Early morning... -3°C/27F, toe rings are off (for frost damage prevention), bag balm with marigold essence applied to insulate my feet from the cold...

Yes, it's coldfooting season - but it's still fun to be barefoot - despite the tan lines on my toes, where the toe rings used to be :D

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/tue151111-3.jpg

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

Just in case you've been wondering... yes, I'm still barefoot in my free time - thanks to quite mild conditions. In the last few days, early morning temperatures were in the high 40s Fahrenheit (between 7° and 9°C), allowing me to bare my feet and also to show the world my newest items in toe jewelry...

I have purchased five new toe rings online, and have begun wearing them (and also including them on a new foot jewelry page of mine... who knows, this might be a nice online portfolio to make me start a new career as a male foot jewelry model.
:D

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/baref...-jewelry22.jpg
Two of those five new toe rings, together with a daisy
(which wasn't harmed while taking this picture!)

My next stop on increasing my stock of foot jewelry will be a market stand at the pre-X-mas market in the neighboring city, since they sell clothing, jewelry and other stuff from India and Nepal... just the right venue to purchase some raw materials (beads and bells) to manufacture some new anklets from.

Wiggling bare toes, enjoying mild late fall conditions,

~*Txim Asawl*~

Happy barefootjoy day, everyone!
 

Kaltxi Na'viyä lukpena venu (hello, barefoot people),

yes, it may be winter, on the northern hermisphere of this planet, at least, but it's still mild enough in my region to bare my feet to the ground as often as possible... even an inch of snow falling before the holidays (on the early morning of Dec. 20) couldn't stop me... quite on the contrary, it motivated and lured me into leaving some footprints in it:

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/tue201211-1.jpg

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/tue201211-2.jpg

That snowy interlude was a short-lived one, though, since the temperature was just above freezing level, and raindrops were mingling with the snowflakes, turning the fluffy white snow into slush in a matter of a few hours. On the way to work, I walked barefoot from the destination bus stop to the office, having cold slush squelch up between my toes... only about two hours earlier, the snow had felt delightfully soft, later it felt like I was walking on a frozen dessert.
:xD:

But back on topic: barefootjoy day - remember this one...? A Facebook group called "barefootjoy" has defined the last Wednesday in the solstice and equinox months as international barefootjoy day - a day to celebrate barefooting and to walk barefoot wherever possible. And this winter's rendition of this barefoot holiday is today! So, in addition to having the last week of this year off, giving my bare feet the freedom they deserve and love, I will also take a nice and long barefoot walk in the park in mild weather (7°C/45F, cloudy sky).

Enjoy your barefootjoy day!

Ayvenzek alukpen rikx,
(literally: "toes naked move" -> wiggling bare toes),

~*Txim Asawl*~

Snow :)

I'm hoping it will snow here... I didn't get a chance to go out in it without shoes last year, but my feet should be up to it this time.

At my place, we're quite far away from snow... we had 13°C (55F) on Sunday... quite balmy for winter, really...

Since it was drizzling, too, it felt almost like a cool day in the tropics. So, I donned some trademark hippie outfit and went barefoot to my favourite park to take a nice stroll in the rain. I recorded my steps on sandy paths, splashing my feet in muddy puddles, then walking on waterlogged wet grass, while muddy water squelched up between my toes.

It was pure barefoot fun, and a nice way to start the barefoot new year, too...

Here is the clip I made - the music is the same Ambient track I listened to, while barefooting the park. So, aside from actually feeling the wet Earth beneath bare soles and cool drizzle on your face, you can share the view and sound of my experience...







Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

Despite the current cold conditions in Germany, I had the opportunity to take a short barefoot stroll around the house on a sunny afternoon, temperatures as "high" as -4°C/25F... it took only five minutes, but I just had to gather a little energy from the Earth, after having been cut off from it by wearing shoes for more than a week outdoors now... I have put details into my barefoot diary.

Wiggling bare toes (from the warmth indoors),

~*Txim Asawl*~

I love reading your barefoot diary Txim. It motivates me to get out there and get in touch with our Mother. I took your advice on the bag balm and got it but haven't had the chance to apply it to my feet to see how it protects it against the cold. It's been between 30-40 degrees here and I can take a 5 minute stroll without much discomfort but any longer than that requires hurry indoors to get them warm again. Hopefully the bag balm helps and lets me stay out there longer.

Well, the "warmest" here in the last ten days has been -4°C/25F on last Sunday... it's just too friggin' cold to safely walk barefoot at the moment. Last night, we had frost down to -12°C/10F - and that's without wind chill. Considering the wind, temperatures felt as low as -18°C/just below 0F.

-.-

My feet are yearning to touch soft soil, grass and sun-warmed ground again. And I am in the "milder" region of Germany (central west)... I bet those barefooting Avatards closer to the Alps down south or around the capital (Berlin) are shivering even more with cold, thinking about anything but walking barefoot at the moment.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

I wish there was some snow here... :(

Haha. Last sunday I and my flatmate got a brilliant idea of running around the neighborhood half naked. We were supposed to have shoes but he accidentally dropped them before we got out of the yard. Since he dropped his shoes I did too.

My feet didn't freeze at all as the skin is still kinda thick from last summer's barefoot walks. But my flatmate got one burn like thingy. :/

Well, wait until you reach the entries wth the nude pictures of me...

Hey, the Na'vi are innocent about their bodies, so it's a good thing to emulate that, too. Maybe we should have a naturist Avatarsds group...
:awesome:

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~ :xD:

Wasn't bothered by em. ;) I'd be similar if I had the courage to do that/and/or a place to "free" myself.

Ouch.

I'm sad I didn't get any snow here, wanted to make some footprints around.

I've never had the opportunity to walk barefoot through snow, but I have to say, it sounds kind of miserable.

Oh, considering the different textures you can encounter while walking on snow, I'd say, it's a very interesting experience... it ranges from fluffy, freashly fallen snow, feeling like cold feathers over hard-packed snow, crunching a little underfoot while standing and walking on it to old snow, glazed over with a little ice, feeling like frozen grit...

The crucial thing is not to overdo it, since frost damage to bare toes is not a nice thing, really. But a short barefoot walk on/in snow is great for resreshing and waking up, getting the circulation going full-throttle. You'll end up with nicely pink glowing bare feet after a few minutes in it. On snowy days, I go out in the morning to get that extra refreshment as a back-up for my (necessary) mug of strong coffee... caffeine fuels my motor in the morning and snowfooting is the turbo.
;)

Plus, leaving bare footprints in snow is plain fun, since it'll boggle the minds of other people walking where you left them (see above).
:D

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

Maybe you should walk barefoot through snow then.

A bit hard with current location :P

Well, it will be cold, obviously, but that's not that bad, it's more for doing it itself :D

Walking around in a large pile of ice shavings works well.

Behind the scenes:

Shooting pictures of my Neytiri bust outdoors... barefoot, of course:

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/fri100212-2.jpg

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/fri100212-3.jpg

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/fri100212-4.jpg

:D

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

-3°C/26.6F, sunny weather... those were the conditions in which I decided to take a little trip to town and do a little birthday shopping. Yes, indeed, there's now a higher number on the mileage meter - considering the years as well as traversing distance on my bare feet.

It's my birthday today, and to slightly alter Lesley Gore's classic song from 1963 (it's older than me, by the way!): "It's my party and I'm barefoot if I want to!" Winter's cold has the region I live still in its grip with night temperatures going as low as -10°C (14F) or even lower at times. During daylight, though, the sun already has enough power to warm up the air by ten degrees, bringing temperatures up to almost freezing level - and that's mild enough for me to bare my feet to the world.

So, today I prepared myself to take a short barefoot stroll to the tram stop and take a little trip to town, where I planned to go to a bookstore and have some cappucino and - of course - boggle the minds of mainstream by the sight of my bare toes.

I put on a pair of cotton sweatpants (long underpants alternative), a pair of loose- fitting grey cargo pants above that, leg-warmers to keep my ankles warm, coated my bare feet with an insulating layer of bag balm and even dared to keep two toe rings on. So much for the bottom half of me, the top half was clad in a dark-green t-shirt with a Budai print on it (a big-bellied laughing lucky Buddha), my caramel-brown hooded cotton cardigan, a hippie scarf (black, with tie-dye patterns, small mirrors and frills at the ends) and my black parka. So, that's the recipe for a winter-barefooting hippie outfit.

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/sat110212-1.jpg

Waiting at the tram stop, circulation fully functional.

Inside the tram, people were giving me "The Look"®, as soon as they beheld my bare feet, all glistening from their bag balm treatment. As I exited the tram, making my way barefoot from the underground tram stop at the central station to the nearby mall, people were gaping even more - but only if they noticed my feet. Some people just didn't spot them, since no one expects a man in winter clothing to have no shoes on his feet. Of course, their surprise was even greater when they beheld my pedal nudity.

In a branch of the Thalia bookstore chain, I found me two books and a little goodie: a pocket-sized doodle pad with drawings to fill out during meetings... "Kritzelblökchen für Meetings" is the German title and it contains line drawings like e.g. neckties with the task "create a tie design for your colleagues - beautiful or hideous, depending on sympathy level"... nice, and I will use that, too.

The two books I purchased were "Ich arbeite in einem Irrenhaus" by Martin Wehrle (the title translates as "I'm working in a madhouse", dealing with hints for companies turning crazy and dragging their employees into psychiatric conditions, too and "Schoßgebete" ("Lap Prayers") by Charlotte Roche. Since I've read and listened to her first novel "Feuchtgebiete" (printed as well as audio book read by the author herself) already, I know what to expect... explicit wirting about sex and weirdness are coming my way.

But that wasn't all... I also found two bracelets and took something home, which I had seen on previous visits to that store and which still was collecting dust on one of their shelves instead of being brought to a place it better belongs to: my home. That other thing is a purple Ganesha figurine, about 15 cm high (six inches), now resting on top of my TV, flanked by a barefoot Goth fairy sitting on a toadstool on his left and having Neytiri aim her arrow at him from the right.

After having hunted this intellectual as well as decorative prey, I decied to have a cappucino and soda in one of the cafés located inside the mall.
Since I had to ask in the bookstore about a possible packing for the figurine (it was standing on display on one of the shelves), like its original box, I asked one of the saleswomen who accompanied me to the shelf, then went to a back room, all the while clearly noticing but not commenting my bare feet. No hassle from the personnel, just as it should be.

Finding a free table at a café, I sat down, my bare feet again openly in sight, especially the left bling-bling foot, with the glittery golden toe nails and the silver toe ring, as I was sitting on the outer edge of the seating area, people passing me by on my left side. Ironically, I was sitting right opposite a nail art and design studio, where a young male employee of Asian origin was sitting at a desk, looking bored. At some point, he stood up, strolled through the shop, then came to the entrance, took a few steps to and fro in front of the shop, then going back in. I didn't watch him the whole time, but since he passed me, I'm sure he took a glance at my toes.

After spending a nice hour at the café, reading the first pages of the book abot working in a madhouse (as many companies tend to turn into them...), enjoying a nice cup of proper capuccino (with steamed milk, of course) and a large glass of Cola.

On going back home by public transport, one woman was sitting a few seats away, using her cell phone to take a snapshot of me and my bare feet. Again, that was obvious from the flash, that went off, when she took the photo. Guess what: I got even - and my cell phone camera has no flash that could betray me...

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/sat110212-3.jpg

Looking at the result of her candid photography

On arriving near my home at dusk, shortly after sunset, the air felt a bit colder, and while I kept walking, my feet never felt cold. Having to wait for a minute at red lights at a ped crossing made my feet feel slightly cold, but not unpleasantly. So, the decision to do some urban barefooting was just right.

The forecast for Sunday is telling me about max temperatures again around -2°C (28.4F), but with snowfall setting in by afternoon... so, I might get a chance to take a barefoot stroll down to the park, in the park and then back home. If the timing is right, I can take that stroll before the snow starts and finish it just the first flakes start falling, since that is predicted to be the mildest part of the day. Let's see, if next week will be frost-free during the day, as the forecast tells me. It's about time for a little barefoot- friendlier temperatures for my taste.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

(P.S.: text taken from my barefoot diary page.)

I have gone barefoot before... in the soft grass near the woods in my backyard. it felt great and i tend to do it often now.

Nice :)
Try it on pavement some time - it's a bit harder on your feet at first, but easy to get used to - the main point for starting out is not to drag your feet, take too long steps or land on the back.

Also, hrh @ the photo... I wouldn't have thought not wearing shoes can really be considered weird enough to warrant a photo, but I guess some people are like that.

Grass is among my favourite surfaces for walking barefoot... actually, all natural surfaces are, bringing me closer to Nature, enabling me to shed a bit of the "civilized" world I live in on work days...

Best time to start out is the first mild days of spring - winter can be a challenge, but it's best to begin sole training when it's not frosty outdoors and there's no one flinging grit or salt onto the sidewalks as soon as one snowflake hits the ground... they tend to do that over here quite a lot... and that stuff can be quite unnerving to beginners' bare soles.

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/sun120212-5.jpg
Salt stains on the pavement...

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/sun120212-6.jpg
...and grit on the sidewalk, a few steps later, too.

Must be the inherent tourist... a lot of humans have that in them. Sky People do not See... they have digital cameras.
:xD:

Well, OK, I take pictures of my feet, too, but merely for documenting my barefoot travels. Sometimes I feel like the urban Rob Bredl doing so.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

Mid-week update: almost a heat wave for bare feet...
 

Well, compared to -15°C (5F), this morning's +5°C (40F) indeed felt like a heat wave, especially with a mild westerly breeze blowing around me and my bare feet. Even though the pavement was wet, meaning an extra cool sensation from evaporation, I decided to leave the leg-warmers off, and bare my ankles, including anklets, to the world again. I also put on three more toe rings, now wearing a total of five, merrily increasing both the bling and weirdness factor:

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/wed150212-1.jpg

Since it was still cool weather, my feet were indicating their circulation by emanating a healthy pink glow, especially when standing in puddles, such as the small pools of rainwater in front of the office building.

Walking on grass next to the sidewalks, I felt two sensations:
The grass and soil are getting softer and softer with the thaw. However, walking on the grass felt considerably cooler than the wet pavement - the ground is still frozen beneath the first inches of soft soil, and that coldth can be felt through bare soles. Another thing, habitual shoe wearers are missing.

On one patch of grass where daffodil onions had been planted as annually recurring harbingers of spring, I could see that several of their stems had surfaced, signalling that spring is near, indeed...

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/wed150212-2.jpg
Enjoying cool grass after work

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/wed150212-3.jpg
Harbingers of spring... first daffodil stems surfacing...

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/wed150212-4.jpg
Happy feet on blacktop - waiting for the bus to take me to town

Of course, my increased bling (five toe rings) and the prominently rolled-up pant cuffs, revealing bare ankles, elicited "The Look"® quite often...

I know I'm doing just right, the more people gape at my feet.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

I'm not against trying it, it just seems like there'd be nothing enjoyable about it aside from maybe the novelty.

There's always the "Kneipp effect", named after German priest Sebastian Kneipp (1821 - 1897), who recommended walking barefoot on dew-covered grass, through cold water or even snow to trigger circulation and strengthen the immune system. Kneipp is believed to be one of the forebears of naturopathy, an alternative medicine concept.

Reflexology, something also centered on bare feet and wellness, is part of that alternative medicine cosmos, too.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

I love walking in the snow, despite how uncomfortable it becomes when you stand in it for more than a minute. When I get to my apartment, the good feeling hits as my feet start warming up. It's pretty neat. It's strange how it kinda energizes you at the same time.

I was stationed in Korea for a year, and have seen the results of soldiers with boots on, who were out in Korean winter, getting third degree frostbite. No thanks, if the weather gets cold, or if there is any snow, I put on shoes.
Niri Te

I think that's a little different than barefooting for enjoyment. Here, you can stop and come indoors, or put on shoes when it gets a bit uncomfortable. Out there I assume there were not too many options for them so they had to stick around and endure the cold, resulting in getting frost bitten and such.

Oh yes, it was VASTLY different, I was talking about people on patrol in the middle of the Korean winter, out in the weather for hours. It is just that what I experienced, and saw of others injuries, while I don't think that I have a Phobia about it, I have a VERY healthy respect for what getting cold could to to me, so I avoid it like the plague.
I have no problem at all being in the jungle, sleeping alone at night in a tent, but I don't want to be anywhere near the cold.
Niri Te

Well, indeed, cold can have quite detrimental effects on fingers and toes, thinking of frostbite... I prefer walking barefoot for fun, pleasure and wellness reasons, since it simply makes me feel better and happier - plus, it helps alleviating little ailments I have in my joints (mostly knees and my right hip joint), that sporadically emerge when I have to wear shoes, which is done for two reasons only: too cold weather (which we definitely had in the past two weeks, and which has now turned milder since Monday) and social conventions (meaning, that I am required to wear footwear in the office, to appear "professional" to potential new clients or the suit-and-tie visitors from existing clients). I'm definitely not barefoot out there to set any world records.
;)

I have my personal comfort zone for barefooting, as far as temperatures are concerned, which begins at -5°C (23F) in dry conditions and 0°C (32F) in wet weather... with a few precautions, which I already described in older posts, walking barefoot for a short period is perfectly possible in slight frost. It takes a little training, though, and every barefooter has his/her own comfort zone to explore and stick to. As I wrote: it's about pleasure, fun and wellness - not about pain and suffering.

Walking barefoot is a very easy way to enrich your senses (the tactile sense, especially, in this case) and to open yourself to the world around you by being in touch with it (literally). Having done that constantly in my free time from spring to fall for more than 25 years now (and constantly back at college), and in winter, too, for about 15 years, I wouldn't want to miss it. And the best time was my living in an alternative commune for over three years, when mild winters enabled me to be barefoot all the time, including winter, too.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

Oh, I go barefoot in the late spring, all summer, and early fall. The years that I lived in American Samoa, I never wore shoes anywhere. You would be surprised how much like the leather soles on shoes, the bottoms of your feet get after you have been walking on Coral, and climbing Coconut trees barefoot.
Niri Te

I don't know what to think about all that, but I just don't have tough feet. I know, I've heard it, walk around and they'll adjust, but it never seems worth it (which is why I have some of these)

http://www.paragonsports.com/images/...lowgrey_pd.jpg

I also have soft hands. Sometimes when I open a bottle of soda, I get a cut :(

O.K. oeya Moco Loco, WHERE did you get that photo of the dive shoes? I HAVE to have a pair of them!!
Niri Te

Opening bottles of soda is one of my least favorite things to do. Right under being caught in an inferno.

They aren't specifically for diving, I wear mine every day I wear shoes (well, not the same ones as Moco, but similar ones: http://www.vibramfivefingers.it/imag.../FF30388XM.jpg )

They're Vibram FiveFingers :) - a good place for lists of suppliers is here

I bookmarked the page you posted, and will be buying a pair or two as soon as I figure out which ones I should get.
Niri Te

Well, snowfooting is not a topic in my place anymore... temperatures are clearly on the rise, and yesterday, we had almost 10°C/50F... so, even though I had to do some office work (every two weeks, it's a Saturday shift in the office for me), I enjoyed going there, for having the fun of barefooting on the way to work, during work (no bosses or bigwigs around on Saturdays!) and after work, too...

Just to show you the fun of barefooting on the way to the office:







:D

Just in case you're wondering about the name given in the video title: that's my true name, since it was given to me at a Rainbow Gathering by a beautiful and barefoot hippie woman.

I am somewhat hippie, as you might know...

http://www.barefoot-spring.net/barefoot/sat180212-8.jpg

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

For normal use, classics or KSOs are good, or ones with the Trek sole (e.g. KSO Trek) for more heavy use on difficult ground, while quite a few of the others are designed specifically for running.