1X1 with Kipori

[Kipori]

(I am yeah, was a bit rough for a couple days but I am now pretty much fully recovered. Still some general tenderness and weakness but overall I am back to working order haha. That should mean replies won’t take as long, or at least that is the hope. Thanks for being so understanding about it these past weeks.
Glad to help, hopefully that gave you some sort of kicking off point in designing the clothes. It’s warmer yeah, not where I was staying for my recovery (there is still rainy and horrid) but my actual home is quite warm. Can’t go out and enjoy to much sun due to the scarring but the warmer weather has been a nice change. Poor dog, hopefully there hasn’t been to many storms for him to have to go through. My dog also hates thunder, well any loud noise honestly freaks him, as well.
That’s awesome to hear that everything garden wise is going so well! Also, don't worry about taking your time. I am also back to work now (probably a bit earlier then I should but what can you do) so I understand forgetting to check. No rush, whenever you have the time to get around to them.
As for the rope, I am not inclined to give them all the materials they need either. Having them scavenge and try to problem solve their way out sounds like a lot more fun. I can’t imagine asking Parker for his shoelaces going very well haha.)

Ollie Hobbs
Tilting his head, Ollie had to admit Rodger made a solid point about the packs. Trying to cross with them on would be far to dangerous. The added weight and fact that with them on one's center of gravity was a bit off, it wasn't worth the risk. Falling down the scree field was not something Ollie was interested in trying any time soon, if ever. Without the packs they would be able to move faster and with more ease and could probably recover from a shifting rock much faster then with the packs on. So no packs, well that just meant they now had to figure out how to get them across.
He was still mulling that idea over when Rodger mentioned anchor points and he turned his gaze to look across the field then to the trees and large rocks just behind them on their side of the field. There was definitely some trees solid enough to act as anchor points, at least long enough to give someone time to correct themselves from a slip or fall.
"There definitely won't be a lack of choices." He agreed. "A rope is probably the safest way to go and the fastest to set up. Anything else would require more preparation time. String them together and tie it off. Might want to secure us to the rope as well? That way if you lose your grip we have a safety net."
When Rodger mentioned the pulley system from a previous assignment, Ollie lit up a bit, nodding his head quickly. "Oh yeah, I remember it! Not what it was meant for but I think it would work well enough. Packs are going to get shredded but better then the alternative of carrying things across bit by bit by hand."
That was probably a slightly safer option but it would waste a lot of time that they really didn't have so a pulley system was their next best bet. While he would have preferred a rushing river to a scree field at this point, Ollie was pleased by the idea of actually setting up the pulley system to not think to hard about it.
His excitement was tempered when the point of how much rope they had came up next and his heart sank a little bit. It only sunk further when Rodger said he only had one length of it, which Ollie already knew would be no where near enough rope to cross the space they had.
"I didn't even think to bring rope, I have a climbing harness and I think a couple carabiners left in the bottom of my pack from the climbing trip a month ago but no rope I know that much. " He hadn't thought to take them out since neither added much weight or took up a lot of space so he had left them in the bottom of his bag but the rope had been heavy and he decide not to bring it. The thought was that if they needed it badly, it would have been on the gear list they had been given the days before. He had to wonder if this was meant to be part of the challenge and it was done intentionally or if they had taken a route the instructors had not planned on them taking.
Either was possible really but thinking about it didn't solve their problem now. Looking back out over the field, he hummed in thought at Rodger's question. "Our best bet is for someone to walk it over and tie it off. Otherwise we won't know if it's properly secure." He looked Rodger up and down. "Probably would need to be me or Parker since we are smaller and lighter. So probably me since I doubt we can convince Parker to do it."
There was also the point of him having better reflexes and more athleticism then Parker but he left that unsaid, not thinking he needed to remind Rodger of that fact. Going unaided across the scree field was not ideal, probably more dangerous then necessary but he couldn't think of a truly safe way to do it otherwise and he wasn't entirely willing to put everyone at risk because he was scared of slipping.

Lt. Warren Frost
Standing tense and ready to run the moment he heard any yelling or saw one of the cadets running down the small path back towards them, it was a solid few moments before Warren allowed himself to relax again. There was no yelling and the rocks had finished their decent down, seemingly not followed by a cadet's body which was a relief. He was aware he wasn't supposed to interfere with the training but in this case he would have forgone that little rule since the cadets were his responsibility. If they higher ups had an issue with it he could handle a chewing out for it.
Luckily it seemed that would be unnecessary as no one was coming running and there was no yelling so slowly Warren settled himself back down on the ground to wait for the two cadets to return. They had been gone a while at this point and he had to wonder what sort of plan they were trying to cook up. Between the two of them, he had seem some rather genius, if not potentially dangerous, ideas come out of the pair, both alone and together, so he had no doubt they would think up something. It was just a matter of whether he liked whatever they came up with or not.
Though, he had no real say in the matter. However they choose to cross the scree field, he would follow their lead for better or worse. Given Cadet Hobbs habit of dangerous stunts, Warren had to grumble about that as he settled against his pack. At least there was little chance of him blowing up the rocks in some way. He also had concerns about Cadet Curtiss's ability to cross the field with whatever contraction they created or route they found. Hopefully the pair was taking that into account as well. They should but as this team was not as cohesive as he would like to see, he was unsure if they would or not.

[taikunfoo]

(I'm glad that you're doing better, hopefully by now you're almost back to normal! I had to have a few surgeries ~2 and ~4 years ago and those were 0 fun, I definitely emphasize on the recovery process. The challenge is not overdoing it- I frequently thought that I could do more than I should have been doing and unfortunately my schoolwork (I was in college at that point in time) suffered a bit but thankfully it was something my grades could recover from. Has the weather turned a bit nicer now? Where I am we've had quite the dry spell and I've had to water the garden frequently in order to keep things looking good. On a side note would you like to see some pictures of the garden? If not it's totally fine! Unfortunately the weather is perfect for a kind of aphid that has spread to some of my plants, so I'm trying to kill them with a mix of oil, water, and dishsoap whenever I see them. Unfortunately they're quite small and hard to see so they've spread through most of my plants! Given the heat and humidity I was sure we'd have more summer thunderstorms, but surprisingly (and thankfully) we haven't had that many! Did have a gun go off in the woods up the street that scared my pup the other morning though but thankfully he realized that it was a one-off thing and other than pulling me back home, was quiet once we got back into the house.
Onto the sacrifice of the shoelaces!)

Rodger Castillo
Rodger listened carefully as Ollie went over what was rope-like in his bag, but disappointingly he hadn't thought to bring any rope with him. As he spoke, Rodger looked Ollie over, appraising the other young man for the scramble across the scree field. He was wearing the appropriate footwear, long pants that might not stand up to too much abrasion from the rocks, but would likely serve him well enough to keep him protected from most minor scrapes. While his t-shirt would do fine, wearing a light jacket over his shirt would definitely be a step up and help to protect his elbows. Yep, Ollie was definitely the better person to cross first, as opposed to Parker. His gaze lingered a minute before drifting off as Rodger tried to think through is pack to see if he had anything else that would help them cross.
"I have a harness and a few carabiners myself, you could put on a harness and we can tie you to that as you head across. That way if you start to fall we can catch you, and once you get on the other side we could use those to secure the rope to a tree. I don't know if we have enough to do a pulley system, but there just might be enough rope to get across this stretch of the scree field." He said, removing his gaze from Ollie and returning it to the rocky expanse they'd have to cross. "Worst comes to worst, we loose some clothes." He said with a chuckle-their pants and jackets were both lightweight and long, not ideal as far as rope goes but should serve as good anchor points or something to string bags together or pull them. Hopefully without tearing them in the process. Since they had enough carabiners it would be feasible to slide the bags down the rope and have someone get them, while also attached to the rope by a harness and a carabiner. "We could do something similar to the rope pulley, but we might have to get the bags from the middle of the rope where it dips and pull them to the other side." He said, looking again between this side and the far side of the scree field. Perhaps if they tied the rope high up on a tree or around a rock on this side, they might be able to slide the bags down...but then they'd have to carry their packs up a rock or the side of a tree. Rodger wasn't certain as to what the best way to getting the packs over would be, but he did have a resource available to him, and one whose bags they hadn't checked- Lt. Frost. "Okay, I think we have a decent plan going here that can be done with a measure of safety." He said, grinning, before continuing. "How about we go back down and run this by Parker and Lt. Frost? I don't think that Parker would have brought any extra rope with him, but Lt. Frost may have." He said, glancing down the hill and biting back a comment about how they'd be able to convince Parker to climb back up. As challenging as the team dynamic was at times, he enjoyed getting outside without the academic pressures and where they could creatively think to overcome obstacles. It was a great teambuilding exercise, and he wished that Parker would participate to a greater extent. It was also great to get out and about and not have to remind Ollie about homework or an upcoming exam- they were simply two friends hanging out on a hiking trip, rather than him feeling like an overstressed mother hen trying to keep his chicks in line. "Come on, let's head back down, I can't wait to see what's in the Lieutenant's bags and his face when we tell him about our plan to get across the scree field." Rodger said with a wide grin on his face, before turning to head back down the hill.

Parker Curtiss
With nothing exciting going on, Parker sat back down. His breathing was slowly returning to a somewhat normal rate, and he took another few sips of water to get at the dry tickle in the back of his throat. While this wasn't the desert and there still was snow up on the higher slopes, the air was definitely on the dryer side. Parker kept an eye on Lt. Frost, who was still standing and observing his two teammates, and was that a slight grimace on his face? Probably imagining whatever crazy stunt that they'd come up with to get them across the scree field. He was amused with the Lieutenant's discomfort until it occurred to him that he would have to cross the scree field the same way, and his amusement evaporated. Not wanting to imagine what was going through their heads up there, Parker was simply content to work on getting his breath back.

[Kipori]

(Oh I definitely failed at the not overdoing it part of recovery. I'm horrible for thinking I am fine to do things when I clearly am not totally recovered, usually that's just when I have a cold but good to know that bad habit carries over to surgery recovery. Weather has definitely gotten nicer, its usually pretty warm most days but unlucky for me that means increased lightening storms here and well...I'm terrified of thunder so hurray for me. I actually think we are slated to have another storm tonight. It's funny cause I love how lightening looks, but the clap of thunder is enough to send me into an anxiety attack. I'd be totally down to see pictures of the garden though! Sucks about the aphids, my dad is constantly fighting to keep them at bay in the sunroom what with his 30+ plants in there. Sorry to hear your pup got scared but hopefully it stays a one off problem.)

Ollie Hobbs
A part of Ollie regretted pointing out that he would be the best person to go across the rocks as having Rodger looking him up and down brought heat to his cheeks that he fought to push back down. Now was not the time to let his mind wander like that! Clearing his throat and praying that Rodger didn't notice or comment, he nodded as Rodger started speaking again. At least he had agreed that he was the best choice for crossing, though their options were quite limited to begin with so it couldn't have been that difficult to see his reasoning.
"I would rather not fall at all." He huffed, wincing at the idea of the cuts and scraps he could come out with if he did fall in the middle of that sea of sharp rocks. Just now he was realizing his clothes were going to get shredded, good thing he wasn't particularly attached to them. "Even if we have to cart the stuff back and forth ourselves, having a safety line in place will go a long way to keep anyone from getting to seriously injured. A few scraps and bumps not no tumbling down the entire field."
Tilting his head to the side, silently thanking any being listening that Rodger had decided to stop staring at him, he hummed as Rodger spoke of creating a more rudimentary system but he could see how that might work better with the possible limited supplies they would have. "Not ideal but if that's what it comes to then yeah, that would make the most logical sense in terms of time efficiency. Gonna depend on the strength of the rope or substitutes we find and whether they are liable to snap under that weight." The last thing he wanted to think about was their stuff rolling down the field. Somehow that was worse then a person. Okay not worse then a person but the thought wasn't any more pleasant.
He was about to open his mouth and argue that the plan was far from decent or safe in any regard but he noted the smile on Rodger's lips and decided the other boy was likely very aware. The idea was stupid, crazy even, but there wasn't much other choice at this point.
"Let's hope one of them was smart enough to bring rope." He sighed, running fingers through his hair, not putting much effort into sounding optimistic about the prospect. As Rodger said, the likelihood of Parker bringing any was slim so really they were relying on Lt. Frost to have rope. If the man had been briefed on the area then he should have known about the field and could, in theory, have brought extra supplies for getting across but Ollie didn't want to get his hopes up to far.
Since they had done all the planning they could alone, and this was supposed to be a team building mission after all, he was more than happy to follow Rodger back down the hill to the others. He snorted in surprise at Rodger's comment as he fell into step with the other boy.
"He's either going to be impressed or horrified." He agreed, wondering just what the man would have to say on the matter. Ollie was pretty sure he couldn't outright tell them that they couldn't do it but he might try to dissuade them from the idea.
The trek back down to the other's wasn't as hard as the trek up on the account that it was downhill rather then up so it only took a few minutes, an a single slip on Ollie's part, to get back to the trees were they had left the others. Ollie took in the pair, surprised to see both sitting near the packs, Parker with water in hand and Lt. Frost seemingly dozing. His eyes were closed at any rate but Ollie didn't doubt that he was aware they had returned.
"So how does tree launching sound to you both?" Ollie asked, his tone light and joking as he moved farther into the impromptu rest spot. "Gonna need more rope to cross the field, either of you got any?"
He would leave the actual description of what they were planning to Rodger since he would actually make sense, where as Ollie would probably confuse everyone or go off on a tangent about pulleys or something equally unimportant. He knew himself well enough to not try so instead he would ask the important question about rope and let Rodger actually explain why they need it. He in turn would find that harness and carabiners he was sure he had packed accidentally.

Lt. Warren Frost
The light doze Warren was able to fall into was broken by the sound of rocks shifting and foot falls coming closer which likely meant the pair of cadets were returning. There was a mix of curiosity and mounting foreboding swirling in his gut as the steps got closer the tree line. Part of him was interested to hear their ideas but the other part was not looking forward to it at all. Honestly, how did he always get stuck with groups who were brilliant in the stupidest ways?
Letting out a long breath to clear his mind, he finally opened his eyes to watch Cadet Castillo and Hobbs close the last bit of distance. They didn't look particularly grim so he guessed they had come up with something. He expected one of them to launch into an explanation but instead he nearly choked when the words 'tree launching' left Cadet Hobbs mouth. The image that sprung to mind was not one he was pleased about and his mouth twisted down in a frown. There seemed to be some amount of joking in the cadet's tone but Warren wouldn't be surprised if he had come up with something as equally crazy as launching them across the field via a tree. If anyone was going to pull that off, it would be Hobbs as long as he had Castillo and reluctant Curtiss on his side. The following comment about rope threw him off, leading to him frowning more but Hobbs seemed uninterested in further explanation as he was moving over to his own pack with a single minded focus. That left Castillo then and so Warren turned his attention to the other cadet, raising an eyebrow.
"Care to explain with a bit more...detail as to what the ropes are for?" He asked, mind already working over whether he had rope in his bag or not. If he was correct, he might have a sort length of paracord, nothing of a great length however, and even then he was unsure if he actually did or not. The memory of packing it was in his head but that could very well be a memory of a previous trip, they did tend to blur together after a point.

[taikunfoo]

(Fall is starting to set in here so we're seeing less of thunderstorms now thankfully. That's interesting about the lightning vs thunder for you- is it just the sudden loud noise or the unexpected loud noise if you don't mind me asking? I don't really have much of an opportunity to 'watch' it here, other than see flashes of light as we live in an area with tall trees. My dog is pleased that the storms are going away though, we haven't had one for a little while. I am a little disappointed as I love fall apple picking and when the weather is cooling off but is still warm enough, and the smell of the leaves. Unfortunately I live outside of a large city in the suburbs, so everyone and their mother goes out around this time of year for apple picking and all of the places are packed. So there's no way I'm going out to do that during a pandemic.
Has your dad tried a mixture of soap, water, and oil that you spray onto the plant? There's a few mixtures/concentrations floating around on the internet that was effective in killing the aphids for me on my corn (although the ones that lived relocated to right between the stalk and the ear where they couldn't get doused). I think neem oil is also good for killing aphids too. Basically you want to try to suffocate them and by putting a coating of oil over their bodies they can't breathe and die. Make sure he gets the underside of the leaves as well- they love hiding there!
Also poor Ollie-I'm enjoying giving him a hard time haha. Feel free to send me a pm if I'm taking too long with my responses too!)

Rodger Castillo
Deciding to roll with Ollie's statement, he simply nodded, echoing the other young man.
"Yep, we're doing tree launching. We have to use the ropes to bend the tree back and then let them go to launch us across the scree field." He managed to say evenly, holding a straight face for a few moments before he broke into a grin. "Nah, we're going to use the ropes to set up a guide line across the scree field at a narrow point. It's a little steeper and a bit more unstable than the flatter areas of the scree field, but it's a trade off between a longer passage across the scree field. Ollie and I were discussing sending him out on a safety line that we'd manage from further up the slope, so if he falls then we'll be able to stop him before he slides too far. Once he's across he can tie off the rope and we can secure the other end and use it as a safety line so everyone else and the gear can get across safely, then I'll go last and do the same safety line thing that we used to get Ollie over." He said, knowing that they wouldn't be able to get Parker to get across unless he was either in the second or third position. Rodger wasn't sure if their passage would be the most unstable when Ollie was crossing it first and was testing the rocks, or if when he would be going across last, but he knew with their instructor's increased weight that if the Lieutenant fell they'd have a bit of a challenge keeping him from falling without the guide line. If Rodger fell it would be a lot easier for them to catch his weight with Lt. Frost helping Ollie, while Parker...well, he didn't know whether he'd help out or sit it out. The thought didn't rest easy with him, and he hoped that on one hand it wouldn't come up, but at the same time if he couldn't be relied on in a high stakes situation he'd rather find out before something serious came up or someone got hurt. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he focused on a problem that could be solved immediately as walked to his pack.
"Did you bring any rope with you?" He asked over his shoulder to both Lieutenant Frost and Parker, even though he already knew Parker's answer. Rodger bent down next to his pack, untying the length of lightweight nylon rope that he always brought with him. 90% of the time he never needed it, in fact this would be the first time he'd be using it on their weekend expedition trips for it's intended purpose. There was technically that time where it'd been used to keep away biting flies, but he wasn't sure if that counted. Rodger ran the rope through his fingers as he tried to remember how long it was, hoping but simultaneously knowing that it wouldn't be long enough to reach across the scree field. They'd have to improvise something, or hope that Lieutenant Frost brought along enough rope that they could combine in order to make it across the scree field. There was, of course, the possibility that they didn't have enough rope to get across the narrow spot, and they'd have to give up on the narrow spot and cross at the wider but less steep spot by where they were now. Rodger paused to inspect the placement of the sun in the sky- it was almost directly overhead, so they still had a half day of hiking left. Admittedly they had kept up a pretty decent pace given Parker's normal walking speed, but if they were to get to the valley floor before the end of the evening and sticking to the rough timetable that would get them to the pickup point in time, they had to cross the scree field and not waste time backtracking and searching for a way around it.

Parker Curtiss
Parker looked up sharply at Ollie's mention of tree launching, concerned for a few moments as he tried to figure out the physics of it. Thankfully he was relieved of this train of thought when Rodger spoke up and mentioned the actual plan- they had attempted to make a joke about getting across the scree field. He wasn't sure how the rope was going to help- someone still had to go across to secure it to the other end, but the rope Rodger had brought with him clearly wasn't long enough if he was asking for more. He glanced at his pack, knowing that he didn't pack any rope with him, and the closest thing he had to rope was either his pack straps or the long shoelaces on his hiking boots. Glancing between Ollie, Rodger, and Lt. Frost, he wondered who would be the first to cross the scree field using whatever crazy scheme they had cooked up this time.
Now that he was starting to catch his breath, Parker was slowly becoming aware of the soreness in his muscles from the hike. Admittedly most of it had been downhill, but he was still feeling a lingering soreness in his knees and back. While he was glad it wasn't his legs like it was normally this early on during their excursions, he just hoped that they kept going downhill and didn't have to climb up anything for the rest of the day.

[Kipori]

(We seem to have sort of skipped fall and gone right into winter here haha. We had maybe two days of mild weather before it got cold and threats of snow started. So far no actual snow on anything other than the higher hills but it's a matter of time at this point I think. At least I won't have to be walking to campus for classes this year, the hikes through the snow were never very fun. Hm, I think it's both the loud noise and the suddenness of it. I have sensitive ears so any loud noise hurts my head and when it's sudden it freaks me out as well. Usually, there aren't many opportunities here either, that storm just happened to pass right overhead rather than in the distance so we got a much better show of it (Tho I accidentally looked out the window right as a lightning strike hit the yard and blinded myself for a solid twenty minutes, don't recommend). I'm sure your dog is very pleased about the lack of storms haha, though that sucks about the apple picking and all the people making it unsafe/
Mm, yeah he uses something like that I think, honestly, I'm not entirely sure since I've never asked. It usually works really well but we get breakouts of them a couple of times a year just due to the number of plants and how densely packed they are in the room. All it seems to take is him missing one or two and suddenly there is an outbreak of them all over the place. He got them under control now though and I brought in a couple of ladybugs I found outside (I believe they eat aphids?) and let them loose in the sunroom which will hopefully help catch any survivors.
Ollie deals with a lot but he is fun to torment haha, he also asks for it by being a bit of an idiot. Don't worry about it! I've been working on group projects which were eating up most of my time so honestly, I hadn't even noted how much time had passed.)

Ollie Hobbs
Grinning in Rodger's direction for going along with his joke and the deadpan way in which he delivered it was brilliant. If he wasn't trying to hold it together for the joke he would have doubled over in laughter at the face both Parker and Lt. Frost made. Of course, Rodger broke it to them quickly enough that the tree launching idea was a joke and that seemed to give them a sense of relief. Ollie had to wonder if he would get a telling off later for joking around but for the moment he was just pleased with himself.
Rodger, as expected, explained the plan to cross the scree field quickly and clearly and it didn't seem like either Parker or Lt. Frost had any objections to the idea. Lt. Frost looked a bit dubious about the idea but he didn't voice any objections out of the gate so Ollie was going to take that as a ringing endorsement of their plan.
"I'm quick on my feet so I shouldn't be too at risk if the rocks shift." He hummed, pulling the carabiners out of his pack after finally locating them. "Of course, there's no way of knowing just how stable to the middle of the field actually is."
The rock Rodger had thrown hadn't disrupted the rocks too much but that only proved that one spot was relatively stable, there was no knowledge about the rest of it and the unknown adventure of it made Ollie grin again. It was more exciting than it was terrifying in his opinion.
There was a moment where his stomach dropped upon seeing that the amount of rope they were able to produce was a far cry from what they would actually need. It was expected but also not what he had hoped for.
"So, who wants to give up their shoelaces?" He asked, glancing down at his own hiking shoes and trying to calculate just how many laces they would actually need, and whether trying to cross the field without laces was sane or not. Definitely not.

Lt. Warren Frost
While he was relieved to hear that they were not going to be crossing the field with the crazy idea of 'tree launching', Warren was still unsure of the plan Cadet Castillo laid out for them. It made some amount of sense and having Cadet Hobbs cross first did make sense but that didn't mean he was on board. Not that he could say as much. He was there to observe them and short of doing something that would end with someone dead, he wasn't supposed to give his input into their ideas. So instead he dug the length of paracord out of his bag, noting that it was as shorter in length than he had initially estimated and offered it up to the Cadets. It was a far cry from what they would need to cross the field. Even with Cadet Castillo's rope, there was little chance it would cover the entire distance.
"This is all I brought with me." He said, feeling almost apologetic for not bringing more with him but rationalizing that he had not been informed a greater length of rope might be necessary. Honestly, who scouted this area in the first place? Clearly, they were idiots or in the business of making this a much harder weekend than necessary.
There was no hiding the way his eyebrows arched when Cadet Hobbs mentioned shoelaces and Warren started to get a sense of the Cadets to plan a bit better. Arguably, tying a bunch of shoelaces together to cover the rest of the distance was smart thinking but Warren couldn't help but wonder what in the world they were thinking trusting shoelaces to hold together if they had to yank Cadet Hobbs back if he slipped. It was putting a lot of trust in their knot-tying skills, not that he believed they would be unable to do it. It just seemed an unnecessary risk to take.
"Is there no other option but shoelaces?" He asked, hoping that Cadet Castillo had thought up something a bit more secure to use instead though he had a sinking feeling that this was less of a joke from Cadet Hobbs than his previous statement.

[taikunfoo]

(We started to do the same and even got some snow and below zero temperatures which killed the garden, but now it got to 70 degrees today, and it's supposed to stay this temperature for another 3-4 days? I feel like the weather is being crazy and it's not really catching up to what it should be- it's 70 degrees out and there's no leaves on the trees and there's a fall breeze but it's warm outside! That's fair about the storms- I have sensitive hearing in that I hear a lot of things, quiet, high pitched, etc, but I worked at an airport for a while so I'm used to the louder and sometimes sounds-surprisingly it is entirely possible for a plane to sneak up on you.
Ladybugs are awesome! They definitely go for aphids- I actually found quite a few on my corn when they were infested with them. I've been pulling the corn plants out of the garden as we had snow that killed off the remaining plants, and there were still ladybugs on them! There's also parasitic wasps that you can get online too and release (they aren't harmful to people), they fly around and lay their eggs inside the aphids, and then the larvae will eat them. Hopefully the ladybugs will help your dad's infestation! How are your classes going this semester?
I'm definitely not making this easy for poor Ollie haha)

Rodger Castillo
Rodger looked at the paracord that Lt. Frost offered- it was disappointingly short for what they needed. He was a decent judge of distance and realized that they likely didn't have enough rope materials to make it across with his rope and the Lieutenant's paracord. But, they were arguably closer to reaching the edge if they used their shoelaces. Rodger remained quiet as he looked around the group, trying to figure out just what else they could use to bridge the gap of likely 40-50 feet. They had their backpack straps, but the backpacks would be rendered unusable if they cut them off. There was Ollie's option of using their shoelaces, but Rodger wanted to avoid that if possible as they needed to have good footing and secure footwear while crossing the scree field. That left whatever they had in their packs, which admittedly wasn't much useful, and the clothes on their backs, which were....useful? Rodger followed his train of thought- they all had some kind of jacket with them he was sure, plus they had pants. They all were relatively grown, so their legs were something like 3.5-4ish feet long, and each pair of pants would give them about another roughly 6 or so feet on the rope if they were tied together. He wasn't sure about the jackets, but he figured they would each have a similar length, so that gave them...four times six which was twenty four feet from the jackets, and another twenty four feet if they used their pants, so a total of an extra forty eight feet, which would hopefully be enough to cross the scree field!
Rodger had lost track of the conversation at this point, but after figuring out the rope situation, he immediately perked up and butted in, interrupting whoever was talking.
"We need to take off our pants." Judging by the stares that he immediately got, he needed to explain his thought process. "So we need more rope, right? We can use our pants and jackets and tie them together to create that extra distance- we should be able to get something like an extra 50 feet of rope by tying our jackets and pants together, provided everyone has at least one pair of pants and at least one jacket, which should be enough to get us across the scree field!" He said, excited with his solution to the problem. He quickly bent by his pack and began to take out his jacket. "We should probably twist them a little bit so it's harder for the material to tear- I know that I have the heavy duty outdoor version of stuff from the Garrison, so that should be okay, but I'm not sure what you guys brought with you." He said, pulling out his jacket and lying it flat on the ground, trying to get an estimate of it's length.

Parker Curtiss
As if the first idea wasn't bad enough, now they were going to strip down on the mountainside? Did they seriously expect that they were going to use their pants? Parker thought the idea was crazy but when Rodger knelt down beside his pack and started to pull out his jacket, he realized that he was serious. Fantastic. He could already imagine the letter to his parents- 'Dear mom and dad, your son passed away falling off the side of a mountain in his briefs.'
"Isn't there anything else we can use?" He asked, folding his arms while trying to figure a way out of having to take off his pants. The last thing he wanted was to have to spend the rest of the trip running around with a hole in them. Surely this went against some kind of survival thing, compromising the integrity of the things that were keeping you warm?

[Kipori]

(Sounds about right for how it is here all fall haha. We can go from sunny and warm in the morning to a full-on hail storm by noon and then back to sun by the evening some days. Bit crazy but you learn to just roll with it. Makes sense, you get sort of desensitized to noise after a while if you’re around it enough. Though I’ve never seen someone have an entire plane sneak up on them.
The aphids appear to be back under control here. Not sure if that is due to the cold or the combined efforts of ladybugs and whatever my dad was doing but they seem to have disappeared for the time being. Will have to see if they flare up again or not (probably will since it seems to happen every year) My semester is going pretty well all things considered. Not really enjoying it since I am paying full tuition to teach myself everything but it is what it is. I would have probably taken a gap year if this wasn’t my final year honestly, lots of my friends in lower years are doing that. But I really just want to be done haha, or at least finish this part so I can move on to whatever is next, I’m a bit over school right now)

Ollie Hobbs
Just before he could answer the Lieutenant about the necessity of using the shoelaces, Rodger interrupted whatever he was about to say with his comment about pants. There was a moment where everything was silent, eyes all trained on the other boy and for good reason. Ollie had heard a lot of random and sudden ideas come from Rodger but this one required a bit more information. Clearly, the puzzlement was written across everyone’s faces, and a quick glance over confirmed this, because Rodger launched into an explanation sounding more and more excited with each passing second that he spoke. In any other situation, Ollie might have found himself infected by the excitement but at the moment he could only focus on the embarrassment the idea brought to the forefront of his mind.
It didn’t seem like Rodger was going to be easily convinced that his idea wasn’t the greatest as he started rummaging in his pack, still talking about how they could make the plan work. Not even the Leutenient seemed inclined to pipe up, instead of sliding his own jacket off and saying he had a spare in his pack. Why he had two jackets was beyond Ollie but he shook the thought off as Parker was the first to say anything about the actual plan itself.
“I actually have to agree with Parker on this one.” He mumbled, glancing at the other boy for a moment before looking back to Rodger. “I don’t really like the idea of hiking the rest of the way in just briefs if pants rip or get lost, will we have enough with just everyone’s jackets? I have mine, Parker has his, the Lieutenant has his two and you have yours. Add the rope we have and shoelaces, maybe belts if anyone else has one, and we might have enough?”
It was a long shot really, the field was wide and while Ollie was terrible with judging distance, he could guess with their luck they would either be just short or very short of their goal. He cursed not bringing a spare change of clothes as he started to tug his only jacket out of the pack. Spares weren’t really necessary for trips like this which only lasted a few days but Ollie was already sure he would be bringing a spare jacket at the very least on every mission that would follow this one. He might bring two spares, just to be safe actually.

Lt. Warren Frost
When he asked for a better idea than shoelaces, Warren was not expecting Cadet Castillo to chime in with a sudden declaration about pants of all things. To his credit, he seemed to realize his mistake and was quick to follow up with a better explanation than his first statement had offered. Still, Warren couldn’t say he was any more pleased with the second idea than he was with the first one. It was an ingenious idea, he could give Cadet Castillo that, but he wasn’t too pleased with the idea at all.
“I have a spare jacket besides this one,” He said, slipping his arms out of the jacket he had been wearing. “It’s a bit on the thin side but if you plan to twist them up it should hold relatively sturdy.”
It was still a thicker material than say a civilian jacket might be, but Warren had his doubts that it would hold up well to the stress of a person sliding down a cliffside. The Garrison swore by the material they used but Warren had watched said material get shredded under the right conditions so he felt justified in being somewhat skeptical of the sturdiness.

[taikunfoo]

(It should be winter now but it's 60 degrees outside. I don't understand! At the airport you got used to small planes sneaking up on you, and the commercial planes were relatively loud, but the F-16s were quiet and you only heard them when they were approaching perpendicular of where you were, or past you. The F-18s though never snuck up on anyone- when they started rolling down the runway you felt their engines vibrating the air in your chest. I'm glad to hear the aphids are back under control for now! Hopefully they stay away, but they're also tenacious- I don't know what your dad is doing or if he's keeping up with the treatments now that they seem to be under control. That's understandable- school can be tricky and it's definitely rough working and studying at the same time- is your new workplace flexible with your hours so you can study/take your classes? If you don't mind me asking, what are you studying?)

Rodger Castillo
Rodger looked between the cadets and Lt. Frost, trying to gauge their expressions- they were closed off, unaccepting of his idea, although he doubted they had come up with anything else that was better. He realized he had to step back and let them come to the conclusions he'd drawn for themselves. Rodger realized he could push them to do what he asked, but he still wasn't at the point where they'd happily (or willingly, in Parker's case) do what he told them to. As time wasn't too much of an issue- as long as they got down off the mountainside they could set up camp in the relative dark with the glow from their lights, he simply settled back, trying to figure out a good way to formulate his question to get the others to think about what they had to accomplish.
"Yeah going for the pants is a little weird, plus you bring up a good point-what happens if they get ripped? We'd be in for some unpleasant hiking if that happened." He said, looking between Ollie and Parker. He had to first acknowledge their concerns- it would definitely unpleasant to be hiking in bad weather with inadequate protection- if worst came to worst they could always use a jacket as a improvised skirt of sorts to protect their legs, but he could always suggest that idea if it came to their pants actually tearing. Now was the part where he had to ask for suggestions, while framing his question appropriately to make sure their goal was met- making it to the bottom of the mountain before dark. "Did you see any alternative materials that we could use to lengthen our rope so we can cross the scree field and get to the bottom of the mountain before dark?" He asked, admittedly partially curious to see if they had come up with any alternative ideas other than pulling their pants off on the mountainside. While there was a lot more vegetation here than they'd been seeing in the desert on previous expeditions. Still, he hadn't seen much in the way of vines or anything they'd be able to use as rope. Admittedly, they could technically strip thin strips of wet bark or wood to braid into a rope, but that would take way much more time than they had available to them- they'd be stuck here putting together the extension they needed to get across the scree field for the better part of the day and night. He wondered if there was an alternative as well- maybe they didn't need the pants, it was technically possible for them to string together the rope, their jackets, and the lieutenant's paracord and they might have enough length to make it across.

Parker Curtiss
At Rodger's suggestion, Parker looked around- they had their packs with them, but he doubted that they could use them without damaging them to the point where they'd have a hard time effectively carrying their packs for the rest of the trip. They were in the woods- weren't there some plants or vines or something they could use for rope? His eyes roamed round the trees, trying to see anything of use. Maybe they could tie the rope and the paracord to a fallen tree or something to give them more length? Would the weight of the tree be too heavy? Parker wasn't sure but it wasn't in his wheelhouse, he was a scientist not a glorified rope maker. He simply glanced between Rodger, Ollie, and Lt. Frost, keeping his likely incorrect or unwieldly idea to himself.

[Kipori]

(Ah that makes a fair bit of sense, I haven't spent much time in airports so it's all loud to me haha. Not a fan of planes if I'll be honest, I hate heights and confined spaces so planes are my worst nightmare. So far the aphids have stayed away but who knows what will happen come spring but my Dad is hopeful that he has them under control this time and is planning to continue treating the plants even if he doesn't see any. I think he is hoping to keep them from developing at all?
Since I work mostly nights, I have most of the day to work on school stuff and whatever else I need to. Of course, since I work till midnight, I'm pretty tired the next day but I manage with a lot of coffee haha. It was easier when I actually had to go to class and focus in a room but since I am just hanging around the house finding the motivation to actually do my work is hard. Im finishing up my Bachelor of Arts, history major Psychology minor, and then I am planning to go into the education program to become a teacher. Not sure if I want to teach younger kids or older ones but I am leaning towards younger kids since I'm not sure I can put up with angsty teenagers haha.
Thanks again for being patient with me in waiting for this reply)

Ollie Hobbes
Despite his hesitation about giving up his pants in order to create more length for their rope, Ollie was quickly coming to the conclusion that they might not have much choice in the matter. The climate wasn't ideal for finding any natural materials, at least readily available ones, and even if there was, the integrity of said materials would be questionable at best. At least by using clothes, there was a bit of synthetic strength they could rely on. Given he was going to be crossing the field relying on nothing but the rope, Ollie would much rather trust his clothes to hold fast than a vine or whatever random material they managed to scrounge up. There was also the fact that finding said the material would take too long at this point and they were already burning daylight by standing around debating it. While he had agreed with Parker initially, they didn't have the luxury of endless amounts of time either.
"For the record, I hate this plan." He grumbled, shooting Rodger a look. "I also hate you for being right all the time, endlessly frustrating that."
He offered a small smile after his second comment so that Rodger didn't think he actually had any hard feelings against their leader. Sure, he wasn't happy about it, but he wasn't going to hold Rodger accountable for being sensible while they were all being whiny children about it.
Turning his attention to Parker, he raised an eyebrow at the other boy but when he wasn't forthcoming in any new ideas he let out a long breath.
"You think two pairs would be enough? Save two of us from having to go without pants?" The implication he meant himself and Rodger was left unsaid since he figured Parker would not appreciate being called out as not helping the group progress. That was a surefire way to annoy Parker and Ollie wasn't in the business of making this harder than it needed to be right now. That and it would probably look bad on his assessment if Ollie explicitly pointed it out, something about lacking teamwork or something that they always got dinged with.

Lt. Warren Frost
It was a surprise when Cadet Hobbes changed his tune so suddenly and agreed with Cadet Castillo again. It was a bit flip-floppy of him to go back and forth like that but Warren could see he was trying so dismissed it. It didn't seem like he was happy with agreeing with Cadet Castillo again this time though, which Warren could understand. It wasn't an ideal solution but given the lack of materials at their disposal, it was going to come down to majority rule on whether it went that way or not. Since Warren wasn't supposed to have a say in how the group proceeded, it seemed Cadet Curtiss was now outnumbered on which plan would be used. Not that there had been an alternative plan offered up, to begin with.

[taikunfoo]

(Aphids are bugs- if he hasn't gotten them all they'll come back, but they are tricky to find sometimes so it's good that he's still treating them have they made a return yet? Or is everything still good? I definitely understand the motivation aspect, it's challenging to stay focused on work and then when work is done I just want to laze around and do nothing. I finally got around to planting some seeds and moving some plants over from being rooted in water to soil which is good but man that took too long. On the plus side I found a plant trading community which I'm excited about so some of these plants are going to wind up being traded come spring/summer, so who knows what I'll wind up with! That's definitely fair about the younger kids - you can also pull some fun things off with them as well. At one point I was a camp counselor and had a range of kids from 3.5 to 10 years old, and I liked teaching the 4-5 year olds the best, they were a lot of fun and no filter whatsoever haha. Did you have a specific kind of subject you'd like to teach (like History or Psychology), or were you aiming to be more a general teacher? Also no worries about the delay, we're both running slow these days so don't sweat it )

Rodger Castillo
Rodger gave Ollie an understanding look, he wasn't exactly keen on the idea of having to remove his pants on a brisk day like today, but hopefully it was only temporary.
"I don't like this plan either, but I don't have any better ideas unfortunately." He said with a shrug. "We may not even need to use them if we're lucky and the way across is short enough." He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. Rodger knew that as the team leader he'd be the first one sacrificing his pants, but the question was who else would be taking them off if they needed more rope. He didn't want Ollie to take his off as he'd be crossing the scree field first, and that left the question as to whether they could convince Parker or Lt. Frost or both of them if need be. Hopefully it wouldn't be necessary, but there was only one way to find out. "Well sitting around won't be doing us any good. Let's go get set up." He said, shouldering his pack and leading the way back up the mountain to the narrow part of the scree field. Rodger led the way back up the mountain to the narrowest part of the scree field, and opened his pack, laying out the rope and looking around, trying to find a suitable tree to tie it around. There was a skinny gnarled pine by the very edge, and Rodger walked over to it and gave it an experimental push. The tree shivered and the rocks shifted underneath the roots, threatening to come loose from the mountainside with his gentle push - clearly that couldn't be used for an anchor. He took a few steps back and assessed his surroundings - there was a large boulder that was resting precariously on a few spurs of rock. The stone was large enough to serve as an anchor, but it seemed like it would shift too easily if it caught the weight of someone falling. Rodger didn't want to have to worry about his anchor rolling down the mountainside and taking whoever was on the line with them. He moved on towards a large tree that seemed relatively anchored in the loose stone on the side of the scree field. Rodger gave it a few experimental pushes and a kick to be sure that it was secure, before going back to his rope and looping it around the tree, then threw his weight against the rope. The tree shivered slightly, but remained stable, and Rodger gave it a satisficed nod.
"Ollie, get your climbing harness on and we'll hook you up. Since we have to add to the rope, we can't tie it off, I'll act as a counterweight and we can add the paracord and clothes we go on." He said, taking one end of the rope and starting to tie it into a complex knot. "Keep your pants on though, can't have you scraping up your legs-it'll be challenging to get across without a guideline." He said, pulling a carabiner from his pack and hooking it into the knot he'd just tied.

Parker Curtiss
Parker kept his grumblings to himself- the last thing he wanted to do was climb all the way back up the mountain they had just climbed down! Begrudgingly, he shouldered his pack and trudged up the mountain at the tail end of the group. Like every single trip they made, he was already making promises to himself that he'd go to the gym and get into shape this time. Surely next time would be different- he'd go to the gym and be more in shape for the next outing. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't learning. This was their sixth or seventh of these trips, and he hadn't shown up at the gym any more than had been necessary. Hypothesis: if he went to the gym more often he'd be less miserable on the weekend outings. Observations: Rodger, Ollie, and Lt. Frost went to the gym, while he did not. None of the other men seemed to be particularly troubled with the hike so far, while he was already tired, his legs were sore, and one of his knees was bothering him. Experiment: Increase participation in gym activities daily and observe physical condition during the next weekend outing. Parker was working hard to try to make himself interested in his 'experiment', ultimately he wanted less extreme discomfort on the longer excursions, but to do that he had to endure lesser discomfort with frequency during his proposed workouts. He dropped his pack after reaching the area where they were going to cross the scree fields, sitting down and thinking through how he could try to figure out an appropriate motivation for his test subject to participate in his experiment. Clearly, future discomfort wasn't enough of a stick, he needed a carrot. A new book? Sleeping in? Indulging in some data analysis for an experiment? Their lives were pretty regulated so there wasn't a lot of flexibility for them to go out on the town (or museum in his case). Parker needed to figure out a better motivation for himself to go to the gym with greater frequency.