Hobby Thread - June 7, 2025 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin and it came up with tree houses!

Tree houses? Yes, tree houses (and a few other goodies too).

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Tree houses are fun. There is something about having a clubhouse amid the branches. Kids with parents that built tree houses were neighborhood magnets. Many kids started with ambitious plans that ultimately went unrealized when the visions exceeded the capability, skill and resource of youth.

Did you or your family build a tree house? How ambitious? Does anyone have stories of the shenanigans that ensued around tree houses?

Did you have a rope ladder? swing? zip line? slide? Did you have a bucket that could be raised and lowered for supplies?

Are tree houses for kids an American thing or do they exist elsewhere?

Did you stock pile apples or other projectiles and pelt any below who dared approach?

Were you a tree climber in your youth? Did you find ways to elevate and find adventure or a bit of privacy? Did you ever get yourself into trouble and require a rescue? Did the climbing bug bite and spur you to mountain climbing or other climbing adventures later in life?

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Seems like a good place to start:

How to Build a Treehouse

8 Tips for Building a Treehouse

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Doesn't every tree house need a water cannon?

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In looking across the interweb, tree houses seem to have become larger, more complex, and more robust than I recall as a youth. Anything that can be done, can be done with more gusto.

Maybe they existed without my knowledge, but it seems like there are more professional tree house plans and builders on the interweb as well.

Perhaps our modern safety culture has resulted in less rickety castles in the sky but they also appear to be structures that require a fair amount of knowledge and resource.

Tree houses also seem to have become mostly for adults rather than children. The number of giant tree houses with polished interiors for rent on the interweb is amazing. Putting a nice house among the trees is nice, but also a long way from the small box of wood that fueled hours of amusement for kids.

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Wow. Professional and obviously not made as a child's playhouse, but what a view.

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Bastards.

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If you're really crafty, you can decorate the inside of a kid's room to feel a lot like the outside.

Cool Interior Tree Home: Best Kids Bedroom Design Ever?

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This had to be in here somewhere.

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Bicycle elevator:

A tree house that rotates? Sure. Why not?

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If we were doing a fishing theme, I'd feel compelled to include this story:

South Philly man reels in 72-pound catfish from Schuylkill River near new trail extension in Grays Ferry

In the past, Brown said he and his father-in-law have caught flathead catfish in the Schuylkill River that weigh anywhere from 30 to 50 pounds. A few weeks ago, they caught a 40-pound flathead in the same spot. They've caught just about every species known to inhabit that area of the Schuylkill, Brown said, but he had no idea a Goliath like the fish he caught Sunday was lurking in the water.
Other anglers sometimes fillet the fish they catch in the Schuylkill, but Brown said he wouldn't take the risk.
"I wouldn't eat anything out of that river," he said. "Where I fish, the water that comes out of there is a runoff. It mixes with sewage water. I'd advise anybody not to eat that stuff."

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For the 3D printing enthusiasts among the Horde:

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Horde Hobbying update from our friend tankascribe:

18.5 hours on a 12 x 24 inch canvas, in oils.
This is based on a photo I snapped from the back seat of the car while heading south from the East Rim of the Grand Canyon on Highway 64 around 4 PM and the sun was getting low. The hills were casting a nice deep shadow while the canyon was still brilliantly lit. As we pulled into Cameron (to scope out the bathrooms at the famous Indian trading post), a beautiful full moon rose up in the east.
After we got home, going through the photos I was amazed that the one taken from the moving car had actually turned out, decided to paint it and include the full moon. The rather wimpy clouds were replaced with some taken from a "storm clouds over the Grand Canyon" image found on the internet.

Reference photos:

20250606-Cloud Reference.jpg

20250606-Moon reference.jpg

I love when Horde hobbyists submit their work. I really love when they share the background and explain how a piece came together, like tankascribe did. Be like tankascribe.

Thank you!

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What are you hobbying these days?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Your participation does not need to limited to the theme. All hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls. Pants, as always, are optional.

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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We talked scale modeling. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

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Notable comments from last week:

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Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

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If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, hijack the thread for your hobbying as you see fit. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Welcome Hobbiests

Posted by: Skip at June 07, 2025 05:30 PM (+qU29)

2 I never had a treehouse, but I was very much a tree climber when I was a kid.

I climbed quite high, too. My parents didn't seem to mind too much.

Amazingly, I never fell out of a tree.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 07, 2025 05:33 PM (GlyvH)

3 Only barely a seat did we ever get that far, and just neighborhood kids.
But a few times in far away , well for kids, did build underground forts.

Posted by: Skip at June 07, 2025 05:33 PM (+qU29)

4 I had a treehouse as a kid. And built some, too. They were not uncommon in my part of B.C.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at June 07, 2025 05:35 PM (1k1d0)

5 Do you know what lives in trees? Yeah, those things.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at June 07, 2025 05:36 PM (/U5Yz)

6 Just came in to fix my welding helmet at the electronics bench. Back to the salt mines, and I think I will take a PBR with me.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at June 07, 2025 05:36 PM (1k1d0)

7 >>> "I wouldn't eat anything out of that river," he said. "Where I fish, the water that comes out of there is a runoff. It mixes with sewage water. I'd advise anybody not to eat that stuff."

Why would you fish there then?

Just supporting the neighborhood earthworm ranch?

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at June 07, 2025 05:39 PM (/lPRQ)

8 Rich kids with big houses and huge trees built tree houses. Us poors had to use plain old cardboard boxes on the ground.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at June 07, 2025 05:40 PM (0eaVi)

9 8 Rich kids with big houses and huge trees built tree houses. Us poors had to use plain old cardboard boxes on the ground.
Posted by: OrangeEnt

Carboard? Luxury.
We had to gather up sticks and use those.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at June 07, 2025 05:42 PM (/U5Yz)

10 I built a tree house as a kid but unfortunately we didn't have any huge trees like oaks . We had three what we called China ball trees. It produced green marble sized 'China balls' . Great to use in sling shots.

The tree houses were more like deer stands.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 05:43 PM (VofaG)

11 Every since I read "Trudy And The Treehouse" as a kid, I always wanted a treehouse. Alas, it was not to be. Sigh.

Posted by: tankascribe at June 07, 2025 05:44 PM (NtoJk)

12 Ho- bee

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at June 07, 2025 05:45 PM (Splbu)

13 Cleaned my outdoor ham radio antenna connections today with some new WD-40 contact cleaner. Worked like a champ at 1/4 the price of DeOxit. Much better receive signals now.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at June 07, 2025 05:45 PM (/U5Yz)

14 Love tree houses and climbing trees!

One of my coolest childhood memories is climbing way up in a fantastic tree near the lake at City Park with my best friend. It was magical!

Posted by: Emmie at June 07, 2025 05:46 PM (rF2iL)

15 What my friends and I tried to do more than treehouses were to build underground tunnels. God looked out for our dumbasses because he would flood them before we could kill ourselves .

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 05:47 PM (VofaG)

16 Carboard? Luxury.
We had to gather up sticks and use those.
Posted by: Maj. Healey at June 07, 2025 05:42 PM (/U5Yz)

Cardboard used from the garbage pile. They came pre-fouled for our amusement.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at June 07, 2025 05:48 PM (0eaVi)

17 Great job, Tankascribe

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at June 07, 2025 05:49 PM (xcxpd)

18 Very soothing painting tankascribe . Nice job.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 05:49 PM (VofaG)

19 Carboard? Luxury.
We had to gather up sticks and use those.
Posted by: Maj. Healey

Wow you had sticks?

bed sheets were all we had.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at June 07, 2025 05:50 PM (d2jCh)

20 18 Very soothing painting tankascribe . Nice job.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 05:49 PM
***
High praise.

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 05:51 PM (Eaoic)

21 Never had a treehouse. I don't think I knew anyone who did.

Excellent work, tankascribe.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 05:53 PM (CHHv1)

22 I grew up in what was known then as a "slave quarter" apartment in the French Quarter. No trees to be had, at least not in our paved patio. Mom had her potted plants -- which she started putting in only after we boys were older and no longer played ball or other games in the patio. So the notion of a tree house for me was limited to seeing ones on Leave It to Beaver or similar shows on TV.

That said, the "railroad car" kid's bedroom on the outside of the house is neat.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 05:54 PM (omVj0)

23 8 Rich kids with big houses and huge trees built tree houses. Us poors had to use plain old cardboard boxes on the ground.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at June 07, 2025 05:40 PM (0eaVi)

We once turned every piece of lawn chair furniture on its side, covered over the tops with old Army blankets, and used all of Mom's clothespins to tack it all down. It made for a cozy, maze-like "fort" on the ground and we'd crawl through it, chasing each other. Then Mom made us take it all apart, fold the blankets, put every lawn chair back where it had been and pick up every single damn one of her clothespins back or she was going to tan our hides.

It was fun while it lasted, though!

Posted by: tankascribe at June 07, 2025 05:54 PM (NtoJk)

24 Nice painting tankascribe . It captures the look and feel of that area perfectly.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at June 07, 2025 05:54 PM (/U5Yz)

25 Swiss Family Robinson.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 05:55 PM (LHPAg)

26 2 I never had a treehouse, but I was very much a tree climber when I was a kid.

I climbed quite high, too. My parents didn't seem to mind too much.

Amazingly, I never fell out of a tree.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 07, 2025 05:33 PM

And now we get the origin story for Perfessor Squirrel!

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at June 07, 2025 05:56 PM (HlyYF)

27 Good work, tankascribe. It sort of reminds me of Palo Duro Canyon in Texas near Amarillo -- but I've actually been there, and have never seen the Grand Canyon in person. Palo Duro is impressive too though.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 05:57 PM (omVj0)

28 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 05:54 PM (omVj0)

Have you ever visited Longfellow's Evangeline Oak in St Martinville . You could make a great tree house in it.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 05:57 PM (VofaG)

29 Thanks, Mark, Polynikes! I really enjoyed painting this one and for once, didn't have any nasty issues in the process. My painting mentor also paid me the best compliment ever: "This painting is sellable." Meaning, if it were hung in a gallery, it would sell. Not that I hang in a gallery, or put on shows (I'm too slow and don't produce much) but it was very flattering as I finally felt like I'd painted a landscape that was up to par with my portraits.

Posted by: tankascribe at June 07, 2025 05:58 PM (NtoJk)

30 15 What my friends and I tried to do more than treehouses were to build underground tunnels. God looked out for our dumbasses because he would flood them before we could kill ourselves .
Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 05:47 PM (VofaG)
We were diggers too. Almost suffocated a few times in cave-ins.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 05:59 PM (LHPAg)

31 JTB, if you're here, or other pipe smokers: I bought some of C & D's Sansepolcro pipe tobacco late last month and have been trying it out. The stuff is strong. I can't smoke it more than about six to ten minutes at a time. Today I mixed it with some of the same company's Pegasus, which is also not weak, and had the same reaction. I'll have to try it with something much milder like Carter Hall, or with only a pinch in the bowl, or both.

Aside from that, this week I bought some flints for my Zippo lighter and changed the flint without trouble.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 06:00 PM (omVj0)

32 When I was a kid, a bunch of the kids in my neighborhood built a treehouse in a big old tree in front of an abandoned farm house. Between hanging out in the house and the treehouse it was a great summer. These days our parents would have been arrested for child endangerment.

Posted by: Mrs. Leggy at June 07, 2025 06:01 PM (dyL4B)

33 Amazingly, I never fell out of a tree.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 07, 2025 05:33 PM

And now we get the origin story for Perfessor Squirrel!
Posted by: Pillage Idiot at June 07, 2025 05:56 PM (HlyYF)
----
I never really thought of it like that, but there may some truth to it.

At one house I lived at, I was so good at climbing one tree, I could scamper up it like I was a squirrel.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 07, 2025 06:01 PM (GlyvH)

34
Have you ever visited Longfellow's Evangeline Oak in St Martinville . You could make a great tree house in it.
Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025

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No -- though I was in the vicinity when we went to Franklin, LA, in April. Those oaks all over City Park and Audubon Park would be good treehouse sites too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 06:03 PM (omVj0)

35 My best friend and I put together a bi-level treehouse back in the early 70's. Wood was sourced from construction sites and walked the 'sourced materials' about 2 miles into the woods where our fortress was assembled with borrowed tools and hardware.

Perfect for smoking pot.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 07, 2025 06:03 PM (Q4IgG)

36 I had tree houses as a kid. Most I build myself. One time we had a sweetgum tree near the house topped. They cut it straight off about 30 feet up and it was still about 12" across. I made a little wood seat and hauled it up there and nailed in on. I could sit on my perch on top and look out over the neighborhood.

Posted by: fd at June 07, 2025 06:04 PM (vFG9F)

37 When we lived in Las Vegas, we'd ride our bikes out into the surrounding desert, hang out in the big dry washes and gullies, pretend they were forts and have dirt clod fights. None of us were ever kidnapped, killed, or bitten by a rattlesnake (I never saw a rattlesnake until we moved to Northern California, LOL). Got some skinned knees and elbows, though. So long as we were home by supper, all was cool.

Posted by: tankascribe at June 07, 2025 06:04 PM (NtoJk)

38 AOP do you have an auto darkening helmet? Mine made welding so much easier for me.

Posted by: Ronster at June 07, 2025 06:05 PM (30Qk6)

39 I still climb my trees occasionally, probably shouldn't

Posted by: Skip at June 07, 2025 06:07 PM (+qU29)

40 When we lived in Las Vegas, we'd ride our bikes out into the surrounding desert, hang out in the big dry washes and gullies, pretend they were forts and have dirt clod fights. None of us were ever kidnapped, killed, or bitten by a rattlesnake (I never saw a rattlesnake until we moved to Northern California, LOL). Got some skinned knees and elbows, though. So long as we were home by supper, all was cool.
Posted by: tankascribe at June 07, 2025

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I always wanted to live in the West. (Still do.) If, instead of settling in Da Swamp, my people had moved in the '50s to Santa Fe or Flagstaff or Tucson, or even Denver, I'd have been in kid heaven.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 06:08 PM (omVj0)

41 So, is catfish a culinary luxury or an abomination?

I've heard both sides.

Posted by: Stateless.. 21% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:09 PM (jvJvP)

42 I animated a scene for an upcoming project. Here's a still. Not sure why it's so giant.

https://tinyurl.com/ycycw56w

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 06:09 PM (CHHv1)

43 Never had a treehouse. Climbed trees. Never fell out of one. But climbed many a tall pecan tree in a windstorm just to hug the tree and yell wahoo!

I did have a playhouse built by my grandfather. It was big enough for a small table, two chairs and a little cupboard. It also had a small, screened window. My brother and I loved eating lunch out there when it wasn’t too hot outside. It was most fun in the winter during a rainstorm. Or even better, in the rare Dallas snow event.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 07, 2025 06:10 PM (mT+6a)

44 I animated a scene for an upcoming project. Here's a still. Not sure why it's so giant.

https://tinyurl.com/ycycw56w
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025

***
A cover for a '50s issue of Astounding or Galaxy!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 06:11 PM (omVj0)

45 https://tinyurl.com/ycycw56w
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 06:09 PM (CHHv1)

That looks cool.
Colorful!

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:11 PM (jvJvP)

46 animated a scene for an upcoming project. Here's a still. Not sure why it's so giant.

https://tinyurl.com/ycycw56w
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 06:09 PM (CHHv1)

Big time Salvador Dali feeling to me. Really cool.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 06:11 PM (VofaG)

47 One thing I remember about living in the Mojave desert is they replaced a lot of windshields. Another is the way one day your backyard would be completely invaded by tumbleweeds and the next day they would be all gone.

Posted by: fd at June 07, 2025 06:12 PM (vFG9F)

48 41 So, is catfish a culinary luxury or an abomination?
I've heard both sides.

Posted by: Stateless.. 21% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:09 PM
***
Stateless!

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 06:14 PM (Eaoic)

49 The cats are pacing around, and Stirling is squeaking at me. It's well past their dinnertime. But Linda wants to feed them a new cat ("kitten") food she got for free in exchange for reviewing it online, and she needs to see how they like it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 07, 2025 06:14 PM (omVj0)

50 It was fun while it lasted, though!
Posted by: tankascribe at June 07, 2025 05:54 PM (NtoJk)

Neighbor kids in Ft Bliss did that. It was a fun little fort!

Posted by: Emmie at June 07, 2025 06:16 PM (rF2iL)

51 So, is catfish a culinary luxury or an abomination?
I've heard both sides.

Posted by: Stateless.. 21% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:09 PM
***

We have at least five catfish restaurants within 10 miles of my house.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 06:16 PM (VofaG)

52 We never had a treehouse but my late father owned a service station and stored tires in our basement. A lot of them.

So we would build tire forts which were actually pretty cool. There were enough stacks of tires that we could get relatively elaborate.

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:16 PM (jvJvP)

53 Stateless!

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 06:14 PM (Eaoic)

Hello and Thank You! Getting better but beer day today. There's light at the end of the tunnel.

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:18 PM (jvJvP)

54 We never had a treehouse but my late father owned a service station and stored tires in our basement. A lot of them.

So we would build tire forts which were actually pretty cool. There were enough stacks of tires that we could get relatively elaborate.

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:16 PM (jvJvP)

Hah you reminded me of the rafts we used to make with the tire tubes I'd get from my father's gas stations.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 06:19 PM (VofaG)

55 Catfish is NASTY.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 07, 2025 06:20 PM (WVdLT)

56 We have at least five catfish restaurants within 10 miles of my house.
Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 06:16 PM (VofaG)

Really?

I wonder if it's a regional thing. I'm sure it is. We had an 'uncle' that took us fishing and we threw back catfish.

But I've heard wonderful things about catfish from others.

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:20 PM (jvJvP)

57 Hah you reminded me of the rafts we used to make with the tire tubes I'd get from my father's gas stations.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 06:19 PM (VofaG

Yay, my job here is done today!

Hi nurse!

Everyone have a great night. God has been taking care of a lot of my problems so I am hoping to have a great story in a few weeks.

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:23 PM (jvJvP)

58 Absolutely love fried catfish.

Cornmeal butter milk batter.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 06:23 PM (VofaG)

59 Back to treehouses...

If you do a search for "treehouse rentals", you'll be amazed at what comes up.

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:26 PM (jvJvP)

60 One of the cable channels has a show called “Treehouse Masters.”

It’s over the top and very cool.

Posted by: nurse ratched at June 07, 2025 06:28 PM (mT+6a)

61 I am sure I could build a awesome treehouse

Posted by: Skip at June 07, 2025 06:32 PM (+qU29)

62 Love of tree houses led to zip lines imho.

I tried to make one between my two tree houses with a regular rope.

Tip : don't use your dad's leather belt to use as the 'trolley' . Friction heat will snap it in two and you'll find your self on the ground with your breath knocked out of you.

Posted by: polynikes at June 07, 2025 06:33 PM (VofaG)

63 Sadly, our neighborhood didn't have any trees suitable for treehouses and damn few even good for climbing. But we all loved the idea. When the movie Swiss Family Robinson came out in 1960, every boy in town must have watched it many times. (This was when you could sit through consecutive showings if the next show wasn't sold out. My friends and I sat through three showings back to back one day.) We all loved that treehouse and the adventure that went with it.

Since we couldn't do a treehouse we used any elevated and enclosed or enclosable space for the ambience: garage lofts, high porches, and snow forts when there was enough snow.

Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 06:34 PM (yTvNw)

64 No doubt you could, Skip. You might see if you need a permit first. I see from time to time where people have to take their treehouses down because of some zoning law or HOA or other intrusion upon our liberty.

Posted by: fd at June 07, 2025 06:35 PM (vFG9F)

65 64 No doubt you could, Skip. You might see if you need a permit first. I see from time to time where people have to take their treehouses down because of some zoning law or HOA or other intrusion upon our liberty.
Posted by: fd at June 07, 2025 06:35 PM (vFG9F)

Not my story to tell but I hope my friend tells his story. I told him about this thread....

Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:40 PM (jvJvP)

66 I can understand the guy not eating that catfish considering water quality anywhere near populations. But catfish is delicious and versatile. The ones I have caught have been good fighters, especially if there is a river current.

For those who like catfish, check out recipes for "poor man's lobster". It sounds odd but it works and is easy to make.

Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 06:42 PM (yTvNw)

67 When my kids were little we built a fort out of pallets. I had steady supply to make stockades, rooms, towers, and a jail. I spent a lot of time in that jail.

Pallets make crappy building materials though so it eventually fell apart and we burned it.

Posted by: fd at June 07, 2025 06:44 PM (vFG9F)

68 When my kids were little we built a fort out of pallets. I had steady supply to make stockades, rooms, towers, and a jail. I spent a lot of time in that jail.

Pallets make crappy building materials though so it eventually fell apart and we burned it.
Posted by: fd at June 07, 2025 06:44 PM (vFG9F)

Pallet forts, then a bonfire. Nice!

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 07, 2025 06:46 PM (VNX3d)

69 Well, my hobby is pointing and laughing at Adam Schiff For Brain.

https://shorturl.at/2u04B

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, And You're Not at June 07, 2025 06:46 PM (L/fGl)

70 Catfish was always considered a trash fish eaten by mostly pore folk in the South, but every body ate. They ate these trash fish fried or made a pretty good stew. They were all caught wild and were cleaner than farm-raised catfish today.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 06:48 PM (LHPAg)

71 tankascribe,

Great painting. It has an otherworldly feel about it that really captures the eye, especially with that full moon.

Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 06:50 PM (yTvNw)

72 I hate and refuse to eat seafood/fish. Fried catfish is popular around here, though. People have big catfish fries in the summer.

I love hushpuppies, though, so long as they’re not fried in the same oil fish have been fried in.

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at June 07, 2025 06:52 PM (l3YAf)

73 Never had a treehouse, though we had trees in the yard.

Bro & I had the best snow-fort that *one winter* we got a whole extra week off from school.

Uncle was still in high school and came to visit us. He filled the garbage can with snow & turned it over (like making a sand castle, only HUGE-er!) again and again until it took up the whole driveway.

We had a big snowball fight with all the neighborhood kids... Mom made a big pot full of hot chocolate...

Then, finally, Dad came home & had to park on the street. Ruh-roh! But he was a good sport and even threw a few snowballs with us. LOL.

Posted by: JQ at June 07, 2025 06:54 PM (rdVOm)

74 Aw, that’s a great story, JQ! I loved building snow forts with my sister as a kid!

Posted by: Disinterested FDA Director at June 07, 2025 06:58 PM (l3YAf)

75 31 ... " I bought some of C & D's Sansepolcro pipe tobacco late last month and have been trying it out. The stuff is strong. I can't smoke it more than about six to ten minutes at a time. Today I mixed it with some of the same company's Pegasus, which is also not weak, and had the same reaction. I'll have to try it with something much milder like Carter Hall, or with only a pinch in the bowl, or both.

Aside from that, this week I bought some flints for my Zippo lighter and changed the flint without trouble."

Hi Wolfus,
I think I mentioned I don't find Sansepolcro to be all that strong. Carter Hall with that mild cocoa taste might go well with it or just some Lane BCA. (I keep some BCA on hand for mixing purposes.) I'll have to try Pegasus. It sounds interesting. And Lane BCA might mix well with Pegasus.

I keep a a couple of old Zippo pipe lighters handy along with plenty of fuel and flints. They are so reliable. The lighter fluid is handy for removing gummy price labels from used books. Some people say the smell of the lighter fluid messes with the taste of the tobacco but I've never noticed that. Maybe I'm not sufficiently sensitive.

Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 07:05 PM (yTvNw)

76 Everyone have a great night. God has been taking care of a lot of my problems so I am hoping to have a great story in a few weeks.
Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:23 PM (jvJvP)
-----------

THIS ^^^^ makes me happy.

Posted by: bluebell at June 07, 2025 07:09 PM (79pEw)

77 Everyone have a great night. God has been taking care of a lot of my problems so I am hoping to have a great story in a few weeks.
Posted by: Stateless.. 22% - mental state clawing up from 10%, shit happened, clawing back now at June 07, 2025 06:23 PM (jvJvP)
-----------

THIS ^^^^ makes me happy.
Posted by: bluebell at June 07, 2025 07:09 PM (79pEw)

Me too. Both that he's sounding happier, and that he isn't constipated.

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 07, 2025 07:13 PM (VNX3d)

78 Did a SOTA hike this morning. Got 7 contacts on 20m and a few more on 2m. Good propagation this weekend, as opposed to last weekend's horrible conditions. I hit Japan, Illinois, Tennessee, and some other spots from my hilltop in southern Oregon.

As for catfish, as a kid growing up in the Midwest I ate it whenever we caught it and I still love it to this day. I probably still have toxic levels of heavy metals in my bloodstream because of it, which could explain a lot....

Posted by: PabloD at June 07, 2025 07:14 PM (Dsfkc)

79 I am late to the party but..... Any Horde experts home brew beer? I have decided to try to home brew alcoholic ginger beer.

Tips? Suggestions? Advice?

Posted by: goatexchange at June 07, 2025 07:15 PM (hyS0X)

80 Thanks, folks! Encouragement is always good--unless it's in a bad cause.

Hobby thread is always one of the highlights of the week--love to see what folks do when they don't have to do it.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 07:15 PM (CHHv1)

81 Brewing beer has been mentioned here before

Posted by: Skip at June 07, 2025 07:18 PM (+qU29)

82 81 Brewing beer has been mentioned here before

Posted by: Skip at June 07, 2025 07:18 PM
***
Sept 2024 but always happy to do another if there is Horde demand.

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 07:20 PM (Eaoic)

83 A good overdriven guitar and a wah pedal are my hobby therapy a couple of times a month these days. It's just noodling around but it helps.

Posted by: jsg at June 07, 2025 07:20 PM (iGK7y)

84 42 ... " I animated a scene for an upcoming project. Here's a still. Not sure why it's so giant."

Beckoning Chasm,

Thanks for the link. It looks REALLY cool. (And another vote for a 1950s sci-fi magazine cover.)

Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 07:20 PM (yTvNw)

85 78 I probably still have toxic levels of heavy metals in my bloodstream because of it, which could explain a lot....

Posted by: PabloD at June 07, 2025 07:14 PM
***
Helps with SOTA reception?

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 07:21 PM (Eaoic)

86 76 THIS ^^^^ makes me happy.

Posted by: bluebell at June 07, 2025 07:09 PM
***
Amen.

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 07:21 PM (Eaoic)

87 Thanks for the link. It looks REALLY cool. (And another vote for a 1950s sci-fi magazine cover.)
Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 07:20 PM (yTvNw)

Where's the scantily-clad big-boobed woman, hm?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at June 07, 2025 07:22 PM (0eaVi)

88 Time to say thank you and good night before the next act takes the Ace of Spades stage. As always, thanks for being here, thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing your stories. The Hobby Thread email box is always open, so send evidence of your hobbying and we'll share.

See y'all in Club ONT later!

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 07:24 PM (Eaoic)

89 TRex,
Thanks as always for the thread. Fun facts about other Horde members and many surprises and, like today, a lot of fond memories. I look forward to the thread every week.

Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 07:27 PM (yTvNw)

90 89 TRex,
Thanks as always for the thread. Fun facts about other Horde members and many surprises and, like today, a lot of fond memories. I look forward to the thread every week.

Posted by: JTB at June 07, 2025 07:27 PM
***
Very kind. Thank you for being a big part of it.

Posted by: TRex at June 07, 2025 07:28 PM (Eaoic)

91 Anything that makes Bluebell happy has to be a greater good in the cosmos.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 07:33 PM (CHHv1)

92 My latest hobby is gaining weight.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:35 PM (LHPAg)

93 I actually have been eating fattening foods a lot.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:35 PM (LHPAg)

94 Anything that makes Bluebell happy has to be a greater good in the cosmos.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 07:33 PM (CHHv1)
----------

Are you coming to see me in a couple weeks at the NoVaMoMe? Would love to have you back!

That goes for the rest of you too!

Posted by: bluebell at June 07, 2025 07:35 PM (79pEw)

95 My recent illness took off 20 or so pounds.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:36 PM (LHPAg)

96 So I eat ice cream.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:36 PM (LHPAg)

97 Candy.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:37 PM (LHPAg)

98 Pie.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:37 PM (LHPAg)

99 Cake.

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:37 PM (LHPAg)

100 100!

Posted by: Eromero at June 07, 2025 07:37 PM (LHPAg)

101 @87 - hmmm....

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at June 07, 2025 07:38 PM (CHHv1)

102 Combined 7 hobbies today. Supported the community by taking the grandkids to Virginia City NV to spend money. Turns out it is Street Vibrations so bikes and bikers galore along with their *ehem ladies. So people watching, and suicidal death machine admiring. The Mongols showed up for a potential replay of a couple of years ago but no trouble. So trying to be firsthand witness to social upheaval. Then there was a live band at a burger joint where a chainmail bikini clad wench served beer. I bought one because. So beer drinking, armor admiring and music playing.
When the band went on break my youngest (5 yo) grand ran up to the drummer and asked to play. Little dude rocked the place for about 10 minutes and got a roaring applause and a set of drumsticks. Good times.

Posted by: Reforger at June 07, 2025 07:48 PM (xcIvR)

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