Scraped my foot, now fearing going barefoot

I got out to our local state park yesterday. It was blustery, but the ground was warm. Notice the lake is still mostly frozen.

 

I stopped for a short while. then realized no one really cared. I was questioned maybe twice, no big deal, I do wear a mask though. Feet are not a gateway for the covid virus: It only affects cells in the nose and respiratory system , no one ever asked the public to wear biohazard suits and beside this there are no dress code rules about covid so no need to make up new ones. As long as you don't pick your nose with your toes, no need to get paranoid, but I can understand that this environment can make us nervous.

 

It’s not actually the virus putting me off it’s the hassle of being challenged - there’s usually door security and it was bad enough being questioned about the mask. I did have door security radio their manager about being barefoot in one place. I just gave up and shop online now, going in stores isn’t enjoyable in the slightest at the minute. I hope we get back to normality but until then I’m just going to go barefoot in nature. Looking forward to doing that soon

 

Yeah i had to go retrieve flipflops from my car once in a supermarket and another time from my bag in a hospital. Grand total of 2 times over 14 months. Some staff persons may become nervous but it's their problem. I can relate to your feelings but at some point decided to stop caring and it worked for me, i feel much better now.

 

At the hospital: "but... but... we are in the middle of a pandemic and you come in barefoot... " nurses in confusion. I smile lightly and whip off my indian sack purse the worst possible tire rubber african flops battered and dirty af. I expected to see some nurse faint. Good fun!

 

Owner of maskless Florida grocery store says coronavirus pandemic is a hoax
Video shows shoppers, employees without face coverings

NAPLES, Fla. – Despite the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic, no one at a crowded grocery store in Naples was wearing a face mask. That’s because Alfie Oakes, the owner of Oakes Farms - Seed to Table Market, is not enforcing customers or employees to do so, News 6 partner WPLG reported.

Its too far away but I would have loved to bring a friend and have them record any interaction if they gave me a hard time for going in barefoot. I would wear a mask for sure.

Would have been a YouTube hit when this story was still in the headlines if they gave me the usual mythical "health code" reasons and I called them out on THAT hoax.

 

Sharp and jagged. They’re oblong shaped so some acorns are smaller than others, with a mild pinch while the larger ones feel prickly and jagged. They scrape and can puncture skin.

 

Yep. Acorns are no fun. I don’t try to avoid them, but tread lightly.
The Pan.

 

Another acorn hazard is the broken shells. Acorns are a favorite food for squirrels. They will open the shells and eat the"meat" inside discarding the broken shells wherever they are eating. The edges of these broken shells can be jagged and stepping on one can really hurt and could quite possibly punture the skin.

 

Yikes! I'm glad there are no acorns were I live. Nor do we have goat-heads, which are abundant in the west.

 

Where do you live, mmicmann ? That plant in the picture looks like tribulus terrestris, (hence the word "tribulation" , this should speak volumes about what an asshole these little buggers are) but according to Wikipedia it is present only in the old world.

Last occurrence of them to me, they cost me two cycle tires and a few punctures in my feet. They appear to thrive on hard, dry terrains and are very inconspicuous plants, these two things making them even more insidious. Those spiky balls are fruits and those thorns aren't just razor sharp, but barbed too; they are hard to remove and in the process they will also puncture your fingers. And you never, ever get just one of them because where is one there are many. The Qanon folks of the vegetable kingdom.

 

Well that doesn't sound nice at all. Good thing then that we don't have any this far up north.

Yikes. I've mentioned before that I carry a Swiss army knife with me just in case I might encounter something like that. I recently added THIS to my collection precisely for those pliers.


Never underestimate the usefulness of pliers.

 

The Wikipedia article I see states "they are widely distributed around the world." I've encounter this awful plant in Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon...but not in Iowa, where I currently live.

 

then italian wikipedia is wrong, stating that the plant is present in europe, africa and asia.

yeah... I have a swiss knife in my kit too. the tweezers are also very handy to remove the occasional thorn.

 

Out of curiosity, can you name the exact model? So far I'm a proud owner of the Huntsman Lite, Ranger, Cybertool M and Evolution S557-models from Victorinox (with plans to some day collect a few more).

 

Leatherman also makes a number of very useful and portable multitools. I have carried one for years.

 

I think it's the champ. From Victorinox, once bought a Wenger but it wasn't on par with VI in terms of quality. Here it is. It also originally got the toothpick but I lost it

 

Skimming through quickly, I saw the pic of the knife and thought someone here stepped on the knife while barefoot.

 

I know. I have a classic, 1st generation Super Tool from 1998. It's actually the 1st multi I ever bought. The only reason I don't carry that one with me to summer hikes is that it's big compared to a Swiss knife and weighs quite a bit. Most of my summer clothes don't feel substantial enough to support its weight. But the old 90's Leathermen are sturdy. Mine has survived all the way here. A fine example of what "made in America" used to mean.

Yeah, that's definitely the Swisschamp. Crikey, yours looks like it has seen some shit. You know you can buy replacement tooth picks from online stores. Or, there's also the Tortoise Firefly, a small fire starter tool that goes into the toothpick slot. But they're kinda expensive for what they do, since you'd have to import from the States. So maybe not for your tastes.

Hahahaha, no such bad luck, fortunately. We're just comparing our toys here. And reminding that small pliers or tweezers would be a good thing to have at hand, if you happen to step on sharp, prickly things.

 

Oh well, this knife is now 13 yo or about that. Nothing like my first VictorInox that was in absolute tatters the day I forgot it in the safety box of the court, and then forgot to get it back. Still it never went out of commission for the battle damage !

spares were available in shops too but last time i checked they were out of the pieces i needed. oh, also i lost the small flat screwdriver that screws into the twisted cork puller. But the firestarter i something i definitely want !
unrelated, couldn't help, sry