Hobo Jungle

[webenda]

NIGHT FREIGHT: 1943

January 1943. "Freight operations on the Indiana Harbor Belt railroad between Chicago and Hammond, Indiana. At 8:45 p.m. the train arrives at its destination." Photo by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information.

Thank you Tramp. The scene drips with nostalgia. Not necessarily a happy time in America, but a scene to warm the hearts of us railroad aficionados.

[robert.]

What if he is trying to say " you guys are cold, dim lit blowhards full of hot air"?

[rex desilets]

Wayne- I'm a fan of Jack Delano's photographs. But this one is new to me. Superb.

If you want to study up on weathering during the Forties, when steam ruled, look over his photos available in the Library of Congress.

[webenda]

Wayne- I'm a fan of Jack Delano's photographs. But this one is new to me. Superb.

If you want to study up on weathering during the Forties, when steam ruled, look over his photos available in the Library of Congress.

I use the Library of Congress digital files often.

Night Freight: 1943 is located at http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004673819/

Night Freight 1943

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Reference: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001016003/PP/

[webenda]

Hobo Capercaillie Stew anyone? Seems like it would be easy enough to catch one. Just take a walk through their forest habitate and one will offer itself for dinner. ==> https://youtu.be/FXkg_5qjz8c

[webenda]

Kinda slow here in the Hobo Jungle. Decided to go on a bicycle ride.

Road the East Bank trail over to Sweetwater Wetlands Park in Tucson this morning. Nice name, Sweetwater... the pond water is sourced from Tucson Sewer effluent.

Couldn't help but think, as as the trail dropped down 300 feet from my house to Sweetwater Park, "This must be like Heaven, where all the trails are downhill, both directions."
https://youtu.be/5ud5T5I4XcA

Due to yesterday's rains, the park was a muddy, slithy mess. Here is the best description I can think of to describe riding a road bike in the mud:

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

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It was worth it to see a borogove swimming in the black water. Pulled cellphone out of seat bag, got a picture.

All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

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The ride back, coming up from out of the sewer, reminded me, "All the trails in Hell are uphill, both directions." The good part is I burned 515 calories. Stepped on scale when I got home and, seeing 199 on the scale for the first time in 40 years, started singing, "AT LAST, below the 200 lb barrier."
https://youtu.be/BTxYEN13LnU

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Edits: Bunch of minor edits to improve flow of information.

[rogruth]

Wayne,

Good for you.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

It's good news to hear that you are exercising and well, Wayne.

[Tramp]

http://www.penbaypilot.com/article/eric ... sure/76478

[webenda]

Thank you Tramp, enjoyed reading, "Model Railroad Nationals Disappointment," again.

[J. S. Bach]

Great read. I think that I have met a few "Bobs" in my hobby show travels.

[rogruth]

Dave,

I think I have also met "Bob". I have not been to as many different areas as you.
One trip to the York meet. TCA seems to refer to their sponsored shows and sales as meets.
Without going into a lot of detail I did find it enjoyable and I did see and hear all of the types that are talked about.
I have also attended TCA meets in Kentucky and Florida. They were complete opposites. Florida folks were very
friendly. The Kentucky people were not. I have also visited hobby/train stores in Kentucky and did not find them to
be friendly either. This surprised me because I went to college in Kentucky and taught there for six years and found
most to be rather friendly. Also married a Kentucky girl.

Kentucky. The home of beautiful horses and fast women.

[webenda]

Big spider!

[MurphOnMillerAve]

In these parts (the east coast), spiders enter homes at this time of year; centipedes come right behind them (since they eat spiders.) I have found two sprays that work wonders:

(1.) When I see a spider or any insect, I use TAT (sold by: Walco Linck Co. [800-338-2329] <www.TATkillsBugs.com>) which has a way of seemingly dissolving the critter as it takes a step or two farther in front of me. I have not seen a single one of them make it to four steps along their intended path. I love it! It gives the hunter in me joy! And the residue does not leave any discoloration on the walls (white) or carpeting (also white).

(2.)ORTHO Home Defense Max Insect Killer 12-month Control, which I spray at this time of year all around the outside perimeter of the house at the point where the first floor meets the basement - where I can reach - but most importantly, I spray it inside the house, all along the walls where they meet the floor, directly onto the baseboards (white) and carpeting (white) and tile, behind drapes and furniture, etc. We literally see where centipedes and spiders have taken their last steps, stopped not 4" (max) from the walls. Dead. We vacuum them up. Very, very, very effective stuff, which I recommend highly to all you warriors out there. The ORTHO seems to establish a "moat" around the entire house, across which no little nasty gets beyond. All we have to do is collect the corpses, which have been fewer and fewer, as the years have progressed. I guess they got the message and have passed it onto the next generations.
Murph the annihilator of the creepy

[webenda]

It is a very nice, tidy spider.



The spider pictured cleans up its web every morning (eats it) and rebuilds every evening (recycles the silk eaten that morning) so it is not a problem.

Do you know about a spider's anatomy? See those two red rectangular areas just behind the rear legs... those are where the spider's "book" lungs are located. Spiders do not have red blood, they have blue blood, so the red coloring is a pigment.

Can you tell me if this is a male or female spider? Hint--look at her Pedipalps.

My wife once called me, "Wayne! Come here, I want you to see this. What is this?"

She was pointing to a pile of dead mosquitoes on the floor in front of the light (a tall narrow window) next to the door. I told her it was a pile of dry mosquitoes. There was a spider named "Jaws" in the window. The mosquitoes got caught in her web before they found us and sucked our blood. When Jaws was finished sucking them dry, she cut them out of her web and dropped them. Spiders like a tidy web.

My wife replied, "Oh... I just sucked Jaws into the vacuum. You want to get her out?"

I did not. Soon another spider took Jaw's place in the window. My wife left it in the window next time she cleaned the hallway.

My wife feared nothing. Once she found a scorpion on a video tape. She picked it up by the tail and brought it to me, "Here, I found a big one, you want it?" It was the biggest Hadrurus arizonensis I had ever seen so I held my hand out and she dropped it into my hand. It stung, stung, stung me several times before I could grab its flailing stinger. I put it in a clean aquarium, one of the ones I used to raise mice for my wife's pet rattlesnake.