Proceed with extreme caution. There is some serious slime ahead.
Go back before it's too late! Once seen, it cannot be unseen!
Do not proceed without donning proper protective clothing and helmets.
Ready? Here it comes.........
Last night, Mike was outdoors grilling some steaks when he called to me to come with my camera and a flash. He didn't tell me to hurry, and so I imagined that he'd seen an immovable object that I would enjoy as a photography subject. Imagine my gack factor when he directed me to the largest slug I've ever seen in my entire life.
Those are no small feet you're looking at there, so believe me, this was a monster. Our slugs in the Pacific Northwest are legion. Entire books have been written about them, as I've told you before on this blog. As I wrote this post, I found an entire gallery devoted to slug art from our neighbors down in Eugene. (Although we avoid talking about Eugene here in Beaver Believer country. Eugene is the home of our nemesis, The University of Oregon.)
In any case, this was a slug on a mission, traveling from one edge of the narrow sidewalk to the other in approximately twenty minutes flat. We considered salting him (you know, so that he would taste better!), but then didn't want his slime all over the sidewalk right next to our hot tub. Gick.
I'd say this is a face only a mother could love; but then, I'm a mother, and even I don't love it. So, never mind.
On a less disgusting note, Mike and I made our way around town yesterday looking for hiking poles. We swore we wouldn't go to REI, but that is where we ended up eventually. I have nothing against REI, and in fact, trust them implicitly for all things outdoors. They just tend to be on the spendy side, and I really didn't want to spend a lot on these hiking poles. Mike remembered that he had an unspent dividend with them, however, and bonus! They had a big sale going on. So we walked out of the store with these babies.
And let me just set the record straight by saying that these are "trekking poles," not "hiking poles", despite their having the word "hiker" right on the shaft. Show a little class, will you?
Smitty was impressed. [Excuse me, Little Man. You seem to be in an area designated as No Cats Land. Please remove thyself from the table, if you don't mind.]
Sometimes he forgets his manners. Plus, he wanted to see the trekking poles.
So I liked these for several reasons: They are light weight, and check this out:
The top piece in the image above comes off to reveal the camera mount in the image below.
Cool, huh? Or...if you don't want the camera mount, just leave that piece on and use it as a pretend microphone for singing karaoke! My favorite karaoke song is Hit Me With Your Best Shot. [Pausing to belt out a verse.] But I digress.
So another thing I liked about them is that they have an easy twist adjustment mechanism that I could operate after having Mike show me just one time! I always consider it a bonus when I don't need to take classes to operate a new tool.
They have strong steel spiky tips for grabbing the terrain. Mike advised me not to use these on our wood floors. Good safety tip, Mike. Thanks.
And they have this basket at the end for hiking in sand...like my knee can take that, but whatever.
Made in Austria. I figure they know something about trekking in Austria. Lots of mountains there.
Here's what the REI website has to say about them:
This telescoping, super-lightweight aluminum hiking staff features internal springs to absorb shock and protect your joints. Antishock springs can be turned on and off with a twist of the pole-use the extra cushion for going downhill; set it rigid for support uphill. Shocklight springs are located inside the inner shaft; thus, are quieter and smoother than other pole springs. Foam grip and wide, padded wrist loop ensure a comfortable and secure hold; cork knob unscrews to create a monopod camera mount. Small-diameter trekking basket keeps the durable carbide tip from sinking into soft dirt and sand, yet resists catching in underbrush. The three-section shaft compacts small enough to strap to a daypack. Measures 51 inches open and 28.5 inches closed; grip length is 8 inches. Sells as a single staff.
They accurately note that these sell as a single staff, but we bought two of them. They were regularly $59.50 each, but we got them for $48.50 each on sale yesterday. With Mike's $17 dividend, it brought the price down considerably. And I'll just say that there were other trekking poles available that sold for three times as much. Honestly, I don't get it; but then, I'm kind of low tech that way. I'm happy with these. Now I'm ready to hit the dusty trail...even if it turns out to be sandy!
Today, I'm going to be making pasta sauce. It's a big job, and I can't say it's one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. Once I get the sauce boiling in the pot, it's not so bad. Then it just takes time. Peeling and chopping the tomatoes gets to be a chore though. Nevertheless, it is so worth it for the pasta sauce. When the rain has been falling for months, opening up a jar of pasta sauce made from tomatoes I grew myself is like opening a jar into summer. The sauce tastes so bright and lively. Okay, I'm getting hungry now, so I'd better stop.
Enjoy your Sunday!
21 comments:
You are just too funny. And I just stirred my applesauce simmering in the crockpot to get a glance at this. Boy, I still have my hiking poles from Boy Scouting days - one is a striped maple (handmade) and the other is a bamboo that someone gave me (also handmade).
That is a monster slug! Like the staffs
Oh my gosh!!! I've never seen a slug that big - and I hope to never see one eye-to-eye in person, which considering my height is about how it would be LOL!!!
Those banana slugs are tasty on toast right? Anyway, love the poles. I know what you mean about REI but we end up there every time anyway and Chris belongs to some kind of dividend club thing so Sometimes we get a good deal and your poles look like neat ones.
I live in the NW and that is the biggest, ugliest slug I have ever seen. YUK!!! And yes, REI is pricey but sometimes it's the only place that has 'it'...
Awesome slug! I so would've taken that away with me for a cuddle :P
Ewww. Yuck. Hope they stop those ugly slugs from crossing the border into Canada. LOL Seriously-that is butt ugly. Brave lady in your bare toes. I would have needed wellies!
Pretty cool slug! We have giant ones too with lots and lots of spots. They live in our retaining wall and we name them Mr Slugly. I can't kill them either because Taylor loves them so much, even if they do munch on my plants. Good find on the trekking poles!
That is one big bugger, lol. I love making homemade sauce, even if it is an all day event, so worth it.
Debbie
You should have skewered it on one of the hiking poles and stuck it on the barbecue.
There again, I can talk. I remember screaming in the kitchen for my husband to come and decide whether the big green thing on the floor by the bin was a slug or a gherkin.
Hit me with your best shot! Fire away. Ok, I'm weird, but I love banana slugs. Hiking the redwoods around Eureka was always more fun when bright yellow was spotted sliming along.
That definitely out did my peeping Tom snake. Yuck, Yuck, and more Yuck......OMGosh my eyes have just burst into flames....I know you warned me....but............Arghhhh
Whew! I'm glad I had on all my safety equipment - altho' it was kinda hot in here with all of it on. I'm a bit surprised that Smitty wasn't checking out that slug.
That's a good karioke (sp??) song! I tend towards Beach Boys or Eagles.
'Course it helps that my friends are "real" singers & good at harmonies. ;)
Those trekking poles look very helpful - and SCORE!!! a monopod to boot! Good job!
It must be pasta sauce time. I watched Pioneer Woman make some delicious looking meat sauce today (thank you TiVo!). Although she went the short cut way with canned wolf peaches. Yours looks so good in the jars when you're done. MMmmmmmmMMMmMMMmmm.
That must be a cousin of the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug mascot. Those things are HUGE like yours but bright yellow!
Glad to see you purchased trekking poles. I'm still figuring out whether to get them or what. Let me know how they work for you. Evidently it takes about 20-30 minutes to learn to use them properly. Hope to hear about them in the near future.
I am canning home grown tomatoes, too. So far, tomato jam is done. We will see what comes out of the garden quantity wise for the next project.
Good luck with the knee.
Susan
We have leopard slugs here (on account of their spots) and they seem inordinately fond of kitty food! Summer generally sees Tom's bowl in the middle of a plate of water to keep the dry food therein ant and slug free!
Boy, do I live in a hole or what? I didn't know slugs grew to that proportion. And, trekking poles. I'll have to blog about my nut gatherer. Do you have one of those?
You sound pretty good today, a little shopping and some decisions are just what you needed. I like your slug, he's not pretty but he's more interesting than our plain black ones.
Wow! That is one mondo slug! It's funny, because I found the smallest one I've ever seen this morning! Ous look very different than yours. I didn't take a picture of the tiny thing this morning. Oh well. We bought hiking, ahem, trekking poles for my step-Dad this past Christmas. His doctor recommended them for balance. It's funny though, since all the places he walks are flat. The beach and a trail at the park. There aren't any hills within 50 miles of here. Those look nice though, and how cool that it has the camera mount! Now you can set your timer without having to find a good spot to set the camera!
Barbara, Barbara, Barbara... there is no such thing as No Cats Land... it is *all* their domain LOL...
That slug gives me the yickees! I remember I was raking once and moved my hand up the pole right onto a slug... GROSS!
HAHA - salt makes 'em taste better! yeah, ok, but no thanks, I'm thinkin' it's a good time to turn vegetarian....got any chocolate instead? (a bean, grows on a plant, MUST be a veggie....)
That is one TX-sized slug, all right. We get 'em too, but haven't seen any that large, possibly 'cuz of the drought. We did have a heavy dew the other day, and an outbreak of snails to go along with it...I could have harvested up a few of 'em & made a full dinner, but I left 'em out there to go their own way.
On another note - I didn't know there was such a thing as "no cat's land" -- I'm pretty sure they own the house, and as owners, have rights of domain. At least, that's always been the way of our furlines.
Glad you're getting some sauce made - will warm up those cold winter evenings that are a-comin!
Those hiking /trekking/walking poles will really help you're knees stay safe and be less painful on your trip. I find them so useful. You got them for a really good price as well. I'm still shaking from the sight of the monster slug.. not my most favourite of creatures. I think I'd better go and stroke some fabric to recover from the experience.
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