking  this route. I originally planned to average 80 miles per day. While the  weather was cooler in May and early June, I was able to make a pace near that, but as the weather got hotter in July and August, I found that it was better to plan on 60 miles per  day. 

Motels - I planned this journey using the support vehicle driven by my wife. I had less gear on my bike because I could keep most of my gear in the car. Also the SAG vehicle could stop and help me with cool water on hot days and a dry place when it rained. At the beginning we thought that the car  could pick me up if  I did not make it all the way to the motel. Near the beginning we tried this. At Marblemount WA I was able  to go 20 miles extra one day. The  next day the SAG vehicle took me to that point. That made a 90 mile climb over Washington pass only 70 miles. But as we traveled farther, we found that it was  difficult to get both of us up and out of the motel  to take the bike to the starting point. Things worked better when I could wake  early and leave the motel by myself.    Then my wife could sleep in and check out of the motel about 10 am. She would stop by along the way and check on me about 11. Then proceed to the next city.  If I needed help, we had cell phones to keep in contact. 

Also my wife was the one who contacted motels and made reservations. We needed reservations ahead of time because many times the motels were full when we arrived. She checked out reviews on TripAdvisor and most of the time we had good places to stay. Over this whole trip we only had a couple places that were "dumps." But they were also the best spot in that city. Again this whole adventure would have ground to a halt without the help of my wife driving the vehicle and setting up the lodging. 

Days off  - From the beginning I planned to take Sunday off from riding. We would find a local church to attend and have one day out of seven to  rest and recuperate. I found that by doing this I was able to keep riding each day and each week I kept making progress.  At my age (67) I think that I needed that break.

We also planned a two  week break at the midway point. This was very good for recuperation of my body, but it also allowed me to have my bike get a tune up and a new chain.

Routine - As the journey progressed we settled into a routine. I pumped the tires up the night before. I would wake at 5:30 or 5:45. I would put on Boudreaux's Butt Paste and dress in my riding clothes. I would check the weather and review  the route for the day on line. I would do my stretches, lube the chain on the bike, check for my fluids and fruit. I took two Advils and ate breakfast. I usually started riding at 6:36. Near the last few weeks I would finish about noon or 1 pm.  We would check into the motel early. I would take a shower. Then eat some lunch. 

At the beginning we thought that I would have time to read books or perhaps sit in a chair to take a break along the way. We brought chairs and a box of books for the first half of the journey. We found that I had little time for either,  so we left these things behind on the second half of the ride. Less weight and less hassle. 

Food - I found that chocolate  milk was the best rejuvenating beverage at the end of  a day of riding. Most days I had a breakfast with eggs, potatoes, toast,  orange juice and  a banana.Each night I ate big - having steak or a large piece of chicken.  I only lost four pounds,  but I did lose about an 1 and a half off my waist. 

Bike Trails - I used the Olympic Discovery trail in Washington state. A key section  was under construction this  year, so I took Highway 101 for most of  the  Olympic peninsula. 

I found the Historical trail and took it through Kalispell MT. I used the North Star Bicycle Route in Minnesota toward St. Paul.  I also used the Mississippi River Trail from Hastings MN  into Iowa. 

Near Chicago I used the McHenry County Prairie trail, the Fox River Trail, the Prairie Path, and the Salt Creek trail.In Ohio I used the North Coast Inland Trail. I really liked the Western Reserve Greenway trail from Warren to Austinburg.

In New York I used Bike route 517 and Bike Route 5 (the Erie Canal Trail). I also used the Erie Canalway Trail. Route 5 is an on road signed trail,  while the Canalway trail is mostly on the towpath of  the old Erie canal. The Canalway trail went through Rochester without going  on surface streets. But in Syracuse I needed to go on surface streets through town.

The Cape Cod Rail Trail was very good, paved and shaded, but I only used it for about 5 miles total. 

Equipment - I mentioned about the granny gear above. I used a hybrid bike - The Specialized Sirrus Disc model purchased at the Wheel Thing in Lagrange Park IL.  The highest gear  was 48:11 front to back, and the lowest gear was 28:32 front to back. 

I used metal toe clips. They are no longer available commercially. Some of the metal toe pieces started breaking last  year.  One of my brothers fixed it with wires, but the other side broke in the last week. So I wired up the other side with green floral wire, as can be seen in the photo. On the last day I noticed that the other pedal broke. It is time to buy new ones. They will be plastic, and I have used plastic on  my other bike. It should work fine. I liked toe clips  over  cleats. That way I could use regular  gym shoes.  Others prefer cleats. This worked  fine for me.

[sallyannthearts]

Hiking for Princesses 2

How To Prepare for a Hiking adventure when You’re a City Princess

Pic: Day One when all was still well and I could still balance well enough on a steep rock to take this photo. 

A real princess is one who lives in fantasy whilst still having her toes touching reality, no matter how harsh it may seem. In that sense, signing up for this trip wasn’t on a silly girly whim. I knew that there’d be tough times ahead but I also didn’t want to think too much about it. 

One thing that I knew I’d be okay with and was ready to do was: NOT TO SHOWER FOR 6 DAYS... and probably crap in a hole in nature. 

I’d signed up before the summer holidays and told myself that I’d be dancing every single day at summer dance camp while hiking on the weekends to prepare for this feat. But just before the summer holidays began, I found myself with a severe ankle sprain after having fallen off a chair during a dance in Cabaret the Musical. I couldn’t walk properly for the next 1 month. Oh Oh. 

Pic: Early stages of rehearsal during Cabaret the Musical by ECM Paris at Theatre de la Variete, Paris. I wore heels to dance in the show. 

So, in total, Andro, reason 1/2 of why I was going for this torture trip and I only trained like, twice for the trip. The first time we did so was around our backyard from Paris 5th arrondissement to Parc Montsouris where we ended up having a tasty lunch with beers. 

Pic: If only she’d known back then what awaited her. 

The second time we ‘trained’ was in Dieppe with 8 bottles of milk in my bag pack and we walked over slippery rocks at the beach with the tide threatening to come in close to wash over us (dangerous thing to do). That was more like it and already, I thought I was dying from lack of stamina. I shivered at the thought of the 110km. But summer was very hot in Paris for the next remaining weeks so... we didn’t train anymore. 

Pic: Day One when we arrived at the first viewpoint/ eating place with LapDonalds hamburgers for sale and I thought this was going to be an easy breeze. 

SO, if you’re going to sign up for a Classic Fjallraven Hike or anything like that, one thing I do advise you is: TRAIN FOR IT or at least have good enough stamina because I have to thank the Gods for my youthful energy and dance background for having saved me by the latter. 

Also, another note that would be elaborated later: LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR EQUIPMENT because not everyone will be lucky enough to have an Andro to help you through it all. 

Pic: This is an Andro. He was the one who helped me and two other girls survive this trip by teaching us how to really set up our tent and to use our bunsen burners amongst other camping tricks.

Photo credit: Michael Mead (a.k.a Jesus because he came to join forces with the Andro to help us girls along the way; to be continued). 

Now question about your packing list, what do you really need in that bag of yours? 

I got most of my stuff from Decathlon and their equipment proved to be very good. My undergarments came from Ice Breaker, full 100% Merino wool of comfort and cleanliness which makes every cringing penny you spend SO worthwhile. 

YOUR HIKING PRINCESS PACKING LIST:  

1) A Waterproof Bagpack (YES WATERPROOF IN SWEDEN!!! You will soon read why.) Mine was a 60L one which was just enough and nice for a little body like mine. Anything lesser would be tough to keep everything in for a 6 day hike like this. It also comes with a waterproof bag cover, worth the buck! 

2) Waterproof Boots (Decathlon, mine came with pink laces!) I remember telling my boyfriend that I didn’t wanna get mud on them when I first used them. HA. Ha. 

3) CLOTHES: 

-Base layer: 100% Merino Wool bra and panties (Ice Breaker) Yes, they’re expensive but they’re well worth it! You’ll smell like roses even after six days of rain and not changing them. 

-Extra base layer (if it’s cold because the weather in Sweden can go from hot summer to freezing cold winter with snow): 100% Merino Wool long johns and top (or sleep naked in the ice cold like me because you love your sister more than your comfort and you gave her your long johns to sleep in whilst your soaking wet pants tried to dry in vain in the rain) 

-Middle layer: A odour-proof, sweat-proof basic T-Shirt (Decathlon) 

-Top Layers a.k.a the dozens of Jackets you’ll put on if it’s super cold: 

1st Jacket: Basic Fleece Polar (Mine was from Uniqlo) 

2nd jacket: Feather down Jacket (Mine was a pink one from Gap, pictured above) Get one that’s easy to pack and very light so that you don’t add more weight. 

3rd jacket: Waterproof & Windproof Jacket with Hoodie (Mine was a green one you see above from Decathlon, a $20 euros deal that saved my life!) 

-Rainy layer: Huge Poncho (Decathlon) that can fit your bag pack inside too. Choose wisely for you will look like hunchback or if you prefer, like my sister, a cute orange spongebob. 

Pic: The Orange Spongebob, nicknamed after my boyfriend when we were looking out for her in the distance.

-Head layer: A beanie because even your ears will freeze if you are blessed with weather like ours. 

-Neck layer: An all purpose scarf/headband (Decathlon) 

-Hair: Bring hair ties to tie your hair up! 

-Hands: Winter gloves that can withstand rain (Or 1 single glove because you love your sister and gave her yours only for her to find hers and lost 1 out of 2 of your gloves and so you continued the hike with one aching hand all the way) 

-Bottom Layer: One pair of Waterproof pants that can be turned into shorts (Decathlon); actually, bring 2 pairs because if it rains, I’d rather save you from the horrors of sleeping in 0 degree Celsius naked. Also, if you’re a less adventurous princess, sleeping in your bed with the same muddy pants may not be your cup of tea as I did during my adventure. 

4) FOOD & DRINKS: 1 Lifestraw water bottle 50ml (You’ll keep passing beautiful streams and rivers of nice fresh water but still this built-in filter assures 99,999% of bacteria and virus killed); 1 pot and pan with utensils, 1 bunsen burner beaker (they'll provide you with gas), 1 lighter or matches (bring your own and don’t make the mistake like us of sharing only one! But hey, now we have a matchbox from Salka as a souvenir!)  !!! Bring your own energy bars and chocolate and all that guilty crap you couldn’t eat back in the city because of well, fat. YOU CAN SNICKERS YOUR WAY THROUGH IT THIS TIME! Hello, guilt-free eating! 

Pic: DO NOT get the Creamy Salmon with Pasta from Real Turmat. Neither do I recommend the beef and lamb stews. Instead, the best were Chicken & Lime, Kebab Stew, Curry Chicken and Chilli Con Carne! 

5) BEAUTY: Vaseline (For your feet blisters), Blister pads & Hand plasters, thick creamy facial cream (with 20SF sunscreen in case you get some sun suddenly popping out), Flip Flops (Even in the cold, to let your feet breath), Toothbrush & Toothpaste (although I only used them twice in 6 days), polarised sunglasses, small microfibre towel, lip balm, hair oil, mosquito stick (in case), 1 roll of toilet paper, 1 small anti-bacteria hand wash. 

6) MEDICATION: Panadol, Diarrhoea pills, Muscle ache roll-ons (DO NOT get the ones that cools instead of heats else you’ll end up feeling intense cold on certain parts laughing in semi-hypothermia like me).

<!!! Contact Lenses: 

I’ve tried looking for blog posts about advice on wearing contact lenses when hiking and camping in the wild but to no avail. So here it is: TO WEAR OR NOT TO WEAR YOUR CONTACTS? 

Yes, YOU CAN WEAR THEM. How? Dailies. Wash your hands beforehand or use a small bottle of eyedrops to wash your hands and then put them on, preferably with the help of a tent if not you’ll be surrounded by three other people like my sister whilst she tried hard to put them on in the wind and rain.> 

7) Walking Sticks (2 of them because you’ll thank the vision of yourself at age 90 walking with these sticks when you’re at 25km and limping in the cold towards the next checkpoint) 

8) TENT (Spend on your tent, seriously! The Green ones most of the Singaporean team got from NatureHike was not suitable for the cold weather at all! Your Tent is your Home. It’ll motivate and help you to stay strong. More to come about my horror Tent story later) 

There goes, my Princess Hiker Packing List. I also brought a book and a packet of Monopoly deal, neither which were ever used. My bag was one of the lightest  from the start because we spent on the newest and lightest quality equipment, all of which your back and shoulders would thank you later. 

Pic: With one of the lightest bag packs at less than 10.5kg amongst the 2200 participants of this year’s Fjallraven that had an average of 15kg to a whopping 25kg+, I was set for a breezy walk, wasn’t I? 

So, with about $500 euros per person spent on equipment. I was ready for the 110km adventure wasn’t I? 

Click here to READ ABOUT THE WORST CLASSIC FJALLRAVEN SWEDEN 110KM HIKING YEAR EVER AND HOW IT BECAME THE BEST. 

[livinginlandmarketing]

In late January, Mammoth Mountain was hit with more than 100 inches of snow just as Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the latest stay-at-home order.

And, while the fresh powder beckoned cooped-up eager skiers and riders, it also was a pivotal lesson in how resort officials would navigate this year’s season amid tight COVID-19 restrictions while still providing a fun place to enjoy the outdoor winter wonderland in the High Sierra. The resort opened on Nov. 13, after the longest off-season in its history.

“It was quite a weekend,” said Stacey Cook, who heads up the mountain’s newly created COVID-19 Enforcement Team. “The storm kept building in the forecast and at the same time, we saw the stay-at-home order being lifted. It was the perfect storm.”

Crowds began forming at the few open lifts across the vast mountain and wait times stretched to as long as 55 minutes. Access to the mountain was limited to IKON pass holders and advance paid ticket sales. By that weekend, resort officials announced the mountain was “sold out.”

“Everyone showed up all at once,” Cook said. “We wanted to make sure we had safe operations and waited until ski patrol finished their avalanche blasts. I don’t know if any communication would have suppressed the guests’ stoke.”

Then, two weeks later, the mountain got some more fresh powder with about 18 more inches. Skiing conditions were much better and the mountain opened a lot sooner. The next fresh snowfall is expected Wednesday, March 10 and the mountain is expected to provide skiing and riding until at least Memorial Day. The summit now has 224 inches and Main Lodge has 184 inches.

To keep its guests safe, Mammoth Mountain has invested $1 million in COVID-19-related resort enhancements. This includes new technologies and sanitization procedures to help with physical distancing and public health and to reduce contact points throughout the resort.

Skiers and boarders wait in lift lines near Canyon Lodge, where COVID-19 restrictions are in place. (Photo by Erika Ritchie, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Skiing in the COVID era

That late January weekend was eye-opening as crowds began forming at the lift lines. Masks are required indoors, in lift lines and on lifts, in gondolas, shuttles, and when social distancing with others outside who are not part of your travel group.

Cook’s team members — dressed in orange vests — were on hand to make sure guests had their noses and mouths covered and that kept a 6-foot distance. Bandanas and gaiters are already part of many skiers or riders’ gear, so that part wasn’t that difficult, officials said.

But, some who tried to grab a sip of a beverage or maybe cool down after an exhilarating run and pulled down their face coverings were quickly and politely addressed.

“A lot of it is observation and talking to guests,” Cook said. “How do we make them believe what we’re doing is necessary? We’re constantly battling the misconception of being outside without a mask is OK.”

Chris Dahl, a lift operator who is on Cook’s team, brought an unusual amount of enthusiasm to the waiting lines at Chair 5. He’s found a way to make COVID-compliance fun by bringing a sort of entertainment to the crowd.

“It’s almost a whole year into the pandemic and I can see a lot of people are pretty tired of it,” said Dahl, of Fullerton, who is working his first season on the mountain. “I take that attitude because it helps make my experience more fun. I think people gravitate towards it because they’re also excited about being on the mountain and they want someone to share the energy with.”

Since the first storm, Dahl said he gets a good level of compliance but sees better cooperation from California residents than those who come to Mammoth from out-of-state.

The lift lines are distanced. For skiers, that isn’t too hard; it means lining up tail-to-tail and, for some, including just about one more foot of separation.

“We do get some people who squeeze up tight,” Cook said.

The late January storm showed Cook and her team how to get ahead of the game. In some cases, that meant opening lifts earlier and getting ahead of any crowds forming by the beginning of the day.

“That weekend, we were never able to get people spaced out.”

The COVID team works with mountain hosts — part-time workers and local volunteers dressed in yellow vests — to advise skiers and riders where to go on the mountain.

Three-step enforcement

While the majority of guests comply with the COVID protocols, Cook said some balk. But, the mountain has a three-step plan for non-compliance. Many times the mistakes are innocent and people have either forgotten or aren’t aware.

“We correct the mistake and we’re nice about it,” Cook said. The second time it happens, we educate them on why it’s important and how we’d like to keep the mountain open. The third time, corrective action is taken; it’s noted in their profile.”

Each guest has a profile whether they are an IKON Pass holder or not. A first warning is noted in the profile. The second time non-compliance happens, their ski pass is turned off for a week. If it happens a third time, the pass is revoked for the season.

Cook said a lot of notes have been made in profiles and more than a dozen passes have been revoked so far this season.

COVID protocols have also affected the Panorama gondola that travels to the summit. It no longer picks passengers up at McCoy Station at mid-mountain. Those who ride must board at Main Lodge where capacity is limited to single households. The Village Gondola — which runs from Canyon Lodge to the Village at Mammoth — limits capacity to 25% with open windows, even in inclement weather. Seating is arranged to ensure a six-foot distance between people from different households.

If you want to get more proficient at taking turns, ski and board lessons are private to ensure only people within a household are placed together.

Mammoth Mountain basking in sunlight after a recent storm. (Photo by Christian Pondella, Mammoth Mountain)

Lodges and après-ski

And, with the restrictions on the mountain, there are similar safety measures being taken at all of the resorts’ lodges.

Hand washing and sanitizing stations are placed throughout lodges at the resort. Places like railings, bathrooms, door handles, tables and chairs are being disinfected regularly.

Guests will miss some of the traditional ski getaway fun like eating hearty breakfasts and lunches inside lodges, having a place to warm up a shivering child with hot cocoa and the ever-popular and expected après-ski at some of the mountains’ bars and restaurants.

While the lodges aren’t open to gather, there is plenty of outdoor seating where visitors can enjoy takeout food and drinks. The mountain also has opportunities for advanced ordering and pickup options through the Mammoth Mobile App. There are also pop-ups on the mountain where guests can pick up drinks and snacks.

At Canyon Lodge, for example, the ever-popular Canyon Beach has been a place to hang out socially distanced while relishing the pure joy of a bluebird ski day. At Main Lodge, there’s plenty of space on the sun decks outside with views to the mountain’s famed Unbound Terrain Parks.

“It’s not the same experience, but it’s still a good experience,” Cook said. “Have a plan to grocery shop or eat lunch in your car. Call and ask questions, look on our website and don’t come unprepared. Our employees don’t want to be the police. This is a place to be kind and enjoy life. Show up with an attitude of fun and patience.”

In Mammoth Lakes, all restaurants are open for outdoor dining, takeout and delivery.

The best place for a fun après-ski is likely your lodging. If you need to stock up for groceries and want to avoid large groups and long lines, avoid times between 3 and 10 p.m., especially on Friday and Saturday.

While COVID may have changed some of the experience, Mammoth’s terrain remains amazing. The wide-open bowls, steep canyons and long groomers are there to welcome eager skiers and boarders back. Here are some of the best ski runs that just may make you feel “normal” again.

A skier is covered in powder on Mammoth Mountain. (Photo by Peter Morning, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area)

EXPERT

Hangman’s Hollow: Perched near the summit of Mammoth and accessed by the gondola, Hangman’s Hollow is an adrenaline junkie’s dream. Large rock faces and drops take you through the “hollow” and into a powdery landing. This run requires skill and bravery.

Climax: Towering just below the gondola, Climax is a steep, daunting run that provides some of the best turns on the mountain. Drop over the edge and get buttery turns. Funnel through a few chutes; then it’s back to wide, fun slashes to the bottom. Don’t fall because you’ll have an audience watching from the gondolas above.

Dropout Chutes: The Dropout Chutes, which take skiers right under Chair 23, are filled with some of the best snow on the mountain because they capture the Mammoth “wind buff.” Skiers and riders pass by large rock formations in a tight chute and then hit wide, long, grin-inducing turns that are hard to beat.

West Bowl: Some of the best “first tracks” on the mountain on a powder day. On an average day, it can be a technical mogul field. Accessed from Face Lift Express, West Bowl requires a slightly technical traverse to drop in; then it’s a wide-open bowl, usually all to yourself.

Paranoid Flats: The “Noids,” as locals call them, may not feature the rocky chutes of some other double black trails, but they are steep, fast and require a little finesse to access. Whether you choose 1, 2, 3 or 4, Paranoids give a run of a lifetime when they’re hit right.

Avalanche Chutes: Off Lincoln Mountain and Chair 22, the “Avy Chutes” are a ton of fun for advanced skiers or riders — especially after a storm. Chair 22 is an option when the top of the mountain is closed. You can get fresh, steep tracks while snow falls. The chutes collect a lot of snow, and a short hike takes you over to a choice of three.

Boarders cruise groomed runs above Canyon Lodge. (Photo by Erika Ritchie, Orange County Register/SCNG)

INTERMEDIATE

Road Runner: Road Runner takes skiers and riders on a scenic 3-mile tour of the backside, all the way back to Main Lodge. The views of the Minaret Range will take your breath away, but don’t get too distracted — there’s a steep dropoff on your side.

Stump Alley: It’s a misleading name. Stump Alley is actually a wide treeless run with tons of space to work on turns. With just enough pitch to pick up some acceleration, you can carve down at full speed and treat yourself to some pulled pork nachos at The Mill at the bottom. This tame blue run has varying conditions and can be confidence-inspiring.

Solitude: Taking you from the top to the bottom of High Five Express, Solitude is fun and wide. If you’re feeling adventurous, the left of the run is lined with trees you can cut between and find hidden pockets of powder. Just make sure you don’t cut through the trees completely, or you’ll find yourself going down the more advanced Face of Five trail. Solitude is the perfect practice for making turns down steeper terrain or to get comfortable picking up downhill speed.

Gold Hill: Starts off at the top of Cloud Nine Express, which is known for having some of the best snow after a storm. Gold Hill definitely provides that for the intermediate skier or rider. It’s a long run with tons of fun side hits, tree runs and powder stashes.

White Bark Ridge: If you’re looking for a relaxed run off the backside of Mammoth, head over to Chair 12 or 13 and take some laps on White Bark Ridge. Shorter than Road Runner, White Bark Ridge provides amazing views and is less of a thigh burner.

A view of The Minarets — a series of jagged peaks — visible from Chair 16 on Mammoth Mountain. (Photo by Erika Ritchie, Orange County Register/SCNG)

BEGINNER

Sesame Street: If you’re at Main Lodge, Sesame Street can be a good place to build confidence on the slopes. It’s an easy run with access to beginner freestyle terrain. Sesame Street has some of the best views of the top of the mountain to give you something to work toward.

School Yard: Out of Canyon Lodge, head to School Yard to learn your heel from your toe turns. School Yard is a long, easy beginner run that is a perfect place for all age levels.

Pumpkin: Out of Eagle Lodge, Pumpkin is a long, mellow run perfect for beginners to get comfortable on the snow. Often with fewer crowds than other beginner runs, Pumpkin has space to learn how to nail your turns.

Wonderland Playground: This is the perfect space to learn and get comfortable in the park, whether you’re new to freestyle terrain or just looking to have some fun. With small jumps, ride-on boxes and rails and an 11-foot halfpipe, this is the place to start your park progression to the big leagues.

St. Moritz: If you’re feeling comfortable on the beginner slopes but aren’t quite ready to make the jump to an intermediate run, check out St. Moritz. Take the Panorama Gondola to McCoy Station and make your way down the wide, mellow beginning of Stump Alley toward the top of Forest Trail. St. Moritz is an advanced beginner run that takes you back to Main Lodge and allows you to gain more confidence on the mountain before hitting intermediate runs.

  -on March 05, 2021 at 01:36AM by Erika I. Ritchie

[simul16]

Rime of the Frostmaiden Follow-Up

Something that annoys me about the adventure is how blase people are about the situation. "Just another gruesome day in Icewind Dale" says the opening "read this to the players". No it's not! "The tavern is abuzz with talk of"... How can the taverns be abuzz? And how can it be on any topic other than "How are we going to survive the next week". The rest of the adventure reads like this is just a normal, if severe, winter, rather than the apocalypse ( and it IS the apocalypse, albeit a very local one). The locals seem to have an attitude of "Oho! Cold enough for you? Ah you weak southerner". But buddy, you're not surviving this either. I can see how the villages with pop of 100-200 might survive by hunting or ice fishing, but even then: After a year of winter, there should be no more fish: Not because the humans have eaten them all, but because the fish themselves have no food. Hunting and ice fishing is how they weather a normal winter. I was listening to the Dragon Talk podcast and the question of how the bees of Goodmead have survived. This was answered by saying they live in the mead house which is kept heated. And I can see this is how the bees survive a normal winter, but what are they eating? There are no flowers and have not been for 2 years, and yet the bees are not only surviving, they are still producing enough honey to make enough mead to supply the entire region. Even assuming the people of 10 towns are getting food shipped in ( And they're not, more of that later ) or have magical means of food production ( cauldrons of plenty, create food and water, goodberry, which requires a level of casual magic 10 town's doesn't have and I'm not willing to give it ), we're looking at total ecological collapse last year. No more reindeer, fish, moose, crag cats, yetis, gnolls, etc etc. - tolcreator, post on ENWorld.org

My somewhat hasty and casual critique of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden was largely based on the issues I had with the structure of the adventure, with a few nods made toward odd choices in content. Then I read the post quoted above on ENWorld's message boards, and became even more regretful of my decision to purchase the adventure.

The criticisms in tolcreator's post are spot-on: the adventure explicitly states that "the average temperature in Icewind Dale is -49 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 degrees Celsius)" (p.11), and that Auril's ritual "prevents the next day's sun from rising above the horizon, turning midday into twilight and trapping Icewind Dale in winter's dark embrace, with no sunlight or warmth to melt the snow and ice." (p.5) Under these circumstances, no sunlight gets into the lakes to cause plants to grow to feed the fish that the residents of Ten Towns have, up til now, used as the primary staple of their diet. Flowers don't bloom, so the bees of the town of Goodmead, said in a podcast to be living in the meadhouse for warmth, have no place to gather pollen and nectar to feed themselves, much less to allow the residents to produce their normal quantity of fermented honey wine. If this had just recently started going on, it would be a catastrophe in the making, but as the adventure points out that this has been happening "for more than two years" (p.5); adventurers arriving in Ten Towns shouldn't discover adventure, but widespread death and ecological catastrophe.

However, some still try to defend the details of the adventure. A different poster, TheSword, summarizes all the individual responses to tolcreator's original argument:

It's a magical world with magical animals and plants.

While it is true that the Forgotten Realms has much more magic than our Earth, that magic is limited; not everything is magical, and for the most part, magic doesn't really impact peoples' daily lives. Much of the Realms is merely exotic, not outright magical. For example, instead of musk oxen, the people of Ten Towns domesticate axe-beaks, oversized birds like arctic ostriches, as pack animals. The bees of Goodmead aren't magical -- they're normal bees, and the 'knucklehead trout' which are one of the signature beasts of the region also aren't magical, just very large, strong fish.

Not to mention that if there was a magical grain that could grow in the near absence of sunlight and in devastatingly low temperatures, a great deal of what we'd think of as the horror of Icewind Dale's predicament disappears -- if the people have the means of surviving in this 'eternal winter', just as they did before, then there's not really much point in using the 'eternal winter' as a means of providing urgency to the PCs actions in the adventure. After all, the people are doing OK.

The ecology of a fantasy world can be better adapted to extremes.

This is true, but trivial. You can just as easily say that some human cultures on Earth have better adapted to extreme ecological conditions, but if you don't explain how this happens, and what impact it has on those cultures, then you're not really saying anything with any signficance. Being able to explain how a culture like the Inuit or the Yanomamo, who dwell in extreme ecological conditions on Earth, are able to survive and even thrive to some degree goes a long way toward explaining the human capacity for adaptation, and helps define the limits of what kinds of cultures humans are capable of creating. Just saying, 'eh, the Inuit survive in the northern climes of Canada, so our culture could do the same' is over-simplistic hand-waving and is arguably untrue -- modern technological culture would likely only survive in the state we know it in by making significant changes to the ecology of northern Canada; without the ability to make those changes, our culture would likely change to much more closely resemble that of the Inuit, simply because environment informs and can even dictate culture and modes of survival.

And again, if the residents of Ten Towns have actually adapted to the eternal winter, what's the rush to resolve the problem?

Druids can help keep ecology alive more than we could expect.

Druidic magic in D&D actually would have a profound impact on a culture's ability to adapt to changing ecological conditions, so bringing up this point is a good one. Unfortunately, the adventure itself presents good reason why this wouldn't be much benefit to Ten Towns. First, in the section on Magic in Ten Towns, the adventure points out that there are no high-level spell casters in Ten Towns, and that one person in a hundred dwelling in Ten Towns is a "friendly druid, priest, or mage". Here's the official census for each of the ten towns:

Bremen = 150

Bryn Shander = 1200

Caer-Dineval = 100

Caer-Konig = 150

Dougan's Hole = 50

Easthaven = 750

Good Mead = 100

Lonelywood = 100

Targos = 1000

Termalaine = 600

Fewer than half the locations in Ten Towns have a population large enough to possess more than one of these special individuals, and while I don't want to get hung up on the 'druid, priest, or mage' description to say that these professions are equally probable, it's pretty clear that some number of places in Ten Towns won't have a druid to assist them.

This is important due to the other factor noted by the adventure: Auril's ritual and its effects have also "heightened rivalries that have simmered for years, turning neighboring towns against one another as competition for resources becomes increasingly intense." (p.19) So even if there is a druid in Easthaven -- a decent bet given their population -- that druid is going to either be disinclined or be persuaded by the powers-that-be in their town to not provide assistance to their rivals, in this case Caer-Dineval and Caer-Konig, either of which is small enough that it might not have a druid of its own.

The biggest problem, though, is that some portion of these druids and priests are going to be servitors of Auril herself, and will not be providing assistance, but rather enforcing the sacrifices that Auril demands of each of the Ten Towns (Sacrifices to Auril, p.21)

Lastly, if there were one or more druids trying steadfastly to maintain the ecology of Icewind Dale in the face of Auril's ritual, you'd think that interacting with and assisting those druids would be part of the adventure, given how fitting such an interaction would be to the adventure's setting and themes. It isn't.

Priests would be expected to support their communities with magic where possible.

This is really just a subset of the previous point -- as noted, many communities won't be large enough to have a priest (though most should have either a priest or a druid), and even those that do likely have a priest or druid of Auril as their representative, which isn't actually going to help. And due to the increased competition for resources, communities without such assistance can't rely on getting it from communities that have it.

Winter stores would exist that would allow people and livestock to survive albeit weakened and in a depleted state.

This is superficially a good point -- after all, cultures have been laying in stores for the winter for generations, even centuries. There should be some reserve that the residents of Ten Towns are tapping to remain alive. And if the crisis had started just a few months before, that would be a reasonable argument to make. After all, when that first winter began, the residents would already have put aside enough supplies to get through the normal expected winter period, with maybe a bit extra just in case of a late thaw. If it was now supposed to be mid-summer after the first such winter, some folks might be out of supplies, while others are just getting down to the last meager scraps they hoarded the previous fall.

The problem is that this disaster has been going on, by word of law, for "over two years". Not only would no one have put aside that many supplies to survive two entire years of winter (it would be a waste of supplies, for one, since some portion of those supplies wouldn't keep and would need to be discarded anyway, plus nobody expected the winter to go on as long as it has, so would not have seen the need), but the first year of perpetual winter would have hurt the production of new supplies to the point where there would be far less to stash to survive the now harsher second winter.

In fact, given this point, it's really hard to justify that some towns, rather than holding a lottery to determine which of their residents they're going to sacrifice to Auril's demands, simply give up a day's worth of food instead -- in a community where food has been at a premium for a couple of years now, surrendering food is not really much different than consigning the most vulnerable in that community to death, not that the adventure spends any time really pondering that justifiably horrifying conclusion.

Icy temperatures would allow food to be preserved far longer than would be expected normally.

This, again, seems like a reasonable argument -- after all, we have refrigeration and the ability to freeze food to preserve it, and the folks in Icewind Dale can take advantage of the climate to freeze food for no additional cost.

The problem here is two-fold: not every food can be effectively preserved by freezing, and once frozen, the food becomes inedible until thawed and/or cooked, which requires more resources than Ten Towns really have.

Many of the Ten Towns rely on fishing as their main source of protein, and fish can be fairly easily prepared and frozen. Root vegetables like carrots or onions also freeze pretty well. But leafy vegetables like lettuce, celery, and even some root vegetables like radishes don't freeze well. Likewise eggs, which separate and can lose nutritional value as their proteins are broken up by ice crystals. Milk and other dairy products also don't keep well frozen, with most sources saying that, if you do plan to freeze dairy, you should use it within a month or discard it. Starches made from grain also don't keep well when frozen, with rice and pasta being prime examples of foods that don't need to be frozen before cooking, and shouldn't be frozen after cooking.

More importantly, frozen foods can't be eaten while frozen; they need to be reheated before being consumed. Otherwise, the body spends significant energy simply heating the frozen food in your stomach to the point where nutrients can be extracted from it, resulting in fewer calories that can be spent on normal activity. (The frozen food also lowers your internal body temperature, increasing your risk of hypothermia.) And, as noted in the adventure itself ("Fuel Sources", p.19), Ten Towns residents have a relative lack of fuel to use to heat themselves and their food, with wood actually being at a premium and most residents of larger towns relying on whale oil purchased from whalers who work the Sea of Moving Ice. Whale oil stoves do exist, but they are roughly the size of camp stoves we see today that use kerosene or other fuel sources; there's really no such thing as a stove like the ones we see in our kitchens that run on whale oil.

Hunting and fishing still exist.

Yes, but the original poster's point is that they probably shouldn't.

Lake ecology is fairly straightforward: Light is absorbed by plants and bacteria which produces both oxygen for breathing creatures like fish as well as food for those creatures to eat. Temperature is also an important factor because most species of lake creature don't have internal temperature regulation systems and live at whatever temperature the water they dwell in happens to be. As noted by the original poster, Auril's ritual both reduces sunlight and lowers temperature, so not only should the fish be driven into deeper water where the temperature stays close to what they need to remain alive (and thus become harder to catch), but the lack of light reduces plant life, which lowers both the amount of food the fish have to eat as well as the amount of oxygen they have to breathe, noting as well that, the deeper you go in a lake, the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water naturally decreases, as light can't penetrate beyond a certain depth of water and thus photosynthesis to create oxygen is impossible.

A few months into the first unnatural winter, and the fisherman would be complaining about smaller catches and having to work harder to get them. Two years into the crisis, and it would be a small miracle when any fish is pulled from even the largest unfrozen lake.

(And don't think that since fish can normally survive a winter beneath the surface of a frozen lake means that the fish in Icewind Dale would get off scot-free; again, fish survive a winter of the surface of a lake being frozen by going into a torpor, using less oxygen, and feeding on the plant life that remains uneaten in the unfrozen portions of the lake. If the winter goes on too long, the plants that are eaten don't grow back and the oxygen vanishes, and all the fish die. This is why even if you solve the temperature issue by, say, presuming that some of the lakes are fed by geothermally heated streams of underground water, the lack of sunlight still dooms the fish to annihilation.)

The winter has not necessarily always been this bad, it could easily have progressed over time.

This argument is mere wishful thinking -- it is directly contradicted by the adventure's text: "This powerful magic prevents the next day's sun from rising above the horizon, turning midday into twilight...with no sun or warmth to melt the snow and ice." (p.5)

I could see where someone might argue that the effects of the sun being so restricted might have progressed since the first time Auril cast the spell, but all indications are that Auril began casting this ritual during Icewind Dale's winter, so while the effect may certainly have gotten worse, it's not as though the region went from spring or mid-summer and slid back into winter slowly -- it simply never emerged from the winter that started "over two years ago". It also belies that simply ending Auril's casting of the ritual will fix everything overnight -- if it took two years for things to get this bad, then it's going to take some significant amount of time even after things return to 'normal' for the ecology of the area to recover, which again isn't covered in the adventure.

It isn't pitch black (the sun just hasn't risen over the horizon so there absolutely is daylight every day, must not very much and not for long).

In a world where daylight is magical, maybe the difference between actually seeing the sun and getting its light filtered though the atmosphere would be a distinction that made no difference (though I suspect such a world would still have some effect from actually having the sun in the sky, particularly if the sun is itself divine). There are two factors that make this unlikely in the Realms, though.

First off, most plant that we consider crops require direct sunlight and cannot thrive without it. Fruiting vegetables (like tomatoes, which already don't grow in Icewind Dale), most varieties of grain, and even rice need large amounts of direct sunlight to thrive. Some root vegetables can grow with lesser amounts of light (and interestingly, those vegetables also tend to be the ones that are most frost-tolerant), so carrots and the like could likely still be cultivated, but they'd be rather sickly and nutrient-poor compared to their counterparts in warmer, sunnier climes. Similarly, lake plants that feed fish also tend to prefer direct sunlight, and grow poorly in indirect light, which again speaks to the point about fishing above.

Second, that Icewind Dale has this sort of behavior during its winter normally (nobody seems to think that having only four hours of light a day is unnatural, just unnatural for how long it's been going on) suggests that Icewind Dale is close enough to the equivalent of the Arctic Circle on Earth that its summers should feature very long days with 20 or so hours of sun, and its plants would have adapted to that kind of environment much more than to the relative lack of sun in the winter (since the plants do much of their growing and reproducing in the summer and thus would adapt to that environment more than to the winter period when they tend to be in torpor).

Temperatures are average in the wilderness not in protected buildings, carefully designed settlements, crags, ravines, pine forests, glacier lees.

I'm not really sure what the point of this comment is supposed to be.

For starters, the adventure already knows the above, and incorporates it into its text, specifically in the 'snowflake rating' of each community's Comfort. A community with three snowflakes in Comfort (like Bryn Shander) can find decent food and drink and warm beds, but "a one snowflake town might have a cold shed or attic where characters can crash for the night, and that's about it." (p.21) The smaller the community, the more likely it is to be a one-snowflake town, despite the 'carefully designed settlements' noted in the comment above.

More to the point, some communities, unwilling to either sacrifice their citizens or their food to Auril's demands, appease her by forbidding the lighting of fires between dusk and dawn (which, remember, is nearly the entire day), and "[a]nyone who dares to light a fire is savagely beaten." (p.21)

Out in the wilderness, though, a crag, ravine, or 'glacier lee' (whatever that is; my Google search returns Lee Glacier in Antarctica, and the images returned for that search are not glaciers, but scree and other geologic formations formed from retreating glaciers) may protect you from the wind, which might help with the "as much as 80 degrees" colder that the temperature can feel due to wind chill, but doesn't do anything to make that location any warmer in an absolute sense. Caves can be warmer than ambient temperature if there's a heat source, such as a geothermal fissure or nest of creatures, but even there the best you're normally going to get is respite from the wind, not from the cold.

Finally the most important argument to my mind. Things are really really bad here, sacrifice to evil gods, cannibalism, mass starvation and horror are not measures of a society thriving. People are suffering from the issues and are on their last legs. They are doomed if the heroes don't act. Don't worry about calculating precisely when this should have happened. It happens when the PCs arrive.

This is simply the most cynical and dismissive explanation of all, not least of which because of an odd wrinkle when comparing this adventure to another published hardcover adventure.

The idea that sure, there's a lot of bad stuff that's presumed to have been happening here, but none of it has any real impact on anything until the PCs arrive to do something about it is, at its heart, the most horrifying thing about the adventure. It suggests that having communities form a lottery to determine which of them will be exiled into the wilderness to satisfy a deranged goddess, or savagely beating anyone who dares seek respite from the cold, or any of the other ways in which this society has been warped by the events of Auril's ritual are ultimately meaningless unless a 'hero' is there to note it, give their disapproval, and do something to fix it (specifically, go out and beat up the aforementioned deranged goddess). It posits that the people of Ten Towns are basically powerless to deal with the problem themselves, and in the absence of a 'hero' to deal with it for them, have descended into depravity, madness, and horror, on the verge of no longer being a viable civilization.

It's curious that the adventure should go here, especially given WotC's recent statement affirming that they're trying to achieve greater diversity in D&D. After all, an adventure where a party of adventurers arrive on the scene and violently set things back to 'right' has a not insignificant similarity to a story where a 17-year old takes up weapons, travels to a small Wisconsin town, and shoots people he sees as contributing to unrest there. It's one thing to say that these two things aren't equivalent because the adventure is about heroes and the news event clearly doesn't feature heroism, but that depends on who you ask. If Wizards of the Coast really wants to deal with issues of diversity and human dignity in their role-playing game, they need to do a much better job of not supporting these kinds of narratives in their adventures, rather than just eliminating ability penalties for non-human PC races. (In all honesty, this paragraph probably could and should have been the extent of this article, as it's a very topical issue that highlights deep issues with the very idea of 'heroic narratives', especially in the context of those 'heroes' beating down the 'bad people' and taking their stuff. I honestly couldn't blame someone who found the implications of these narratives disturbing and offensive.)

However, there's also another issue, not as culturally important but arguably more significant to some players' likely experience of the adventure, related to the time in which the adventure takes place. As noted in an early sidebar on "Tendays and Dalereckoning" (p.5), "This adventure is assumed to take place in the winter of 1489 DR or later. The exact date is not important." The problem is that an earlier adventure, Storm King's Thunder, also takes a party of adventurers to Bryn Shander, and that adventure "isn't set at a specific time but is assumed to take place sometime after 1485 DR" (Storm King's Thunder, p.13). On the surface, this wouldn't seem to be a problem, as Storm King's Thunder is assumed to occur 'after 1485', while Auril's ritual would have first been cast sometime during the winter of 1487, giving two years before the actual assumed earliest start of Rime of the Frostmaiden in 1489. However, the tiny section of Rime of the Frostmaiden that deals with Bryn Shander (just five pages) doesn't reference anything about the attack just a few years earlier by frost giants (and nothing in Storm King's Thunder foreshadows Auril's plot save a dim possible connection between Auril and the Ring of Winter, ostensibly why the frost giants are attacking Bryn Shander), and if a DM finishes running his PCs through Storm King's Thunder (as a DM I play with just did) and decides to follow up with Rime, the subtle but significant differences between Storm King's Bryn Shander and Rime's Bryn Shander will be jarring to the players, likely salvageable only through the fact that the PCs those players are running will be different, thus amenable to the idea that the adventure they're now playing takes place significantly after the adventure they just finished, explaining why their previous PCs didn't notice anything amiss about the weather or the behavior of the townsfolk.

Most of these issues aren't insurmountable -- a savvy DM can provide foreshadowing of the events of Rime of the Frostmaiden while running a party through Storm King's Thunder, and one who prefers a more realistic depiction of the climate catastrophe represented by Auril's ritual can shift the time between the first casting of that spell from 'over two years' to just a few months without significant harm. The structure of the adventure itself, though, as with Storm King's Thunder and frankly all the WotC hardcovers, where normal people can't solve problems themselves and must rely on the intervention of self-proclaimed 'heroes' whose activities largely boil down to murdering undesirables and taking their stuff is a harder problem to resolve within the context of what's actually written in the adventures, and arguably makes them problematic on a level that can't really be adapted by any but the most astute and sensitive DM. And if you are that kind of DM, for the money you'd be spending on these adventures, you'll probably be far better off writing your own adventures free of these problematic tropes from the outset rather than having to spend at least as much time and effort untangling them from the so-called 'experts' of D&D adventure and campaign design.

tolcreator's post provides me with yet more reason to regret my purchase of Rime of the Frostmaiden, as well as to discount the well-meaning but ultimately toothless claims by Wizards that they are planning to effectively address issues of diversity and equality within their flagship role-playing game.

[shitrekkers]

# Coronavirus - Walk 5  Rating: 5 Coronas 12/4/2020 Mark: Greetings to all. I decided that this week - confined as we all are to walking alone - I should set myself the target of achieving some single handed and unsupported challenging activity.  Limited as I am by the constraints of the State - Fines will apply!! - of course, the challenge had to be one that could be achieved entirely on foot - so I spent the week preparing to climb some of the highest peaks of suburban Bowral. These are not feats undertaken lightly so in preparation I walked every day -some times as much as 10km and toughened myself up covering 50 kms in 7 days before undertaking the challenge of scaling the heights of both Mansfield Park AND Hammock Hill on a single day , unsupported by Sherpas and without Oxygen. (Actually, without even a cup of Tea or a biscuit)  13km in all starting with the gruelling climb to 730m above sea level - or 42m above my starting point - in only 5km   an average 1 in 119 slope for which I think the colloquial term is "Imperceptible"  a feat I achieved in just under an hour and then down to a saddle and across to Hammock Hill, climbing back to 707m before beginning the final descent back to the warmth, comfort and safety of Derby Street. The only thing left to me now are the frightening snow covered peaks of the hill on Old South Road, and one day when I am brave enough - Mount Gibraltar.  Hope you are all keeping safe and fit.

[purplesurveys]

229

What are you doing to improve or maintain your health currently? Well my scoliosis is getting worse by the day, so I keep myself from slouching and being in any position that strains the part of my spine that bends. Gabie also lent me an anti-slouching thing that I have to wear and tighten around my shoulders and back. It has nothing to do with scolio, but it helps tons. ^To add to that, what are some other things you could be doing? The doctor I went to before suggested swimming laps, but I’ve never done that ever since I had the checkup. I also want to get a second X-ray checked since I’m positive my spine has gotten worse since May 2016. How much do you currently weigh? It’s usually in the 87-95 lbs range. How much do you want to weigh? I’m okay with that, even if it’s underweight.

Do you ever look at someone's social media posts and feel a little jealous? Yeah, a little. But it’s envious, not jealous.

^If so, why is that? They have all these luxuries and get to go to all these places and I’m stuck at home with a mom that routinely yells at me. Idk but for me those social media posts are a bit of a trigger so I mute those people for a bit until they’re done. What book(s) are you currently reading? None. What chores did you do today? It’s pretty early in the day and I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. What chores do you need to do? The only thing I’m in charge of is wash my own dishes so I’ll be doing that once or twice today. What are you wearing currently? A blouse and some shorts. Do you like how your hair looks today? It’s just bed hair. It’s alright. Are you on a diet? Nope. List 10 of the prettiest people you know or have met. Gabie, Michelle, Gabe, Ate Nica, Ate Jane, Audrey, Gabie, Gabie, Gabie, and Gabie? List 10 favorite girl's names. Isabela, Renée, Olivia, Arden, Audrey, Mia, Ava, Charlotte, Noelle, Harper. We’re going out of bounds here but Paulette, Lily, and Julianna are all lovely too. List 10 favorite boy's names. Joaquin, Franco, Miguel, Luis, Gabriel, Pio, Santi, Javier, Lorenzo, Matteo. Do you think you are attractive? I think I’m okay, but I’m not gonna go ahead and call myself attractive... Do you have anyone you can trust? Of course. What are some things you plan to do tomorrow? I said yes to a Christmas party tomorrow so I’ll be there, but before that I’ll stop by the mall to pick up Gabie’s gift. She’s been wanting Life Is Strange, so I coordinated with her dad in secret–he’ll be getting her a new PS4, and I’ll take care of her first video game on it. :) Are you behind on things? Usually on gossip, yeah. Do you take time to rest? More than anything. HAHAHA What health problem are you struggling with currently? Mental health and scoliosis.

What does your heart long for? Right now it just wants a long-ass Christmas break just hibernating in my room. No plans, no outings, no interruptions. What are you learning? I’ve recently learned that I increasingly hate the holiday season with every year that passes. Do you take life day by day? Only when I’m at my worst and have to keep a daily progress/track of myself. Otherwise, I’m too impatient for taking things day by day. Have you been struggling with bitterness lately? Not at all, there’s nothing to be bitter about. Do you have a lot of questions? As a journalism major? You bet. Is it snowing where you live? No and it never has. Do you watch the snow fall? I totally would if it snowed here. List 10 fashion trends you like. Too much work. List 10 fashion trends you dislike. See above. I don’t even actually remember enough trends to make a list of 20, so. Are you ready for Jesus to come back? I’m not Christian and I really don’t like celebrating Christmas. Do you believe that Jesus lived and is returning? I believe in neither. What's your current favorite Bible verse? None of them. When was the last time you went to church? Two weeks ago. I got to skip last week’s since I was being initiated for my org and I had never felt so free. Are you spiritual? No. Have you ever experienced anything supernatural? Like one small instance in my aunt’s house once, but as I said in my previous surveys I like to think it was just my grandfather fooling around with the door. Do you believe in spiritual gifts? No. Do you believe in callings? No. If so, do you know what your call is? Nothing religious, definitely. What superpower do you wish you had? Time travel is all I desire in this brief lifetime. What superpowers, if any, DO you have? I can whip up a 5-6 page essay assignment in 30 minutes to an hour depending on how much I know about it. I can also procrastinate every single pending thing on the last evening and turn it from chicken shit to chicken salad, but college has since taught me it’s SOOOOOO much better to do everything earlier, so that’s a superpower I haven’t been using much. Do you have too much clutter in your home? No, my mom hates clutter more than anything. Have you ever tried weed? No. Have you ever considered smoking pot and then decided not to? Never considered it even once. It just never seemed appealing to me so I never bothered with it, simple as that. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? Never. Now that I strongly dislike, since I have my own experiences from it. If you were rich, would you get a professional photoshoot done? Absolutely. I can be extra sometimes too. Do you own slipper socks? Nope. What's your favorite Christmas carol to hear playing when you're shopping? Anything by Michael Bublé, really. Do you stalk anyone on Facebook? I don’t. Stalking just feels weird to me, especially if it’s a stranger or a relative of someone I know. Have you ever completed a 30 day photo challenge? No but I used to do the themed 30-day challenges when they used to be a thing on Tumblr like seven years ago. Have you ever taken a photo every day for a year? No. I should probably do that. ^If not, would you ever want to try that? Totally. Have you ever thought about what your new year's resolution will be yet? I don’t do resolutions. I can always start on a new habit tomorrow if I wanted to. Do you get enough exercise? I get zero exercise. Are jeggings your favorite pants? Never had a pair but they sound kind of uncomfortable to me, being that I hate leggings. Do you have way too many photos stored on your computer? No. I actually make it a point to not put photos or videos or anything on my laptop since I don’t want it to become to full and then slow down and have it die. I only have school stuff on my Mac so like PDF files, Word files, e-books and all that boringness. Do you take a lot of selfies? I took an average of 0 selfies this 2017, that should tell you something. What is something that's a mystery to you? The rest of the universe. Do you have any painful memories? My entire life has been just an accummulation of painful memories. Do you pray? No.

In what social class are you? I guess I’m in the middle. In what social class to you wish to be? Indifference. Do you ever imagine that you are English royalty? HAHAHAHA yeah on a sucky day I like to think I’m secretly one then they’d whisk me away from everything and I never had to worry about a thing again. Do you have any English ancestry in you? Zero English blood. What is the origin of your last name? It’s Spanish and Portuguese. What is the meaning of your first name? It means bright and shining.

^Whatever it is, do you feel that it fits you? Other people can answer that for me. Do you ever multi-task? Yes. Are you multi-tasking right now Nope.

[kansascityhappenings]

Joe’s Weather Blog: Some signs of more active weather for mid month (MON-1/6)

Hope you had a nice weekend…the weather again cooperated nicely didn’t it? Today will be our 19th straight day of above average temperatures…heck this morning we’re starting 10° above average already, and while today won’t be in the 50s it should still be about 10° above average and we’re going to stretch that streak to at least 22 days straight and maybe 23° depending on the timing of the colder transition later in the week…that’s pretty remarkable.

Through yesterday this is the 3rd warmest start to winter in KC weather history (at least since the 21st of December). Now granted winter starts some years on the 20th and I haven’t done those back calculations but I’d hazard a solid guess that that won’t change things. Data below.

Forecast:

Today: Variable clouds and pleasant by January standards…highs in the mid>upper 40s

Tonight: Fair skies and chilly with lows in the mid>upper 20s

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny and nice with highs in the 45-50° range

Wednesday: Milder with highs in the 50s with increasing PM winds into Wednesday night

Discussion:

Let’s start the blog with the story of the warmth…these are the rankings of the warmest 12/21-1/5 time periods in KC weather history…we keep going up on this list and this week will be no exception..at least into Friday.

No I know what you’re thinking…wow such a warm start to winter…are we cancelling winter this year?

No.

For giggles I looked back into last year…remember we had only had .5″ of snow in December of 2018…then January of 2019 started pretty mild as well…and then there was this thing called the Polar Vortex that reared it’s ugly head towards the last 1/3rd of the month.

Now granted we were on our way already thanks to the Thanksgiving Weekend blizzard in 2018…but after that it was quiet through about the 11th of January…then the last 2/3rds of January we had close to 9″ of snow.

I highlighted the departures from average and the snow amounts each day…we had a storm on the 11th and 12th and then incremental snows for the rest of the month with some bitterly cold air every so often interspersed with some reasonable temperatures as repetitive cold fronts came through the region.

So no, winter is not cancelled and actually today the EURO guidance along with the GFS data is showing the return of colder weather into at least the northern US…and that may start setting the stage later this week into the end of the month for a more active storm track(s) and systems that will work with the building temperature contrasts.

Before we get there though…more mild weather is ahead…at least through Thursday…and maybe at times even beyond that through mid month.

Take a look at these 5 day averaged temperatures for the North America…

Very stark contrast. For the eastern 1/4 of the country…potentially record breaking warmth. We’re talking some individual days with temperatures 25-35°+ above average…60s or higher possible for some areas from the Ohio Valley towards the NE part of the country into the weekend.

Now notice the bitterly cold air towards the far northern Rockies and into the SW parts of Canada and western Canada as a whole…that’s some nasty cold air up there…

There are signs that that nasty cold air will spill into the northern US sometime in about a week or so and at some point I’d be surprised If we didn’t deal with it towards the KC region…but it’s still awhile away.

That doesn’t mean it’s going to be this mild through then…there will be at least a return closer to average Friday into Saturday and that return may be marked by some wintry weather.

I’m not jumping up and down about that aspect of things right now though…there may be timing issues regarding getting enough cold air in the atmosphere above us to sync up for all this…the data today shows a wintry mix developing Friday night…we’re still not cold enough about 5,000 feet up to support ALL snow…until sometime late Friday night into Saturday morning. We’ll see how much moisture is left behind to work with when things do sync up.

Again I’ll wait a few more days before I get revved up about this potential…here are the GFS ensemble “plumes” for snow totals.

The average is just shy of 1″…

Look at this neat shot from Matt via twitter…

Joe

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2020/01/06/joes-weather-blog-some-signs-of-more-active-weather-for-mid-month-mon-1-6/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2020/01/06/joes-weather-blog-some-signs-of-more-active-weather-for-mid-month-mon-1-6/