shohin_branches
Chumono
Bummer! I sell my extras at a local plant shop. They just keep multiplying!I left all my temperate and tropical pitcher plants in GA when I moved north
Bonsai off season / side hobbies ?
- Thread starter Shogun610
- Start date
WIlliam_Butler_Yeets
Mame
Oh wow, I had to double take, it looks like we have very similar carnivore growing setups
The Barber
Chumono
I have been a coin collector since I was a child. During dormancy I enjoy spending my spare time hiking my collection areas and digging up trees. I've collected probably 25 trees so far this winter, mainly hornbeam.
Cruiser
Chumono
Damn, Kate. Really nice work!Oh, lighten up.
I knit. Just finished a pair of spider socks.
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I do a bit of woodcarving. Here's the magic wand I carved for my son who grew up on Harry Potter books
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And a kuksa I made out of red maple burl
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I should try a daiza, but haven't found a nice enough stone yet. And a stand...
I felt. Here is a pair of felted slippers I made for my daughter in law
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I make concrete sculptures... papercrete gargoyle I made for my husband
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And on and on...
Basically I'll do anything not to clean the house...
Cruiser
Chumono
I visit unusual/rare/distant trees in person. This involves planning short mission-focused vacations centered on measuring, photographing, sampling, and sometimes hugging the trees. I frame these vacations as short getaways with my wife. She knows what’s really going on and tolerates it.
The last big trip was to see bristlecone firs (Abies bracteata) in the Santa Lucia range. The primary goal was to climb one and procure a cone.
This weekend I’m cruising up in Forks WA. Along the way I’ll stop to measure and photograph the tree of life and Queets Fir, while the opportunity still exists! Both trees are liable to topple over any day now.
The next big trip probably is heading back to Mineral King in Sequoia NP. The mission will be to measure and photograph foxtail pines, white bark pines, and sierra junipers. Other trees on my visit-list are washoe pine, and pretty much all the native southeastern trees. Especially old longleaf pines and spruce pine.
I also write. Mainly prose; things like to-do lists, short love-notes to my family, plans for the future, good ideas, observations of the natural world, and silly band names I come up with.
I’d like to author a book one day, yet don’t consider myself a great writer. Good enough to churn out concise and descriptive cruise reports but probably not an enjoyable novel. Every now and again I have these moments of clarity in which words emerge from the vocabularic aether and assemble themselves into perfect sentences. It feels really good when that happens.
Frequent writing makes one a better reader, I think. When you can recognize a good sentence, and you just know the author enjoyed writing it, there’s a connection there.
The last big trip was to see bristlecone firs (Abies bracteata) in the Santa Lucia range. The primary goal was to climb one and procure a cone.
This weekend I’m cruising up in Forks WA. Along the way I’ll stop to measure and photograph the tree of life and Queets Fir, while the opportunity still exists! Both trees are liable to topple over any day now.
The next big trip probably is heading back to Mineral King in Sequoia NP. The mission will be to measure and photograph foxtail pines, white bark pines, and sierra junipers. Other trees on my visit-list are washoe pine, and pretty much all the native southeastern trees. Especially old longleaf pines and spruce pine.
I also write. Mainly prose; things like to-do lists, short love-notes to my family, plans for the future, good ideas, observations of the natural world, and silly band names I come up with.
I’d like to author a book one day, yet don’t consider myself a great writer. Good enough to churn out concise and descriptive cruise reports but probably not an enjoyable novel. Every now and again I have these moments of clarity in which words emerge from the vocabularic aether and assemble themselves into perfect sentences. It feels really good when that happens.
Frequent writing makes one a better reader, I think. When you can recognize a good sentence, and you just know the author enjoyed writing it, there’s a connection there.
WIlliam_Butler_Yeets
Mame
I recommend the "Octopus Tree" at Cape Meares near Tillamook, Oregon, if you've not been. It's a real bonkers Sitka Spruce. It's got a fence so you can't hug it, but I like to go by there when I'm int he area and just appreciate it.
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
So how is that working out for you? I love Mals and think they are awesome dogs but Ive heard they are too crazy for the average dog owner.... as in bat shit crazy energy
I have had dogs for 30 years, mostly labs and lab mixes.
Currently we have a great dane, lab, shepherd, and a bunch of other things mixed in who is the biggest challenge we have ever had.
Dog has gotten into everything, eaten everything, destroyed a lot of stuff, despite my efforts to keep him tired, but we still love him anyway even when he is bad.
The other dog is a lab/Austrailian Kelpie mix that is very sweet and cuddly but bounces off the walls at times with his herding dog energy
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Gabler
Masterpiece
PastryBaker
Yamadori
Out here, most of the trees still are growing, just a little. Nights are 40F and days in the mid 70s.
But I have way enough hobbies to keep me going. Snakes, orchids (under lights) and music production.
Come February/March we start re-potting out here in the desert climate.
But I have way enough hobbies to keep me going. Snakes, orchids (under lights) and music production.
Come February/March we start re-potting out here in the desert climate.
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Cruiser
Chumono
Corn snake? King?
I’ve got a little cinnamon bun.
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shohin_branches
Chumono
MalsRFun in TN
Seedling
It's working out great for me since I got my first Malinois 20 years ago to compete in dog agility. Actually, not so great lately, because I had three Mals until I lost my sweet old man in October. Dogs and dog training are my biggest passion (except maybe horses and dressage).
I got several of my Malinois from the national Malinois rescue that has been overloaded in the last 20 years with dogs purchased by people who see them on TV and at the movies doing extraordinary things, then say to themselves, "That dog parachuting out of a plane to go in and kill Osama bin Lodin looks like a perfect family pet." They probably wish they could try an Indie car in place of a minivan too.
My dogs have never done any of the things you describe your "bad" (untrained) dog doing, even as puppies. Do they require lots of exercise and constant training? Yes. Are they always in front of me, 24/7/365 ready for action? Yes. Do they get compliments everywhere we go for their beauty and great manners? Always, even when they have gone to work with me in an office setting.
Working breeds work, one way or another.
My young dog's uncle does Search and Rescue, and found a missing hiker several years ago who got lost and died in the Smokies. He hit on her scent a mile and a half from where she was found, a week after she got lost. That was after he first hit on the scent of another dead person, an Indian burial up in a tree a hundred years before.
Gabler
Masterpiece
That's the bottom line. Don't get a working dog if you don't have a job for it. If you don't give your dog a job, then your dog will invent one.
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
@MalsRFun in TN and @Gabler
Thanks for the responses. I am certainly guilty of entertaining the idea of having a Mal because they are so beautiful and so very smart.
I dont know if Id be considered an average dog owner or more advanced than that.
I however would wait until I retire before Id seriously consider a mal because I know they very much need to be with their person and dont do well being left at home while the person goes to work.
I might be crazy to even consider it though...lol
I want to get more involved with dog training as I do have a passion for dogs and the dog-human relationship. I have come to the conclusion that dog training is about training the dog but often is more about training the people on how to handle the dog. Ive talked to a local trainer about getting involved as an apprentice under her at one of the local shelters to get more experience than what Ive been able to get with my own dogs. I think that will also have to wait until I retire and no longer have the work thing I have to deal with ...
Thanks for the responses. I am certainly guilty of entertaining the idea of having a Mal because they are so beautiful and so very smart.
I dont know if Id be considered an average dog owner or more advanced than that.
I however would wait until I retire before Id seriously consider a mal because I know they very much need to be with their person and dont do well being left at home while the person goes to work.
I might be crazy to even consider it though...lol
I want to get more involved with dog training as I do have a passion for dogs and the dog-human relationship. I have come to the conclusion that dog training is about training the dog but often is more about training the people on how to handle the dog. Ive talked to a local trainer about getting involved as an apprentice under her at one of the local shelters to get more experience than what Ive been able to get with my own dogs. I think that will also have to wait until I retire and no longer have the work thing I have to deal with ...
shohin_branches
Chumono
Nybonsai12
Masterpiece
I have kids, what hobbies…
I felt this…..lol
Coppersdad
Mame
After over 30 years as a veterinarian, IMHO no one should ever own a dog that is more intelligent than they are. It is true there are no bad dogs. It's also true there are many bad, foolish and stupid owners.
Those of us who have chosen to share our lives with a very intelligent dog breed have a special obligation to make that pet's life full, challenging and interesting every moment we are allowed to share with them.
Those of us who have chosen to share our lives with a very intelligent dog breed have a special obligation to make that pet's life full, challenging and interesting every moment we are allowed to share with them.
MalsRFun in TN
Seedling
Good on you that you are interested in learning dog training. It actually has a lot of similarities to bonsai. You have to be consistent 100% of the time for real success. You have to be aware of the details and be observant. And you have to practice a lot to be successful. Good luck! Start with your current dog, because it's never too late.@MalsRFun in TN and @Gabler
Thanks for the responses. I am certainly guilty of entertaining the idea of having a Mal because they are so beautiful and so very smart.
I dont know if Id be considered an average dog owner or more advanced than that.
I however would wait until I retire before Id seriously consider a mal because I know they very much need to be with their person and dont do well being left at home while the person goes to work.
I might be crazy to even consider it though...lol
I want to get more involved with dog training as I do have a passion for dogs and the dog-human relationship. I have come to the conclusion that dog training is about training the dog but often is more about training the people on how to handle the dog. Ive talked to a local trainer about getting involved as an apprentice under her at one of the local shelters to get more experience than what Ive been able to get with my own dogs. I think that will also have to wait until I retire and no longer have the work thing I have to deal with ...
The thing most people don't consider about working dogs, including the herding breeds but especially Malinois, is that their only focus is you. All day. Every day. They don't want a life outside in the yard or even in another room without you. They never lose that focus, which is very different from a regular pet.
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vancehanna
Chumono
Oh, lighten up.
I knit. Just finished a pair of spider socks.
Kate!! Multi-talented!! Excellent work!
I knit. Just finished a pair of spider socks.
Kate!! Multi-talented!! Excellent work!
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
Nice doggo
I have an Australian Kelpie so that is pretty close to an Australian Cattle Dog in temperament
