So let's talk about other hobbies...

[lovecraft68]

I collect and sell comics. Got out of the super hero genre as far as collecting goes years ago, and only buy horror comics from the golden age up.

I play in dart and pool leagues as well.

 

[THBGato]

I read, read and read.

I also juggle. Plus, I've been learning the guitar for over 10 years now. I can "play " about four songs. Yet, I persevere. It's taken a real backseat lately though.

I like to cook. Unfortunately, both my kids are extremely fussy eaters. Most days I make three separate meals - one for each of them (they don't eat the same things) and another for my wife and I. But doing so tends to push me to keep things simple... which is less interesting.

 

[NoTalentHack]

It’s not a creative thing, but I’m a gamer. At various times a couple decades ago, I was ranked in the top 500 in the world in a couple of first-person shooters, and was in the top 250 in North America of a collectible card game a few years back. I mostly play single player stuff these days; having kids doesn’t really lend itself to the time required to keep either twitch skills or meta knowledge at the required level. I approach single player games with the same intensity, albeit with more of a sense of humor and over a longer timeline for “success.” I’ve already beaten Hades 2 on 32 fear, as a measure for comparison, for the folks who understand what that means.

 

[English_guy_bkk]

I can do connect four alao

 

[MrPixel]

...bees that feed heavily on oleander, which they love, will produce poisonous honey.

Wow! I didn't know that! I'm recalling from my years living in California that Caltrans' (state DOT) choice of landscaping in freeway medians was miles and miles of oleander bushes. Don't know if they're still doing that, but what I remember this was done in the primarily agricultural San Joaquin Valley. I wonder from 2000 miles away if somebody figured that out.

For your poison garden - Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum). Very poisonous - some varieties can kill grazing livestock. It can be invasive, though, and because it's a bulb can be hard to get rid of.

 

[StillStunned]

Wow! I didn't know that! I'm recalling from my years living in California that Caltrans' (state DOT) choice of landscaping in freeway medians was miles and miles of oleander bushes. Don't know if they're still doing that, but what I remember this was done in the primarily agricultural San Joaquin Valley. I wonder from 2000 miles away if somebody figured that out.

If oleander is the plant I'm thinking of, they plant it along motorways in Spain and Greece because most wildlife will avoid it. It keeps them from trying to cross.

 

[Wonderer67]

I have a mini farm, which is mostly a hobby and maybe 10% for purposes. Chickens, horses, the occasional flock of wild turkeys, and my gardens.

I do garden as a hobby. I grow veggies, herbs, a ton of flowers, and a poison garden. I make a lot of custom blend herbal teas, herbal medicines, and preserves of different types, including hot sauce.

Most of my hobbies have practical applications. The only one that really doesn't is that I collect Baby Yoda's. Mostly the little mini figurines. I like to arrange them in my house plants and around my bookshelves.

Like you, we have a “farm.” it’s actually more of a wooded lot where we Sell firewood primarily. But this time of year we sell plant and veggie seedlings. in the summer, we sell cut flowers and in the fall, we sell pumpkins and gourds.

We also do tons of gardening at our house.

https://imgur.com/a/38wE7PT

I have tons of other hobbies. Probably way too many. Collecting old bottles and songs, attempting to restore an old car and keep my 50-year-old tractor running! And right now, mowing lawns every three or four days!

 

[AlexBailey]

I play music (mostly guitar) and write songs, some of which have been picked up and performed regularly by other musicians. I built a backyard forge and have made several knives and art projects. I go kayaking regularly for fun and exercise. I’m creatively kinky I love to cook fancy meals….

 

[SimonDoom]

I've always loved the outdoors, wildlife, and natural history. I collected insects as a kid and have been a birder since the age of 11. I've read many books on animals, insects, birds, dinosaurs, etc. all my life. I've been an avid backpacker since I was a kid and one of my favorite things is to be on top of a mountain in a remote wilderness.

 

[AlexBailey]

Wow! I didn't know that! I'm recalling from my years living in California that Caltrans' (state DOT) choice of landscaping in freeway medians was miles and miles of oleander bushes. Don't know if they're still doing that, but what I remember this was done in the primarily agricultural San Joaquin Valley. I wonder from 2000 miles away if somebody figured that out.

An old friend’s relative made the proposal to CalTrans for using oleander and jade plant along CA highways. Both are low maintenance and oleander is shock absorbing for crashes.

 

[MrPixel]

Certainly makes sense because oleander is so dense, and very tolerant of the dry climate. I have to wonder about its use in the agricultural belt, where bees are an important part of the ecostructure.

 

[AlexBailey]

Certainly makes sense because oleander is so dense, and very tolerant of the dry climate. I have to wonder about its use in the agricultural belt, where bees are an important part of the ecostructure.

Yeah, that guy got shit from ag people for the rest of his life over it but he also got credit for saving lives.

 

[Britva415]

I refer you to my signature below.

I think you'd be surprised at the amount of people who have disabled seeing signatures.

 

[MrPixel]

I think you'd be surprised at the amount of people who have disabled seeing signatures.

Their loss, not mine.

 

[THBGato]

I play music (mostly guitar) and write songs, some of which have been picked up and performed regularly by other musicians. I built a backyard forge and have made several knives and art projects. I go kayaking regularly for fun and exercise. I’m creatively kinky I love to cook fancy meals….

I remember an Alex Bailey playing around Bristol in the 00s. It's not you, is it?

 

[yowser]

I have a garden devoted to poisonous plants. Hellebores, nightshade, daturas, brugmansilla, aconite, foxglove, castor bean, lilies of all types, etc. I want an oleander, but they a) don't do great here and b) are bad for my future bee plans, bees that feed heavily on oleander, which they love, will produce poisonous honey.

Um, I hesitate with a follow-up question. Do you have any particular family member in mind?

 

[PeytonMirabelle]

I dabble in many art forms (the latest is spray-paint art), though I'm pretty bad at all of them. That's fine, since it's all done for enjoyment and relaxation. I am also a huge video game nerd--non-competitive, and mostly single player. I even have a YouTube gaming channel (under yet another name) with a handful of subscribers. No, it's no one you've ever heard of.

 

[Comshaw]

I've always loved the outdoors, wildlife, and natural history. I collected insects as a kid and have been a birder since the age of 11. I've read many books on animals, insects, birds, dinosaurs, etc. all my life. I've been an avid backpacker since I was a kid and one of my favorite things is to be on top of a mountain in a remote wilderness.

You shouldn't have mentioned that. Now you're going to have to put up with some ruminations. I've been hiking and fishing in the backwoods around my place for years. As a kid I'd swipe my dad's single shot 22 scrounge a few shells for it (most times two or maybe three) and disappear into the woods for the entire day. I was 10 or 11. To give it some perspective if a person walked out my back door and went straight south the next building they encountered would be 100 miles the other side of a mountain range.

I do love hiking and backpacking.

The most magical time I have ever had was in the 80's. I was bow hunting and decided to climb up one of the mountains to the alpine meadows to see if there were any deer up there. I had climbed about 2/3rds of the way to the top and it began to get dark. I set up my tent in the only flat spot I could find, a narrow ridge that was barely wide enough to accommodate the tent. I climbed in and went to sleep. I was awakened sometime in the middle of the night by a bright light. When I climbed out of the tent I saw the light was a full moon in a cloudless sky. As I sat there a 4-point buck walked past me a little way down the mountain. I could see him plainly in the bright moonlight but he didn't see or sense me. I sat there for a long time looking out over the landscape spread before me, listening to the coyotes yelping at the moon down the mountain and just bathing in the magic of the moment. The next day I didn't even string my bow. I just couldn't. It felt like I would be defiling a place of magic.

See what you did there? Made an oldman go on a memory rant.


Comshaw

 

[SimonDoom]

You shouldn't have mentioned that. Now you're going to have to put up with some ruminations. I've been hiking and fishing in the backwoods around my place for years. As a kid I'd swipe my dad's single shot 22 scrounge a few shells for it (most times two or maybe three) and disappear into the woods for the entire day. I was 10 or 11. To give it some perspective if a person walked out my back door and went straight south the next building they encountered would be 100 miles the other side of a mountain range.

I do love hiking and backpacking.

The most magical time I have ever had was in the 80's. I was bow hunting and decided to climb up one of the mountains to the alpine meadows to see if there were any deer up there. I had climbed about 2/3rds of the way to the top and it began to get dark. I set up my tent in the only flat spot I could find, a narrow ridge that was barely wide enough to accommodate the tent. I climbed in and went to sleep. I was awakened sometime in the middle of the night by a bright light. When I climbed out of the tent I saw the light was a full moon in a cloudless sky. As I sat there a 4-point buck walked past me a little way down the mountain. I could see him plainly in the bright moonlight but he didn't see or sense me. I sat there for a long time looking out over the landscape spread before me, listening to the coyotes yelping at the moon down the mountain and just bathing in the magic of the moment. The next day I didn't even string my bow. I just couldn't. It felt like I would be defiling a place of magic.

See what you did there? Made an oldman go on a memory rant.


Comshaw

That's a great memory. Rant away.

 

[WrongFrog]

Um, I hesitate with a follow-up question. Do you have any particular family member in mind?

I've done this off and on for twenty odd years and no one has died under suspicious circumstances. Yet.

 

[StillStunned]

I've done this off and on for twenty odd years and no one has died under suspicious circumstances. Yet.

That's the trick: to make the circumstances not appear suspicious.

 

[AlexBailey]

I remember an Alex Bailey playing around Bristol in the 00s. It's not you, is it?

Nope, not me.

 

[AlexBailey]

I've always loved the outdoors, wildlife, and natural history. I collected insects as a kid and have been a birder since the age of 11. I've read many books on animals, insects, birds, dinosaurs, etc. all my life. I've been an avid backpacker since I was a kid and one of my favorite things is to be on top of a mountain in a remote wilderness.

Okay, you got me going on hiking too. I’ve hiked several peaks on the great divide in Colorado but my favorite mountain top experience was spending several nights on Half Dome in Yosemite. You aren’t allowed to spend the night up there anymore due to many lightning storm casualties but back in the day when I had a chance I would drive up to the park too late in the day to get any closer camping permits so I would carry my pack from the valley floor and pitch my tent on top shortly before sunset. Unless it was likely to rain I’d sleep outside, and unlike other camping spots, there are no bears up there. The horizons are vast and incredible, the only visible lights are from far below, it feels like you’re up among the stars.

I’d go on day hikes from there and climb back up every evening. Half Dome is too far for most of the tourists but there are enough people around that there are still resources incase of emergencies for a solo hiker.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm fairly handy with building things, including my listening room.

I also make tube amplifiers and speakers, you can just see my current amp, bottom right.

 

[RoperTrace]

Okay, you got me going on hiking too. I’ve hiked several peaks on the great divide in Colorado but my favorite mountain top experience was spending several nights on Half Dome in Yosemite. You aren’t allowed to spend the night up there anymore due to many lightning storm casualties but back in the day when I had a chance I would drive up to the park too late in the day to get any closer camping permits so I would carry my pack from the valley floor and pitch my tent on top shortly before sunset. Unless it was likely to rain I’d sleep outside, and unlike other camping spots, there are no bears up there. The horizons are vast and incredible, the only visible lights are from far below, it feels like you’re up among the stars.

I’d go on day hikes from there and climb back up every evening. Half Dome is too far for most of the tourists but there are enough people around that there are still resources incase of emergencies for a solo hiker.

Wow, that brings back memories, I camped at Yosemite in '58 with my parents after we drove back and forth across the whole US to visit their first baby grandson in Berkeley, Cal. I remember it getting cold at night after we attended a bonfire.