Tag: replies

You asked for questions about outdoors-y stuff, and so… I’ve just organized a kayak building workshop (with Kiliii — took me seven years to get here!) but it’s in January. I’ve never paddled in cold temps and I don’t anticipate waiting ’til the weather warms to paddle my kayak. So! what are your recommendations for cold weather paddling gear? I’ve been doing research and I am still very confused. Farmer John + something + drytop? + something underneath the wetsuit???

Hey congrats! :O  Kiliii is fantastic, you’ll love him (and love your new kayak! it’s such a transformative experience, getting to hand-build one for yourself!)!!! I’m not sure how much useful cold-weather paddling advice I have, since in my household the paddling season historically ends when September does, but I have kayaked in cold water, at least, and certainly done other winter sports. Exactly what you wear is going to depend a lot on the expected water and air temps, though, and expected conditions/location of the paddle.

I always wear neoprene booties under my Tevas in cold water, and I think they can be combined with wool socks for extra warmth- one of the things about a skin-on-frame kayak is that there is very little material between your body and the water, so even if your spray skirt is working fine you’re going to really feel the water temp anywhere your body touches the sides. I’d add a fleece between the farmer john and the drytop (ideally one that zips down the front so if you get too warm you can de-layer easily), and neoprene or fleece gloves as well. Wool hat or, better, one of those neoprene hoods divers wear.

Honestly your best bet for cold-weather paddling advice is going to be Kiliii himself though- you’ll have access to a real expert and should take advantage of him! I hope that was at least a little helpful, though (my father, who is much more expert than I, recommends an actual drysuit if you’re going to be paddling in below 45°F weather, although those are crazy expensive, and can be too hot when you’re in motion). 

“hi my name is mica and I like algae, fungi, and non-vascular plants” tell us abt ur favorites?

OH GOSH okay 

  • well it’s not technically a fungus anymore because phylogeny shenanigans happened, but dog vomit slime mold holds a special place in my heart. We had some growing in our bathroom in georgia and it MOVED. I named it Clyde, and lovingly observed it ooze slowly across the tiles for like two weeks before my roommate decided it was Time For Bleach and killed it. 😦
  • I know I keep talking about cedar-apple rust but it is still the Coolest Fungus- it spends half of it’s life cycle being a blight to apple trees, and then CHANGES HOSTS to spend the other half being the weirdest, most alien-looking growth ever on juniper (eastern red cedar) trees.
  • FOXFIRE! Basically everything bioluminescent is awesome, but Panellus stipticus is a mushroom that glows quite brightly in the dark, and is the coolest shit ever on night hikes.
  • most of the other mushrooms I can think of off the top of my head are the well-known edible ones, which I know is terribly boring of me. In my defense, chicken-of-the-woods is hella impressive. 
  • I don’t have a favorite species, but I adore liverworts, (and only partly for that name!). They’re non-vascular plants, and I’m fond of them because liverworts are often the first things that begin to grow on bare rock faces, before there’s even enough soil for moss to get established. Every time I was hiking as in New England and saw them clinging to an otherwise bare expanse of granite I’d take a moment to be impressed by the tenacity of plants.
  • as for algae, I love seaweed! Plenty of seaweeds, but of course rockweed is an old friend, and a good one. Nothing is quite like meaning to put your foot down on some nice rough barnacle-y rocks and actually putting it down on an extremely slick pile of rockweed, and then ending up face-first into a tide-pool. ah, fond memories of dumb injuries. 
  • on the algae theme, I’ve also always thought sea lettuce was cool. I used to hold it up and look at the light through it, as a kid.
  • I know it’s a vasulcar plant but “princess pine” (actually a clubmoss) is another favorite in an adjacent category. We always had a little grove of them under the holly trees back home, I remember thinking of them as a faerie forest as a small child. 
  • ANOTHER vascular plant that just feels like it belongs on this list for being weird is sea pickle, aka glasswort. It’s edible and odd and grows in my favorite place, the salt marsh. a tasty salty snack!

Character ask : Reginald Jeeves :) also Mulan (disney :D Because she is my fav ever)

1) fight them or fight for them

Jeeves: I wouldn’t dare, he’d end me without lifting a finger if I tried to fight him, and if I tried to fight for him I’d just mess up his carefully laid plans. 

Mulan: can she fight for me instead?? I feel like that would go better for all involved. 

2) on a scale of 1-10 how excited do I get when I see them

10, 10. 

3) would i smooch

Jeeves: If… I liked men…. I might………..consider it. Mulan: heck yeah

4) have I drawn/written about them/should i draw/write about them

Jeeves: …..maybe a little….. Mulan: surprisingly, no. I should, though, yes. 

5) voice HC if they don’t have a voice already

again, both of these characters have had an actual voice so… …..

For the character ask : Bertie Wooster :D

1) fight them or fight for them

I don’t need to do either, I would stand back and watch the mess he gets into all by himself. With popcorn. 

2) on a scale of 1-10 how excited do I get when I see them

10. always. 

3) would i smooch

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

4) have I drawn/written about them/should i draw/write about them

oh… y’know… once or twice…….

5) voice HC if they don’t have a voice already

Hugh Laurie kinda sealed that deal for me. I don’t remember if I had a mental impression before I watched the show, it was too long ago now. 

both eponine and cosette

1) fight them or fight for them

Cosette: fight for her, but she probably doesn’t need my help. Eponine: if I fought for her she’d probably try to fight ME, and beat me up. 

2) on a scale of 1-10 how excited do I get when I see them

a nice gentle 7, at this point. the fire of my Les Mis feelings is a banked, but still smoldering. 

3) would i smooch

Cosette: yes, provided I was a teen and/or she was older in this scenario. Eponine: n….o…… I do not want to get bitten. 

4) have I drawn/written about them/should i draw/write about them

oh man yeah, plenty back when I read les mis

5) voice HC if they don’t have a voice already

I mean, I love a lot of the different productions but the one my high school did back in 2010 was my Formative Les Mis Exposure so that’s who I hear in my head still. 

Darcy?

1) fight them or fight for them

lemme at him

2) on a scale of 1-10 how excited do I get when I see them

4? idk

3) would i smooch

ew, a boy

4) have I drawn/written about them/should i draw/write about them

I have drawn him once, looking concerned

5) voice HC if they don’t have a voice already

Again, the 1995 Collin Firth one is pretty solidly entrenched for me. 

Elizabeth Bennet?

1) fight them or fight for them

I want to argue with Lizzy, it seems like she would be into recreational debate the same way I am. 

2) on a scale of 1-10 how excited do I get when I see them

oh 9, easily. 

3) would i smooch

hell yeah

4) have I drawn/written about them/should i draw/write about them

I’ve drawn her a few times, though only two of them have made it online, iirc

5) voice HC if they don’t have a voice already

I mean, she’s so solidly Jennifer Ehle in my head it’s hard to imagine an alternate.