Hiking - Part 93

Spruce Mountain, Vermont

This is another naked hike by Jim Bornholdt, whom we have seen before.  A few years ago, after a cancer diagnosis, Jim decided to embrace the idea of naked hiking, which he had done a few times before.  For him, shedding his clothes was symbolic of shedding fears and negative baggage.  He calls it "forest bathing", and he relishes the freedom of going into and out of the sunshine and feeling the forest energy across his skin.

He lives in Connecticut, but he found that public nudity is legal in Vermont (as long as you don't engage in "lewd and lascivious conduct"), and Vermont has many wonderful hiking trails, so he began hiking the Vermont trails naked and publishing photos of his hikes on his blog called Baring It All in the Woods.

Today we see Jim hiking a trail to the summit of Spruce Mountain on June 7, 2024.  Here he is at the trail map at the beginning of the trail.

The first part of the trail was easy, a dirt path through the woods.

The trail leads to this pond.  Normally, hikers that Jim meets on the trail have no problem with his nudity, but this time, he met a woman coming the other way who ranted and cursed at him.  Then he met another man with a small child.  The man said he had no problem with the nudity, but he didn't like the child seeing it.  Jim thought this was strange.  Why give the child the impression that nudity is bad, if the father was OK with it?

After the pond, the trail got rocky and started climbing uphill.

Finally Jim reached the summit.

At the summit is a fire tower that Jim did not climb because he was worn out from hiking up the mountain.  We also see another hiker and his dog.  Apparently they were friendly to Jim.

And then Jim hiked back down to the parking lot for the trail.  Apart from the one abusive woman, it was a nice hike.

Sausage Day 2026

National Sausage Day

Did you know that October is National Sausage Month, and October 1 is National Sausage Day?

These may be meatless, but they certainly look like sausages.

A hot dog is of course a type of sausage.  Here's one that's ready to eat.

Pierogies and sausage and some sauce to go with it.

Who ordered the large sausage?

We end with this advice from McDonald's.

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The site that I use to identify unusual holidays says Oct. 1 is National Sausage Day, but other sites listed National Sausage Day as January 5, April 30, June 5, October 11, or October 21.  National Sausage Roll day is June 5, and International Sausage Day is April 12.  But after all, for some of us, every day is sausage day.

Poem of the Day - Part 93

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Artists - Part 95

Hippolyte Flandrin

Hippolyte Flandrin (1809-1864) was a French neoclassical painter.  His brothers Paul and Auguste were also painters.  Above, a double self-portrait of Hippolyte and Paul.  I think Hippolyte is on the left.

Paul painted mostly landscapes, and Auguste painted mostly portraits.  Hippolyte painted mostly scenes from ancient classical tales, often featuring nudity, though he tended to conceal frontal views.

His most famous work is Young Male Nude Seated Beside the Sea, 1836, above.  It is now in the Louvre museum.

In 1832 he painted Theseus Recognized by his Father, above, winning the Prix de Rome, a prestigious art scholarship that let him study for five years in Rome.

Here are some more paintings by Hippolyte, mostly on classical subjects.  Above, Male Nude Seen from Behind.

Virgil's Shepherds, c. 1836.

Polites, son of Priam, observing the movements of the Greeks towards Troy, 1834.

Seated Young Shepherd, 1834.

Euripides Composing His Tragedies, 1836.

Jonah and the Sea Monster, 1860.

We end with this unusual Pieta, 1842.  Unusual because it shows Christ naked, including a visible penis.  Some think the dark figure is the Virgin Mary; others think it is Death.  I have to comment that Christ looks very European, not like a Middle Eastern Jew.  Christ with reddish-blond hair?  I think not.

Hippolyte died in Rome of smallpox in 1864.  He was 54 years old.  That is what happened to people before we had vaccines.

Beach Bums - Part 90

Tulum, Mexico

Tulum is in Quintana Roo, Mexico, on the coast of the Caribbean.  Beaches are not officially nude (Mexico's only official nude beach is in Zipolite on the west coast), but there are some resorts with beaches that are clothing-optional in practice.  Above, a clothing-optional beach.

In front of the Cabanas Copal resort.

In front of the Cabanas Copal resort.

Zack in Tulum.

J.F. looking like his face - and maybe some other parts - got too much sun.

A young man on the beach.

And another young man sunbathing.

Gods, Myths, and Heroes - Part 87

Cincinnatus

The city of Cincinnati is named after the Roman hero Cincinnatus, a military leader and statesman who lived c. 519 BC - 430 BC.  Above is a statue of Cincinnatus in Cincinnati.

Cincinnatus became a hero to the Romans because of his honorable and selfless behavior.  Those were the days of the Roman Republic, before the Roman Empire, when Rome was a small city-state.  In 458 BC, Rome was being attacked by a neighbor, the Aequi.  The city leaders found Cincinnatus plowing the soil of his farm, as shown in the statue.

The city leaders made him Dictator, which gave him total control over Rome.  In those days the title Dictator did not have the negative connotations that it has now, but it did give him power over everything in Rome.

Above, a statue of Cincinnatus by Lysippe, c. 320 BC, now in the palace of Versailles.

Cincinnatus took control of the small Roman army and in 15 days he defeated the Aequi.  Then he gave up his dictatorship.

Above, a statue of Cincinnatus by French sculptor Denis Foyatier, 1834, in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.

Cincinnatus was given a second dictatorship in 439 BC to deal with a wealthy Roman who was trying to buy the loyalty of the poor and make himself king.  After 21 days, the wealthy man was killed while resisting arrest, and since the threat was gone, Cincinnatus again resigned his dictatorship.

Cincinnatus became a hero to the Romans for his honorable behavior.  Granted supreme power twice, he held onto it for not a day longer than necessary.

Above, an indoor copy of the Foyatier statue of Cincinnatus that has escaped the weathering of the outdoor copy.

George Washington was called the American Cincinnatus because he gave up his command of the army after the American Revolution and did not try to make himself king.  Above, George Washington as Cincinnatus by Horatio Greenough, 1832, shows Washington in Roman robes that he never would have worn in real life.

If all of this makes you think of an American politician who, having no ethics or honor, is the anti-Cincinnatus, constantly trying to increase his power, you are not alone.

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 96

 Brighton 2010

The fifth annual World Naked Bike Ride in Brighton, England took place on June 13, 2010.  After negotiations with police, full nudity was permitted at the event.  Riders gathered at The Level, a park in Brighton.

Above we see a fine specimen, but what's special about him?

He's Superman!

He chats with another rider.  WNBR rules do not require you to be naked; it's "as bare as you dare."

The ride begins.

They ride down a seaside avenue.

And the ride ends at Brighton's naturist beach.