Ah, fresh air...

[Haruki-kun]

No, really.

For some reason today I woke up deciding that I'd go out. OUT, out, not just out to transfer myself to another building where I can engage in some form of entertainment or exchange currency for goods or services.

So I decided to take a towel to the park and lie on it while reading a book. I figured I'd probably get bored of it really fast and go back inside to hide from the great scary outdoors. Yet, I ended up lying on the towel on the grass for two whole hours and a few extra minutes. And the only reason why I decided to go back home was because I was hungry and needed some food before heading off to work.

You know... it's weird. I never think of just lying on the grass reading. Reading is something I usually do before going to bed. And whenever I go out I usually have some sort of goal in mind. But I thoroughly enjoyed it!

How about you, Playground? Any love for just being outdoors?

[DraPrime]

Indeed! I find that I enjoy reading outdoors a lot. There's sometimes a lot more distractions, but if the weather is really nice then it's well worth it. If I'm going to have a day where I don't need to do much, then outside is always better, unless I'm specifically looking to do something that requires me to be indoors.

[Palanan]

I do my best to spend time in the woods every day if possible--and if not, then outside in the backyard.

Fortunately I live close to a fine stretch of swamp forest, so green herons and bullfrogs are often part of my day. Also cricket frogs, green frogs, and cicadas.

And at night, just here lately, there are four or five kinds of crickets and katydids singing in my backyard, all combining into a lush, multilayered chorus in the dark. I love it.

[Remmirath]

I very much enjoy being outdoors. When the weather is nice, I like to sit out and read, but even if it's not particularly nice outside I enjoy walking around or riding my bike or such things. I often take for granted how many trees and wooded areas there are around where I live, but I always miss it if I go to some huge city or such for a while.

When I'm feeling a bit down or tired the first thing I do, if I can, is go outside and read or take a walk. I rather like being outside in the evening and night as well, especially if a good amount of stars can be seen, although I don't do that so often.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Remmirath
I rather like being outside in the evening and night as well, especially if a good amount of stars can be seen, although I don't do that so often.

I used to live in a smallish town in a large, rural area. It was much too hot and dry for my tastes, and the local culture really...wasn't; but the night skies were fantastic. I'd go out to a small park, just fifteen minutes down the highway, and watch the stars for hours.

[JoshL]

I'm rarely without a book to read and a notebook to write in. I've always been a big fan of cemeteries, doubly so at night. I'm sort of a stereotype in that way, but I'm okay with that. Well maintained public green space with relatively few other people there....

[Serpentine]

Yep, definitely! If I'm able to, I much prefer to read or study outside. A bit of sunlight can make me feel so much better.

[Morgarion]

Yes and no. I can't just go out and enjoy the great outdoors for its own sake. I'll go camping, I'll go spend a day walking around a state park. I'm interested in getting into long distance hiking, but I can't just go 'outside' and just sit and take it in.

[Traab]

My dad is into that. He will take a backpack with a book, a few drinks and snacks, and a well padded blanket to sit on, then go hiking to the far side of a lake where noone ever goes and just sit there reading for a few hours, then hike back. Its an interesting spot, off the main hiking trails, not visible from nearby (You can see the occupied part of the lake a mile or so away over open water) and fairly quiet unless everyone is in a jet ski or motorboat mood that day.

[Jay R]

I'm about to go to fencing practice in the park.

[Tengu_temp]

Outdoors are overrated. I don't leave my house/dorm unless it's for a specific purpose, and I generally do it only if I have to.

If I want fresh air, I just open my window wide. Especially if it's raining - heavy rain is my favorite weather. I love the smell, the sound, the feeling in the air, and it scares off all the loud, annoying people off the streets.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Tengu_temp
Outdoors are overrated. I don't leave my house/dorm unless it's for a specific purpose, and I generally do it only if I have to.

This is deeply saddening. There's a whole world out there.

I just went for a walk through the woods this morning, in a gentle rain. Everything is vibrantly rich and alive.

[Tengu_temp]

This is deeply saddening. There's a whole world out there.

I spent enough time outside as a kid to know I absolutely don't care about it. I'd rather stay in my room and do stuff I like.

[Greenish]

This is deeply saddening. There's a whole world out there.Filled with mosquitoes and gadflies and black flies and all manner of other unholy avatars of bloodlust and annoying buzzing.

Combine with the unforgiving glare of the sun and the blazing heat, and you have the reason why I don't spend much time outdoors during the summer.


Now, winter is another matter entirely.

[Palanan]

These are hardly insurmountable; and it's worth it. A thousand times over, it's worth it.

Also, blazing heat of the sun and all is coming at it a little high. Deep forest does, in fact, give shade. And breezes.

And blueberries.

:smalltongue:

[gooddragon1]

unholy avatars of bloodlust and annoying buzzing.

And poison. Don't forget poison.

As for me, I'm a vampire with an allergic reaction to moonlight so I get maybe one day a month and none of those days have been really good for my schedule...

[Cespenar]

and it scares off all the loud, annoying people off the streets.

Probably the best part of rain.

[Greenish]

These are hardly insurmountable; and it's worth it.Perhaps, but I'm not Zen enough to ignore the constant buzzing and ear-crawling and itchy lump-raising bites for long.


Also, blazing heat of the sun and all is coming at it a little high. Deep forest does, in fact, give shade. And breezes.

And blueberries.I'll grant you the blueberries (though the early summer was so dry this year there aren't that many of those), but the forest also stores heat and blocks breeze. Not that a bit of breeze and shade are much help when the temperatures creep over 25°C (like they often have, past few summers).

[Palanan]

I think you and I must inhabit very different forests.

Also, I'm happiest in genuine rainforest, so probably I have a greater tolerance for heat and humidity.

:smalltongue:

[Greenish]

I think you and I must inhabit very different forests.Quite possible. Here's mine:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Distribution_Taiga.png

[Palanan]

See, now I want to visit your forest in the summertime.

:smalltongue:

[Greenish]

See, now I want to visit your forest in the summertime.It's quite nice if you can spare the spell slots for Repel Vermin (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/repelVermin.htm).

If you can't cast said spell, I can't recommend going.

[Palanan]

No need for spell slots, that's just a minor alchemical item. :smalltongue:

Seriously, though, I'm pretty sure you have far greater clouds of tiny insects up where you are. From what I know of boreal summers, it's right out of the Midgewater Marshes:

"What do they eat when they can't get hobbit?"

[Greenish]

Tiny and not so tiny. Some of the horse-flies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse-fly) I've seen are easily over 4 cm long (big for a blood-thirsty bug), and they have truly impressive jaws.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Tabanid_July_2010-2.jpg/800px-Tabanid_July_2010-2.jpg

Sayeth Wikipedia: "Most short tongued (short proboscid) species of horse flies use their knife-like mandibles to rip and/or slice flesh apart."

[Socratov]

I enjoy from time to time some sailing. It's great to clear your head and achieve that zen like, nirvana like state of mind...

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Greenish
Tiny and not so tiny. Some of the horse-flies I've seen are easily over 4 cm long (big for a blood-thirsty bug), and they have truly impressive jaws.

So you're saying you'll let a 4-cm insect scare you off?

:smallbiggrin:



We have horseflies that size where I am. Oddly enough, they've never bothered me.

Deerflies, on the other hand, are vicious, cunning little *******s, and they do not quit. No question they can be a trial. I just don't let them be a deciding factor.

Also, this summer has been extremely atypical, both regionally and personally, and ordinarily I'd be spending a lot more time on the mountain bike. Deerflies just can't keep up.

.

[Greenish]

So you're saying you'll let a 4-cm insect scare you off?Yes, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. :smalltongue:


We have horseflies that size where I am. Oddly enough, they've never bothered me.

Deerflies, on the other hand, are vicious, cunning little *******s, and they do not quit.Deerflies, horseflies, gadflies, whatever. With the amount of names the family has, I'm not sure how much we're discussing the same or different bug even before you take translation into account.

[Palanan]

Good point. They're all tabanids, and both deerflies and horseflies are in Tabanus, but it's a huge genus.

What I'm calling deerflies are a smaller species of Tabanus, about 1 cm long, with the classic incisive mouthparts. Mosquitoes I barely notice, but deerflies certainly get my attention.

They're actually far worse this year than I've ever known them, most likely because on my side of the continent, we've had an incredibly rainy year.

Fortunately this also means huge numbers of dragonflies, which is good news on the deerfly front. I've had dragonflies snatch deerflies out of the air right beside my head.

[Astral Avenger]

Greenish, I had the pleasure of spending most of last summer on a 400 mile canoe trip in that forest. Its a great area, the bugs didn't seem to be that bad to me, but I was in central Canada, so it could just be different location, different bug levels. I definitely enjoy spending large amounts of time out doors, I ski (nordic, not downhill), bike (cyclocross, road and a little mountain) and canoe (race and long wilderness trips). I did a 40 day trip on the Dubawnt and Thelon rivers in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut this summer and it was weird when we got to baker lake and went inside buildings that weren't our two tents.

I find that I don't read or do homework outside much, I end up getting distracted to readily. Once I was sitting on my back deck with a math textbook on my lap for an hour and I spent the entire time watching some squirrels run around my yard.

[Greenish]

Fortunately this also means huge numbers of dragonflies, which is good news on the deerfly front. I've had dragonflies snatch deerflies out of the air right beside my head.Ditto. Dragonflies are seven different kinds of awesome.


Greenish, I had the pleasure of spending most of last summer on a 400 mile canoe trip in that forest. Its a great area, the bugs didn't seem to be that bad to me, but I was in central Canada, so it could just be different location, different bug levels.Mmn, maybe it's the different location, maybe I'm just oversensitive.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Astral Avenger
...I had the pleasure of spending most of last summer on a 400 mile canoe trip in that forest.

That sounds fantastic. Maybe, maybe one day.


Originally Posted by Greenish
Mmn, maybe it's the different location, maybe I'm just oversensitive.

I'm convinced that individual body chemistry has a lot to do with it. Different insects will zero in on different members of my family, even if we're walking together in the woods.

Also, deerflies in particular really key in on scent. I've seen this happen many times this summer, standing at the exact same spot: if it's a hot, humid morning, with sweat flowing freely, they're instantly all over me. If it's cool and breezy, sometimes I don't see a one. Pretty sure they're tracking compounds evaporated from my sweat, following a chemical gradient through the air. Pretty much pheromones in reverse.

:smallannoyed:

[Greenish]

I often mourn I did not inherit my mother's superpower, Unappetizing to Mosquitoes.

[Palanan]

Sometimes superpowers skip a generation.

:smalltongue:

[Haruki-kun]

We have tons of mosquitoes and annoying bugs that never let me be outside in peace around here...

........or so the locals tell me. I have yet to encounter any. When I lived down south of the border it was like mosquito/moth/roach paradise, I haven't seen a single one in the two years I've lived in the mid-west.


Now, winter is another matter entirely.

Aye, it is. I can't go out and read in the snow. I probably COULD, but I'm not sure if I'd enjoy it. :smallconfused:

[SarahV]

I'm convinced that individual body chemistry has a lot to do with it. Different insects will zero in on different members of my family, even if we're walking together in the woods.

I am 100% sure that this is the case, because I am the unlucky person who attracts mosquitoes like I was the target of some kind of Biblical plague.

I can go to an outdoor party with a bunch of other people, and the end result is me being bitten literally 15-20 times on whatever exposed skin I might have, and the people standing next to me will have zero bites. And I react to them really strongly so I will have nickel-sized welts from each bite. If I didn't hate the itching so much I could probably hire myself out for parties. :smalltongue: Better than citronella!

[Starwulf]

If there was better internet where I live, I don't think I'd ever even consider moving from where I am. Literally on top of a mountain, with woods surrounding me on all sides. It's quite wonderful. Only the issue of the occasional Black Bear trying to break into my storage shed to get into the trash inside. Thankfully a lock has prevented him/her/whatever from getting into it.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Starwulf
If there was better internet where I live, I don't think I'd ever even consider moving from where I am. Literally on top of a mountain, with woods surrounding me on all sides. It's quite wonderful.

I've gone hiking not far from where you are, many and many a time.

You, sir, are deeply envied.

[Astral Avenger]

I am 100% sure that this is the case, because I am the unlucky person who attracts mosquitoes like I was the target of some kind of Biblical plague.

I can go to an outdoor party with a bunch of other people, and the end result is me being bitten literally 15-20 times on whatever exposed skin I might have, and the people standing next to me will have zero bites. And I react to them really strongly so I will have nickel-sized welts from each bite. If I didn't hate the itching so much I could probably hire myself out for parties. :smalltongue: Better than citronella!

There are a lot of anti-itch creams on the market, if you can find one with diphenhydramine as the active ingredient it should work fairly well, its the same active ingredient as Benadryl, without the drowsiness of actually ingesting it (also, a lot lower dosage unless you take a bath in the cream or something).

Starwulf, I am so jealous of your house... Someday, after college....

[Rawhide]

Just be careful you don't end up like this guy:

http://www.soenyun.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/oppenheim.jpg

[Remmirath]

I used to live in a smallish town in a large, rural area. It was much too hot and dry for my tastes, and the local culture really...wasn't; but the night skies were fantastic. I'd go out to a small park, just fifteen minutes down the highway, and watch the stars for hours.

That sounds great, except for the heat (though I do prefer dry heat to humid heat if heat there must be). Unfortunately where I live it's often too cloudy to see many stars, and even when it isn't there's enough light pollution that only the brightest ones are visible. That's actually one of the reasons that I might like to live in a more rural area some day. Still, on a clear night and driving a bit farther away from town it's not too bad. Winter's often best for that (when it's above zero; that's a bit too cold otherwise).


I often mourn I did not inherit my mother's superpower, Unappetizing to Mosquitoes.

I have that power, apparently, which can certainly come in handy. There have been times when others around me have been bit all over by mosquitoes, and I haven't been at all. I also hardly react to it at all when I am bit by them.


If there was better internet where I live, I don't think I'd ever even consider moving from where I am. Literally on top of a mountain, with woods surrounding me on all sides. It's quite wonderful. Only the issue of the occasional Black Bear trying to break into my storage shed to get into the trash inside. Thankfully a lock has prevented him/her/whatever from getting into it.

That sounds really neat. I'm quite fond of mountains, but sadly there are none in my state, so I have to go rather far away to see any. At least we have lots of lakes, and that's also good.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Remmirath
Unfortunately where I live it's often too cloudy to see many stars, and even when it isn't there's enough light pollution that only the brightest ones are visible. That's actually one of the reasons that I might like to live in a more rural area some day.

Probably the best night sky I've ever seen, at least in North America, was a chilly fall night in the hills of West Virginia. This was at the NRAO (http://www.nrao.edu/) in Green Bank, and the sky was so supernally clear it was hazy-blue with star clusters none of us had ever seen before. It was almost like being on some other world.

[The Succubus]

I live in London. What is this "fresh" air stuff you lot are talking about? :smallconfused:

[Astral Avenger]

I live in London. What is this "fresh" air stuff you lot are talking about? :smallconfused:

Well, If you take the cleanest air you can think of and remove the smells of car exaust, motor oil, body odor, stinky feet, wet dog, cat piss, bad breath, fast "food", the river thames, garbage, ..... :biggrin:

[Starwulf]

Probably the best night sky I've ever seen, at least in North America, was a chilly fall night in the hills of West Virginia. This was at the NRAO (http://www.nrao.edu/) in Green Bank, and the sky was so supernally clear it was hazy-blue with star clusters none of us had ever seen before. It was almost like being on some other world.

Back in Jan or Feb(I think), there was a Meteor shower, and the sky was the clearest I think I've ever seen it up here, it was awesome watching them streak across the sky, while also looking all around and realizing how many stars there really are in the night sky. Renewed my appreciation for living away from civilization ^^

[TheThan]

I enjoy going camping. Not “pack the house up in the trailer and go camping” I mean camping in a tent, miles away from a building, and preferably away from a vehicle as well. You know, in a tent, or sometimes just underneath the stars if the weather permits (which it usually does).

The problem is that where I live it’s too hot to actually do it and enjoy it. In 110 degree weather a simple jaunt up a trail can turn into an ordeal. Pack light, don’t skimp out on the water, in fact, if you think you’ve brought enough, you’re wrong. A simple bedroll and a light pack with the essentials is all the other gear you really need. exposure such as heat stroke, dehydration and the like are serious threats in these temperatures.

So due to me living in the wrong neck of the woods ( i prefer cold weather), I don’t get out as much as I’d like.

[Rising Phoenix]

I love being outdoors. I especially like being in the middle of the outback with no humans for kms around.

There's nothing quite like looking up at light pollution free sky at night and only hearing crickets chirping and owls. It makes me feel very alive.

I also enjoy reading with my back to 400-500 year tree. I find it very comforting that the organism behind me will hopefully continue standing for many more years after I am dead.

And then of course there's the wildlife which I love watching and photographing :).

[Starwulf]

Speaking of Fresh Air, today is going to be a great day: Going swimming for the final time of the summer, afterwards coming back home, grabbing a bunch of already made food, headed to a scenic spot and having a picnic, and afterwards we'll probably all go for a walk! Going to be an epic day outside :)

[Haruki-kun]

Just be careful you don't end up like this guy:

http://www.soenyun.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/oppenheim.jpg

I will make sure not to fall asleep while outside. .-.


Speaking of Fresh Air, today is going to be a great day: Going swimming for the final time of the summer, afterwards coming back home, grabbing a bunch of already made food, headed to a scenic spot and having a picnic, and afterwards we'll probably all go for a walk! Going to be an epic day outside :)

Awww, man. I wanna go swimming, but they closed the pool for the summer. The irony baffles me. :smallfrown:

[Starwulf]

Well, swimming was cut short an hour and a half earlier then we anticipated, the pool manager decided since there was only about 8 people in the entire pool that he was going to close it at 3. So, we took the girls to the park that was just a short walk away. They played in the sand and on the swings and slides until 4:30, went and got the last things we needed for the picnic, headed off to our scenic spot and feasted! Such a beautiful spot, even though the interstate is actually right next to it(Hard for anything to detract from the beautiful view there). Walked around the area for a bit afterwards, and now we are home! Mission complete though, the kids are exhausted which means they'll get plenty of sleep for their first day of school(for the youngest, ever, for oldest, she starts 5th grade tomorrow).

So, to whomever said that they go hiking up near Western Maryland, if you ever come near sidling hill, stop on by! I can show you some great "off the grid" spots to walk. Not so much a hike, but it is a fairly long walk through the woods, that culminates in a beautiful view.

[Palanan]

That was me, although I don't think I've ever hiked quite as far west as you seem to be. (I tended to visit a certain state/national park combo, sort of a matched pair I moved freely between.)

I appreciate the invite, though, and maybe one day I'll make it out your way. I do love side trails and undiscovered paths.

Also, steep climbs. I love mountain trails that are pretty much staircases of natural rock.

:smallbiggrin:

[Starwulf]

That was me, although I don't think I've ever hiked quite as far west as you seem to be. (I tended to visit a certain state/national park combo, sort of a matched pair I moved freely between.)

I appreciate the invite, though, and maybe one day I'll make it out your way. I do love side trails and undiscovered paths.

Also, steep climbs. I love mountain trails that are pretty much staircases of natural rock.

:smallbiggrin:

Definitely plenty of those out here. I can't go down(up?) them anymore due to my back, but when I was younger I explored a large chunk of sidling hill(ie: like 95% of it), and found plenty of paths that culminate in beautiful views, or have something unique and awesome about them during the hike itself.

[Winter_Wolf]

I enjoy going camping. Not “pack the house up in the trailer and go camping” I mean camping in a tent, miles away from a building, and preferably away from a vehicle as well. You know, in a tent, or sometimes just underneath the stars if the weather permits (which it usually does).


Tent, what's a tent? You're not really camping if you're not laying directly on hard rocks and staring directly up at the sky when you bed down! :smalltongue: (I kid, I kid!) We dare not sleep without plywood walls between us and the more inquisitive nocturnal critter in Alaska. At least not those of us who actually fear things like getting woken up by a bear tongue in the face.

As to my love of fresh air and the outdoors: well I was applying to US Forest Service jobs until I realized the only jobs I was even remotely qualified for were all office jobs. Indoor office jobs. I still get my day hike on when I can, and I'm fortunate to be close enough to one of the Great Lakes that I can be at the park and get a pretty nice view of the water in less than five minutes of my home (by car, more like 25 minutes if I'm hoofing it).

I used to climb (small) mountains when I was living in Alaska, and failing to recruit my friends to come with. Why, whatever do you mean, 6:00 am on a weekend is too early to go for a stroll up into the mountains near Girdwood? At least they knew I was out there, so they could send the search party/body recovery team to scoop me up if they didn't hear from me within a day or two. Met a few large critters a little too close for comfort over the years.

[Starwulf]

As to my love of fresh air and the outdoors: well I was applying to US Forest Service jobs until I realized the only jobs I was even remotely qualified for were all office jobs. Indoor office jobs.

This kind of reminds me of when I was younger. Straight out of highschool(like, a month in between), I shipped out to Basic Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma(aka: Hells Hill!). When I first arrived on base, I will swear to this day I had mini-heart attack. The base was so barren and lifeless, literally no trees in sight(I didn't see my first tree until our 3 day Bivouac), a few tumbleweeds, and that was it. Not even a bush. The day I graduated from Basic, as I crossed the line for the PT test run and I realized I had ran a 15:35, I literally screamed out loud "Halleluah, I'm out of this [censored] Hell hole". My Drill Sergeant heard me, and was like "What's wrong with Fort Sill Private?" and I was like "Drill Sergeant, I grew up in Western Maryland with trees on all sides. This place is a wasteland, and I can't wait to actually see green that's not on my uniform again". He just laughed.

[Greenish]

Awww, man. I wanna go swimming, but they closed the pool for the summer. The irony baffles me. :smallfrown:I guess the idea is that in summer, it's warm enough to swim outside.

[Serpentine]

Awww, man. I wanna go swimming, but they closed the pool for the summer. The irony baffles me. :smallfrown:

I guess the idea is that in summer, it's warm enough to swim outside.This exchange puzzles me :smallconfused:
Swimming pools are outside, and they open in spring and close in autumn...

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Starwulf
When I first arrived on base, I will swear to this day I had mini-heart attack. The base was so barren and lifeless, literally no trees in sight(I didn't see my first tree until our 3 day Bivouac), a few tumbleweeds, and that was it. Not even a bush.

I had a similar (though milder) reaction when I drove through Kansas a few years ago, riding along the Kansas Turnpike.

There was green, but it wasn't...trees; it was--something else, draped across a strangely contoured landscape. I spent hours looking at it, and it was oddly lovely, but I had absolutely no sense of scale.

I could sense I was driving through something grand and magnificent, but--no trees. For someone who grew up surrounded by trees, it was absolutely baffling.

[Haruki-kun]

This exchange puzzles me :smallconfused:
Swimming pools are outside, and they open in spring and close in autumn...

Ours is indoors and for some reason closed for the summer. Probably because it's the school's. :smallannoyed:

[Greenish]

This exchange puzzles me :smallconfused:
Swimming pools are outside, and they open in spring and close in autumn...Ah, so, what are the big buildings with pools in them called in English?

You know, these thingies: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Fm_stirling_pool.jpg


Finland doesn't have a lot of outdoors swimming pools, since why bother when you have lakes (and the season is relatively short anyway). Those indoors thingies ("uimahalli" in Finnish, "hallenbad" in German, "simhall" in Swedish, haven't found an English name for them) are quite common, and most of them are closed for the summer.

[Astral Avenger]

In (American) English they're usually just called indoor pools.

[Greenish]

In (American) English they're usually just called indoor pools.And if you just say "pool", the default is outdoors?

[Astral Avenger]

And if you just say "pool", the default is outdoors?

Well, I live in Minnesota, so generally large pools (i.e. 20/25m racing pools) are indoors, while most of those lucky rich people with a pool at their house have a small pool in the back yard (outdoors). So in the fall/winter/spring if someone says, "I'm going to the pool," it is a given that it's an indoor pool. However in the summer, it depends more on the context. So if some kids are going to the pool in the summer, its probably an outdoor pool, but if someone is going to a pool to exercise, it's probably an indoor pool.

I guess it is more of a context thing for pool to be assumed indoors or outdoors, but if someone doesn't know from context they will probably just ask.

Of course with my friends this is a moot point because we would just go to a lake in the summer and not swim much in the colder parts of the year.

[Haruki-kun]

I think "pool" is just the hole with the water that you swim in. It usually doesn't specify if it's indoors or outdoors by the word alone...

[Astral Avenger]

Yea, that's probably the better way to describe it.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Greenish
Finland doesn't have a lot of outdoors swimming pools, since why bother when you have lakes....

--Wait, you're in Finland?!?! For some reason I thought you were in western Canada.

I've dreamed of visiting Finland for many, many years. Forests, lakes, more forests, more lakes...sounds fantastic.


Originally Posted by Greenish
Ah, so, what are the big buildings with pools in them called in English?

The truly immense pools, like the one in the photo you linked to, I would call "Olympic-sized swimming pool," or in regular conversation, "an Olympic pool." Those are pretty much indoors by default.

The word pool will call up different associations for different people. Most Americans will probably think of a backyard pool, which is open-air and roughly 10-15 m long. (Just a guess, since I don't have one myself.) There are also public pools in a lot of cities which are good bit larger, but still mainly open-air. --Or at least in the latitudes I live in, which are a good ways south from Minnesota. :smalltongue:

For myself, however, pool can also mean any very small body of water in the woods, or in wilderness in general--anything from a prairie pothole to a small cypress lagoon. In this context, "pool" is usually a very modest bit of water, smaller than "pond" and generally much smaller than "lake."

As an example, and in keeping with the spirit of the thread, allow me to present the Mexican Cut Preserve (http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/colorado/placesweprotect/mexican-cut-preserve.xml), at twelve thousand feet in the Colorado Rockies, which I visited some years ago. Absolutely fantastic place, with many dozens of ponds and pools. Here's a selection of them (http://www.esapubs.org/archive/ecol/E091/060/appendix-A.htm), with the top photo representing a "pool" in the sense I use. (It's labeled a "vernal pond" in the caption, which is an ecological term for a small, ephemeral pool.)

Another, closely related use of pool has to do with the breeding pools where frogs call and lay their eggs. Again, these are usually very small--sometimes just a couple of feet across--and often quite temporary, ranging from mere puddles in the road to streams which have stopped flowing and exist only as a chain of tiny pools.

So, it's a versatile word, this pool.

:smallbiggrin:

[Starwulf]

I've dreamed of visiting Finland for many, many years. Forests, lakes, more forests, more lakes...sounds fantastic.


Yes, for Finland I would pack every pain-killer I had, beg my doctors for even more, and happily destroy my back, just to wander around in it's beautiful nature. That and Japan with all it's shrines and mountain shrines, and forest shrines, and it's shrines....LOL

[Palanan]

You and me both, man. Finland and Japan.

One day....

[Rawhide]

To me, pool without qualification implies an outdoor pool (even Olympic sized pools). You need to specify indoor pool if you want people to realise that it isn't outdoors. Additionally, it also implies that it is without heating.

[Giggling Ghast]

The yellow eye, it burns us. It keeps us from our Precious.

I'm quite fond of windy days, but the rest of the outdoors can suck it.

[Haruki-kun]

To me, pool without qualification implies an outdoor pool (even Olympic sized pools). You need to specify indoor pool if you want people to realise that it isn't outdoors. Additionally, it also implies that it is without heating.

Same here. Because I'm from a warm region, I usually assume pools are outdoors unless otherwise specified (or unless I happen to know what the pool in question is that the other person is talking about).

For me it doesn't imply anything about whether or not the pool is heated, though. When you say "without heating" do you mean regular temperature control or jacuzzi-like heating?

[Rawhide]

For me it doesn't imply anything about whether or not the pool is heated, though. When you say "without heating" do you mean regular temperature control or jacuzzi-like heating?

Any sort of temperature regulation at all. Pools here just aren't heated all that much. When they do have something to keep them warm in winter, people say "heated pool".

[Greenish]

--Wait, you're in Finland?!?! For some reason I thought you were in western Canada.Must be the accent, eh?


I've dreamed of visiting Finland for many, many years. Forests, lakes, more forests, more lakes...sounds fantastic.There are probably forest and lakes somewhere closer. They're just trees and water, after all. :smalltongue:


Pools tangent:

The truly immense pools, like the one in the photo you linked to, I would call "Olympic-sized swimming pool," or in regular conversation, "an Olympic pool." Those are pretty much indoors by default.

The word pool will call up different associations for different people. Most Americans will probably think of a backyard pool, which is open-air and roughly 10-15 m long. (Just a guess, since I don't have one myself.) There are also public pools in a lot of cities which are good bit larger, but still mainly open-air. --Or at least in the latitudes I live in, which are a good ways south from Minnesota. :smalltongue:

For myself, however, pool can also mean any very small body of water in the woods, or in wilderness in general--anything from a prairie pothole to a small cypress lagoon. In this context, "pool" is usually a very modest bit of water, smaller than "pond" and generally much smaller than "lake."

As an example, and in keeping with the spirit of the thread, allow me to present the Mexican Cut Preserve (http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/colorado/placesweprotect/mexican-cut-preserve.xml), at twelve thousand feet in the Colorado Rockies, which I visited some years ago. Absolutely fantastic place, with many dozens of ponds and pools. Here's a selection of them (http://www.esapubs.org/archive/ecol/E091/060/appendix-A.htm), with the top photo representing a "pool" in the sense I use. (It's labeled a "vernal pond" in the caption, which is an ecological term for a small, ephemeral pool.)

Another, closely related use of pool has to do with the breeding pools where frogs call and lay their eggs. Again, these are usually very small--sometimes just a couple of feet across--and often quite temporary, ranging from mere puddles in the road to streams which have stopped flowing and exist only as a chain of tiny pools.

So, it's a versatile word, this pool.

:smallbiggrin:Yeah, in Finland "uima-allas" ("swimming-pool") usually refers to an indoors one, since there are very few outdoors ones. Some of the cities have "maauimala" ("ground-swimmery" :smalltongue:) which are basically large public pools, but most just have "uimahalli" ("swimming-hall") which are large buildings with (usually) several pools, saunas, showers, etc., most of which close for the summer. Then, it's usually not that long a trip to nearest lake or seashore.

There are probably private outdoors pools in Finland, but I've never seen one (even in TV) or heard of anyone who'd met anyone who'd had one*. It'd be horridly impractical, and when Finns want to show off their wealth, they buy a nice car. :smallamused:


*Actually, I have, if you count things like this: http://www.spadealers.fi/main/images/gallery2//1_1.jpgIt's even heated!

[Rawhide]

*Actually, I have, if you count things like this: http://www.spadealers.fi/main/images/gallery2//1_1.jpgIt's even heated!

That's not a pool, that's a spa (or hot tub for Americans).

[ForzaFiori]

I get out some... In the summer I have to be very wary - all our fresh air is covered by forests (or if it's in a city/town, it has the bushes and flowers of a park) and I'm allergic to bees. Add to that the fact that I'm not big on cold weather (yes, even the poor excuse for cold we get in South Carolina), and I only really get out in spring and fall for any large period of time. I'm probably out the most in October (thanks to working at a haunted house) though it is right next to an interstate and, thanks to being a business, a fairly highly trafficked area. I am trying to get more active and outside though - I'm taking a soccer and ultimate frisbee class, so if nothing else, every tuesday and thursday this semester I get out and active for 2 hours. And then immediately wish I was dead :smalltongue:

[Serpentine]

Ah, so, what are the big buildings with pools in them called in English?Indoor swimming pool. Often attached to a sport & rec centre.

And if you just say "pool", the default is outdoors?Mostly, yeah. There's a fair few indoor pools around, but basically every town in Australia, no matter how small, will have an outdoor swimming pool. Even if the town's right next to a lake or beach. Heck, sometimes we have swimming pools literally right next to or even on a beach! My mum, for example, learnt to swim in the Sawtell "rock pool" - an artificial swimming pool built into and out of the boulders and natural rock pools on the headland next to two beaches and a creek.
Brisbane has a pretty spectacular public pool I should go to more often. It's designed to look like a real beach, is free and open to get into, is surrounded by cafes and things, and is also right next to a river - no one swims in the river, though; haven't established yet whether that's because it's dangerous or just not the "done thing".

Back to getting out in general, I really wanna go bushwalking again :smallfrown:

[Knaight]

Back to the bug discussion: One of the things I love about going up to high elevation (I'm at about 1.4 km normally, and still don't have all that many bugs around) is that the insects just sort of disappear. There's the occasional rare one from the handful of species that can take it, but they tend not to be of the biting and/or bloodsucking variety so I really don't care. Plus, after you've been at 5 km elevation for a while coming back down to 1-2 km gives you a rush of suddenly thick air.

Basically, what I'm saying is that alpine tundra is the best.