However, "stob" is Scottish for broken stick or stump. Sounds similar, but maybe CL can shed some light on whether or not they are cognates. Track down the family tree of that branch of the language, as it were.
These are my bamboo stobs from last year - they are the sprouts of giant Japanese bamboo that I planted in my backyard - in theory they will eventually grow to 60 feet tall.
I am enjoying A Tramp Abroad - Twain's humor holds up even after all these years. I like his stories from the golden age of Alpinism, and it's almost enough to make me want to go back to Switzerland just to see the Matterhorn. I saw Mont Blanc when I was there in 1992, and it is pretty impressive, but the Matterhorn has a very different shape and a lot of lore. Inspired by Twain I have been reading the history of mountain climbing in the Alps. In years past have read a bit about other mountains, like In the Hall of the Mountain King about McKinley and some books about the Himalayas but years ago I gave up the idea of doing any technical climbing. Heck, even hiking would be a chore these days, but I still enjoy the idea of being in the mountains.
That's the cover of Twain's book, showing him with his gear, including his Alpenstock, which was a precursor of a climbing ax. So besides enjoying the humor I am also learning stuff - words, and stuff like that.
We are getting a bit of winter weather here now, but I am almost certain that no glaciers will form in the immediate future. For that I am thankful, as I have no ice at hand.
