November - a barefoot month, too...

Most people wouldn't think, that autumn, and especially the trademark autumn month of November, is a time for walking barefoot. They would associate bare feet with summer only, and perhaps warm spring days.

However, I have found, that shoes are merely tools, only to be used when necessary. Two possible reasons are: working in dangerous environments, calling for protection (like working in a steel mill, for instance, where appropriate protective clothing is required) or frosty conditions, calling for protection against hypothermia and preventing frostbite. Any other so-called "reason" for wearing shoes is merely a fig-leaf for social taboos. As long as temperatures are high enough for my taste - and temperatures between 5° and 10°C (40 to 50F) are mild enough for me - my feet stay bare.

And even in the one fig-leaf situation where I'm required to don some footwear for social reasons (at the office, Mondays to Fridays), I show my toes, foot jewelry and my tattoo by wearing flip-flops, as long as temperatures are in the aforementioned range. When I have to work on a Saturday, I leave any footwear at home, working barefoot at the office full-time.

Here's the first pictures of my work days' feet, as seen on Friday and Saturday. The first picture, taken on Friday morning, shows the shifty and unstable nature of the current weather...

Saturday feet - the first picture is actually from walking on a paved sidewalk, which has been covered with a special carpet, courtesy of Mother Nature...

And while most people recoil from stepping in puddles or mud, I celebrate doing it, enjoying the cool feeling of rain water, soft and wet soil, grass and leaves. All those people wearing shoes, just because it's socially "required" don't know what delights they're missing.