Hobby Inspiration

Many have asked.  Crumby, how can you keep your hobby, sak collecting, going, in lieu of horrible personal afflictions or demoralizing setbacks? Like just yesterday, for example, Crumby had to deal with a very severe outbreak of Tinea cruris.  Someday maybe we can publish a picture of Crumby's outbreak.  But not today.  Crumby is too modest today.

But not only does Crumby have Tinea cruris bilaterally symmetrically, he still sports the bad finger featured previously.  The finger is no longer as bad as previously reported.  Yet it aint well, either.

So how can Crumby keep going with his hobby, sac collecting, with all these afflictions crying out for medical attention?

 Especially when, on the same day these insurmountable maladies are crying out for attention, Crumby gets outbid on EBAY at the last second, thus ruining his chance to enhance his hobby enjoyment.  If  you can call it that. Enjoyment!

Yes.  To keep a hobby similar to sak collecting going despite all the odds against him, an average collector like Crumby needs inspiration.  And where better to look for inspiration than the great Class Insecta?

Admittedly,  the inspiration presented below could have been more inspiring if it could have been in focus.  But never mind that.  It is still inspiring.  An out of focus Swiss cross beetle.

Branching into Wenger

Up until recently, Crumby's sak collection consisted exclusively of Victorinox knives. But recently, Crumby "won" a Wenger Champ on EBAY.  Crumby especially wanted a Wenger with a magnifier since he already has four Victorinox with magnifiers.

By the way, here's how to pronounce Victorinox.   Week-tor'-e-nox.

It's similar to:   The children of the night; what beautiful music, they, make.

But when Crumby's Wenger arrived,  the glass in the magnifier proved to be cracked, rendering a fairly useless magnifier almost entirely useless.  If you magnify, huh-huh, the image below, you can see the crack in the miniscule magnifier.  It's  J-shaped.

But the scissors on Crumby's Champ also were defective.  The screw holding the scissors together consistently worked loose as the scissors scissored.  Not good.

So Crumby had to open a case, which is what an average person does on EBAY when the received goods are not as described; i.e., broke. However,  the vendors were especially accommodating.  Yes.  Those particular vendors not only refunded all Crumby's money, including postage, they let Crumby keep the knife, too.  What a deal!

Happily, Crumby may have fixed the scissors.  That's why, if once again the picture below is magnified, an overabundance of Loctite, plus some Rodico,  may be espied upon the scissor's blade.  Hope that Loctite works.  Hope we can acquire a replacement lens too.  Unlikely that.

Hoplitymia mutabilis

During the recent brief growing season Stinky Valley enjoyed, some interesting vermin turned up at the CB. This soldier fly is one of those.  Ray, the CB expert on flies, is not sure why this particular one is white tomentose.  Is it pollen?

As opposed to a more regular looking  fly like this.

First Frost at the CB

This morning was first frost at the CB for this autumn.  Tonight, the frost is liable to sit upon the pumpkin, or whatever, again.  Which means, that the six weeks of growing season many have enjoyed,  featuring  bountiful rain and pleasant temperatures, is over. Goddess only knows when we shall see such times again.

Bon soi bugs.

Hobbies fer Cripples cont.

It's a good thing Crumby started up his sak hobby.  Because the crippled up woes continue on and on.  That's right.  Crumby still can't walk at a good pace.   And now, the lack of exercise combined with nervous eating and drinking has packed on many an unattractive pound or two.  Mercy!

But that's not all.  Months ago, Crumby was fixing a bicycle when a Demon made Crumby smash his finger. Now, months later the nail has never grown back right and the finger is infected.  This condition, an infection alongside a nail, is known to real doctors as Paronychia.  Left untreated, Paronychia will lead to blood poisoning followed by a miserable, painful death.  In the meantime it hurts like Hades.

Interestingly,  the name  Paronychia also applies to a genera within the great plant family, Caryophyllaceae.  Paronychia, the pink family genera is mostly appreciated by field botanists and few others.

Meantime, with one index finger sorely afflicted, even the sedate hobby of sak collecting is in jeopardy.  For now the pleasures associated with opening and closing the various sak implements on the collectibles is limited to the right hand only.  For Goddess sakes!

the miniature jumping cow

This is a miniature jumping cow.  It may look sort of like a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginiana), but it is not.  It is a miniature jumping cow.

Notice also how the 20 inches of rainfall that fell on the CB in October spurred on the verbs.  The miniature jumping cow appears dwarfed by the verbs.

Give 'em the hook

Many have speculated upon what the sak hook is actually good for.  Well, actually, the hook's full title is multi-purpose hook.  So we are now discussing a tool with multiple purposes or functions.  However, Crumby has found only one use for the hook to date.  Can you say, zipper tab retrieval?

That's right.  Many may be similar to Crumby, possessing zippers with tabs that are prone to stray way  too far south.  There it goes, down so far south that the end of the tab is buried under the fabric, and almost irretrievable.

What if a person was out in public with a zipper tab lodged at the southern extremities of the secesh hinterland? And then some little girl ran up.  Look Mommy, that old man's pants are unzipped?

Goodness!

But if that old man has his hook handy, he can quickly rectify the situation as is depicted in the simulation above.

Rayetta's Butterflies

Yep.  After lo these many moons, we have a new butterfly species f or the CB butterfly documentation system that is also known as Rayetta's butterflies.  Named after Dr. Rayetta Pistrum.  Yep.  With plenty of frostweed, goldenrod and three Eupatoriums flowering, there is plenty of nectar for the milkweed butterflies. And for the first nonce ever, we have the full court, monarch, queen and soldier.

Here's the soldier, a nice, fresh female. Incidentally, the soldier, unlike the others, goes to goldenrod.

Crumby's Sak Collection Illustrated

Here they are, Crumby's collection, all lined up.  Those top twain are the explorers, older model on top, other below with flagging.  The one with the flagging has actually gone outside.  Never take a sak outside unless it is flagged. You are certain to lose an unflagged sak.

Next down is the defective outdoorsman, the most recent addition to Crumby' collection.  Notice the scale is bent out near the can opener. Crumby did that so he could actually pry the can opener open.  Now the dern thing has also been greased up, I mean lubricated, and is functional.  That is, all the tools may be opened with varying degrees of snap or no snap.  As soon as it gets flagged, it can go outside. It's fixing to be a field knife if Crumby ever becomes fully ambulatory or can walk at a good pace, again.

The bottom sak is a champion plus.  It is mint condition.  It was also a super bargain. It shall stay inside.  Every once in a while, Crumby shall take it out of its box and fondle it.