"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Headwinds said:
I like watching the smaller birds gang up on larger birds - the crows run the hawks off and then the blue jays run the crows off.
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lambertiana said:
Last week I saw a single mockingbird harassing a hawk.
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I know the blue jays are a-holes, but I still like them. 😁 Mockingbirds, too.

I once saw an injured Jay flopping around in the street in front of my house. Before I could do anything, my cat ran out there to get it. As soon as the cat was out in the open, that bird flew up into a tree, made a loud call, and a bunch of its fellow Jays came in, dive-bombing poor Thom as he ran back into the house. It was an avian ambush!
 
We had hawks in trees in our backyard when we first moved into this house. Sometimes they would drop rodent skins and skeletons in our yard overnight; we we had to look out for that because our dog Lacey loved them, but we didn't really want her to have them, or bring those kinds of treasures into our house.

This whole region has huge numbers of crows, but this little neighborhood was oddly thin on them until a couple of years ago.When crows moved into the neighborhood in a big way the hawks were all gone within a week or so.Everytime a crow saw a hawk it would call and at 5 or 6 of the crows would go harass the hawk until it was out of sight for us.

The scrub jays are all over the place here too. I think it's funny when they decide to pick on a squirrel. (Apparently squirrels are not above raiding their nests for eggs.) At our old house we watched a jay chase a squirrel back and forth on a phone line, never letting it reach one end for safety. Our dog Whiskey, who normally is fully committed to his chosen profession of Hollerin at Squirrels, just watched, eyes wide, the whole. Probably hoping the squirrel would fall off the line into our yard, but also I think envious of how having wings can really up your squirrel game. The squirrel eventually did just charge through the scrub jay to safety, but it was an exciting few minutes for everybody.
 
I haven't been around the forum much lately. We had been travelling in France since May 5th. We arrived home on Sunday at 1 am and have been unpacking and generally trying to get over the time difference, which involves a lot of napping. The older you get, the longer it takes to adjust. It was a whirlwind adventure that my wife planned. We spent 13 days in Paris and 5 in Nice with day trips to Normandy, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Cannes, Antibes, Vence, Eze, and Giverny. In Paris, we stayed at a nice Hotel on the Left Bank in the 6th Arrondissement.
I took a gazillion pictures. I won't post them all, but I'll share a few. Since without pics, it didn't happen.

One of the highlights of our trip was meeting Jean-Marc (@Âchillepattada) and his family and sharing dinner with them. We had a wonderful time and subsequently got together again with him a few days later. What wonderful people. I want to think I can call Jean-Marc a friend and hope we can get together again. After dinner, we walked to a spot that gave us a great view of the Eiffel Tower.
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Thanks, Jean-Marc, and thanks for the vintage Laguiole! What a nice surprise!
I picked up the Guide to France at the Musée du Débarquement de Utah Beach.
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Here are a few more Normandy pictures. Visiting these grounds was a very moving experience. God Bless Them.
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Here are a few of my favorite photos. There are so many places we went that I'd need a week to do a proper job of showing them all.
A view from our Hotel Room window. The spire and towers of Notre Dame in view over the rooftops.
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A view from our Hotel Room in Nice.
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I took my Boker Gent's knife with me, but it stayed in the hotel rooms and got used for cutting the occasional sausage, cheese, and Baguettes that we'd bring back from our walks.
We went to The Moulin Rouge for champagne and a show. Oh là là! Pictures of the show weren't allowed. It was quite a show!
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Here's some steak and potatoes with a Laguiole-made steak knife. You can see the mouche on the bolster top. We ate like kings and queens and walked it all off pretty much every day.
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Here is a pic from the second level of the Eiffel Tower. The high-rise in the distance caused quite a stir when it was built in the 1970s. The natives call it the box the Eiffel Tower came in, and no other high-rise buildings are allowed inside the city proper.
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I'm going to try to reserve the next post so I can add a few more things. Thanks for letting me share this great trip with you.
 
We visited Vence, where we happened upon a Cutlery Shop, Eustache St Paul de Vence, where I picked up a nice Sommelier Wine Key with Olive wood handles and an Olive branch on the spine. I haven’t used it yet, but will soon enough!
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No visit to Paris is complete without a stop at Notre Dame de Paris. We’d planned a vacation in France in 2020, but the pandemic and Notre Dame fire caused a change in plans.
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We visited Musee des Invalides, where we saw Napoleon’s tomb, and the Army Museum. If you like sharp stuff and medieval armor and weapons, it is a must-see.
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Here’s the red carpet at Cannes and the Casino at Monte Carlo.
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Another food picture with the Laguiole steak knives they use as tableware.
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Thanks for looking! We had a great time and hope to return one day!
 
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I forgot my front door key, and put my grocery bag down to run to the back door!
I opened the front in time to interrupt a Crow dragging a loaf of bread across the porch! He was too fast for me, but I got my bread back!!🐦‍⬛
 
Uyghur is pronounced wee-gerr!!
A friend went to western China, and brought back some interesting souvenirs!! Among them, this Uyghur knife!! All the people she saw carried one, in its dangle sheath, from their woven belts!! Nicely made and detailed, it's a step above a "tourist" knife!! The handle is dark horn, and the blade has long
flutes!!!!
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@Peregrin what a fantastic trip enFrance...I went with the ex in 2012 for a weekend...from England..😁we stayed on Ile St Louis..right across the river from Notre Dame...there was a massive queue to get in for a tour of the church...so I decided to come back Sunday morning...walked strait in and had a look round at the architecture...stunning . The service or mass was in progress ...only about 3 old ladies were in attendance..the bishop guys were doing the prayers and THEN... the organ sounded...man that thing vibrated the whole building.
 
At times there might 6 species of Parrot in the vicinity of my garden...The Rainbow Lorikeet is the standover merchant...ganging up on the others...loud and brash...the legend is that this bird told all the others he was better thsn them and to prove it would fly up to the sun.They said he was foolish and it couldn't be done. As he got close to the sun his feathers all burned away and he fell back to earth all bare and scorched. The other birds took pity and all gave him one of their feathers .
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Hi everybody,

From my side of the ocean I have to say that it's always a great pleasure to spend time with a friend from the Porch.

When Gary send me the program his fantastic wife Mary Anne organized I asked to myself , WOW even at work my schedule is not so dense and well organised o_O . How could we find a few minutes to meet each other?

But we found a moment for a diner in a traditional brasserie where we brought Charlie and Joanne too many years before.
And that was a great moment. Curiously we talked a lot, just like old friends who meet up again after many years 😂
And Gary surprised me with this wonderful gift :

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My only regret is we didn't meet until late in the trip, so we weren't able to have dinner at home.

We'll have to make up for it on the next trip 🙂

Thanks so much to the Porch to help so many friendships to be built. And thanks to my friend Gary for this report on his trip to France 😍

Â
 
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Neat content lately, mockingbirds dive bomb, particularly near a nest, and blue jays are jerks, even to other birds. Thanks also Gary and A. I have a total squirrel dog (mountain cur), and we frequently hike a Civil War battlefield, different era, the significance is not lost. Along a trail, an unknown soldier’s grave discovered around 1938.

*edited for accuracy and pic added.
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We all know that knife people are some of the nicest folks around. I am not going to name this person unless he gives me the ok. Let’s just say that at a difficult time in my family’s life one of my knife buddies reached out to me unsolicited and helped restore my faith. Thank you to him specifically and to all the members who are a pleasure to deal with on a daily basis.
 
waynorth said:
Sounds like you had a wonderful time, Gary!! Jean-Marc and Youmna are wonderful hosts!! Such a nice family!! Paris is wonderful!!
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What a great time we had! Jean-Marc and his family were the icing on the cake!

joeradza said:
Sounds and looks wonderful Gary @Peregrin, especially the Laguiole on the dinner plate, which is where I get the most enjoyment out of my knives. Looking forward to more photos.
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Alan, I added another food pic here .

meako said:
@Peregrin what a fantastic trip enFrance...I went with the ex in 2012 for a weekend...from England..😁we stayed on Ile St Louis..right across the river from Notre Dame...there was a massive queue to get in for a tour of the church...so I decided to come back Sunday morning...walked strait in and had a look round at the architecture...stunning . The service or mass was in progress ...only about 3 old ladies were in attendance..the bishop guys were doing the prayers and THEN... the organ sounded...man that thing vibrated the whole building.
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What bothered me about Notre Dame was that it looked NEW! I know it couldn't be helped, and it was a real joy to see it!
Âchillepattada said:
Hi everybody,

From my side of the ocean I have to say that it's always a great pleasure to spend time with a friend from the Porch.

When Gary send me the program his fantastic wife Mary Anne organized I asked to myself , WOW even at work my schedule is not so dense and well organised o_O . How could we find a few minutes to meet each other?

But we found a moment for a diner in a traditional brasserie where we brought Charlie and Joanne too many years before.
And that was a great moment. Curiously we talked a lot, just like old friends who meet up again after many years 😂
And Gary surprised me with this wonderful gift :

55302702181_3b13b2505e_b.jpg


My only regret is we didn't meet until late in the trip, so we weren't able to have dinner at home.

We'll have to make up for it on the next trip 🙂

Thanks so much to the Porch to help so many friendships to be built. And thanks to my friend Gary for this report on his trip to France 😍

Â
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It was great meeting you and your family, Jean-Marc! Mary Anne got a laugh out of your comment on her itinerary! She did a great job, and I'm trying to convince her to take on a little side job as a vacation planner! She's not buying it, though! She says hello to all!
Thank you for the hospitality and the wonderful Laguiole!
Hope to see you again!

I posted a few more pictures HERE.
 
As kids We used to hang out in the doorway of the coop in town and watch the newcomers put their groceries in the back of their trucks, and then when they would come back in to get more groceries or go to bay store that's when the fun began, the ravens the size of turkeys would swoop down and grab a dozen eggs some bread and porkchops etc until the bags were picked clean even the seagulls got involved.and then the fireworks in the air started as the ravens and seagulls attacked each other for the food in their beaks,eggs came raining down,I watched as they swooped in and grabbed midair falling food,the fun old days when entertainment with ony 2/3 channels came elsewhere lol.
 
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