Virtual Brush Box

Words of the outside world. Inky Fool: I Am Engaged. Derivation of the term. Amusing as always. [Christmas Gift]

~~~

Script for the page to a graphic novel. Follows previous fragment. [Moonrats, Fiction Fragment]

🌚✍️🌚

Setting. Three people in a lunar habitat on the dark side of the moon. Person A is trying to get person B to take the situation more seriously. Person C is also present.

Layout. Series of ever wider frames. Either stacked in a pyramid, justified to left margin, or arranged in a serpentine, whichever looks best. Backdrop of page is lunar landscape.

Purpose. Visually convey where they are & what that means. Emphasize the distance & isolation.

Last frame of previous page. Person A says, ” … I want you terrified.”

New page. Or perhaps two-page spread.

Close up of person B, looking surprised, scornful, superior.

Medium shot of two people sitting at a table, body language says combative conversation.

Pull back to show entire room. Person B has turned head as if contemplating what is outside the walls.

Pull back to show habitat from outside. (Person B looking out window would be good visual but they do not have porthole-like windows. Too vulnerable. They use cameras & video feeds.)

Pull back to show habitat in middle of lunar plain.

Pull back to show dark side of moon in space.

First frame of next page. Close up of person B, stunned, beginning to get it, contrite.

🌚✍️🌚

Afterword

Flash from the past. I wrote several Moon Rats posts and then stopped. [Posts: Fiction, Moon Rats, 2020 – 2022]

Flash forward to now. In an effort to stir up ideas, I updated my fiction archive page and reread past fiction posts. [Posts: Fiction]

Discoveries.

Plus. There are some fictions that I do not hate.

Plus. The above was from back then, that I had never written out. At least I don’t think I did.

Part of a potential graphic novel. [Moonrats, Fiction Fragment II]

Other mention of Lunar Liaisons. [Email from the Moon, Where Moon Rats Work]

Minus. Despite that, I remain stuck. I still wish I knew what to DO with any of this.

Minus. While I enjoyed the walk down memory lane, it did not fill me with new ideas. I will pause redoing The Personal Narrative assignments. At least for now. They are not sparking joy. [Why I Write, Fiction Fragment, Afterword]

Fully plotted stories remain a stumbling block for me. I will go back to leaving the field wide open. See if that works.

Speaking of bailing. I am also bailing on reading Agatha Christie this year. [Pondering Backstory, State of the Blog]

The point of mysteries is a sense of delectable tension in wondering whodunnit & how. I find I do not require more tension in my life. I am perfectly capable of generating my own supply. I will keep Christie in mind. May try again later.

Onwards!
Katherine

Photography of the outside world. The negative is the score. The print is the performance. Ansel Adams.

~~~

Slideshow. The other in-house photographer has taken up shooting film.

Onwards!
Katherine

Metallic Horses of the outside world. Sculptures from scrap. CTE: Alumni, Jenny Horstman, Welding & In Stride: Turning junk into elaborate designs, Navarra, July 14, 2014.

~~~

When I posted this photo, I said …

Previous Horse showed with a red ribbon in his tail. I would so have used this.

In It For The Bling, Dog Show Ribbons

Would I really?

Back then I was deep in hunter/jumper/etc land. The only place color was allowed was on cross-country. Even then, the strictly h/j people thought the eventers were a bit much. Glitter had not yet invaded the dressage ring.

No bling dared show its sparkly snoot.

Saddle seat has its own conventions, of course. But they have far more color and dazzle. I like to think I would have been avant garde & daring, but probably not back then.

Saddle seat must be rubbing off on me.

Onwards!
Katherine

Metallic horses of the outside world. Atelier blam: Zeus & Sanofi: Zeus, the Metal Horse: The Highlight of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, 2024

.~~~

I think I confuse Goldy. [The Progress Continues]

Goldy has two ways of going. Rider ready? Let’s do this. Rider discombobulated? Activate care-for-grandma mode.

My skills are inching back. Sometimes I remember to ride. Sometimes I’m a hot mess. Sometimes I switch back and forth erratically. Sometimes it’s both at the same time. Plus a collection of bad hunter/jumper habits that Previous Horse would simply ignore.

The problem for Goldy is that my progress is not linear. My aids send conflicting messages. Goldy can’t decide if I know what I’m talking about or I need to be taken care of. In all honestly, I’m not sure I know either.

It’s tough to be a schoolmaster.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Today. PBS: WATCH LIVE: President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address, Barajas, Feb 20, 2026. How to watch, with notice of additional coverage.

~~~

A few days of three laps for the morning walks. Once again due to my health. This time from internal distress. Mild but enervating. Back up to the usual five, although it still takes most of the the morning to reenergize. [Where We Are Now]

I choose to count this as a positive. Clearly, I am getting this nonsense over with while it is dark and cold. Once light and warmth return, I shall be ready to take on the world!

Rodney has been doing a lot of his laps off lead. Several days were completely at liberty. And then there were the days when the kettle boiled over. A leadrope would have not have helped. No one wants to fly that kite. [Hay Frolics]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. YouTube: J t’accuse by Suzanne. Not an easy song. Which is the point. Translations available online. A video with English subtitles is on Instagram.

~~~

Rodney got too much food. Again.

He’s an older horse, a hard keeper, and a selective eater. It’s a thin line between keeping weight on him and having the calories leak out his ears. This time, the rocket fuel was the hay.

Normally, he gets 80/20 alfalfa/timothy. Slightly cheaper and way easier to handle than 100% alfalfa. He refuses to eat anything lesser. He just pushes it around his plate.

The most recent batch had a lot of 80 (alfalfa) and very little 20 (timothy). It was bright, shiny green. Rodney could not contain himself. Cavorting during the morning walks. Not settling during grooming. Being way too big to be that goofy.

The fix was a few bales of 100% alfalfa that are less hi-test than the 80/20 due to the vagaries of when it was planted, where it was planted, how it grew, and so on, and so on.

Fortunately, Rodney recovers quickly once the inputs are adjusted.

Milton does not have these issues. He eats whatever is put in front of him.

Onwards!
Katherine

Comics of the outside world. The UK has one, LICAF: The UK Comics Laureate, as does the state of Vermont, CCS: Tillie Walden To Be Appointed Vermont’s Fifth Cartoonist Laureate. [People & Pets]

~~~

Transcript

(Each square is an hour, time indicated by clock faces.)

Marginalia: Hourly Comics Day, 8 Feb 2026

Hour: before 6 am
Timestamp: 9:15
Symbol: wavy lines
Words: –
Activity: asleep

Hour: 6 am – 7 am
Timestamp: 9:15 am
Symbol: hoofprints
Words: –
Activity: morning horse walk

Hour: 7am – 8 am
Timestamp: 9:15 am
Symbol: sad face
Words: omitting pic of toilet, yr welcome
Activity: not feeling well

Hour: 8 am – 9 am
Timestamp: 9:15 am
Symbol: bed with arrow
Words: –
Activity: back to bed

Hour: 9 am – 10 am
Timestamp: 9:15 am
Symbol: bed with arrow
Words: again
Activity: getting up

Marginalia: Forgot! Oh its Sunday! That means now.
(Despite preparing in advance, I forgot that today was in fact Sunday. Didn’t recall until I went to pack up for the day. Oops. Caught up on first five squares.)

Hour: 10 am – 11 am
Timestamp: 10:02 am
Symbol: steering wheel
Words: Driving to lesson
Activity: what it says

Hour: 11 am to noon
Timestamp: 12:44 pm, did with below
Symbol: ears
Words: Goldy!
Activity: lesson at Rosewood

Hour: noon – 1 pm
Timestamp: 12:44 pm
Symbol: steering wheel
Words: Back in Truck
Activity: again, as advertised

Hour: 1 pm – 2 pm
Timestamp: 1:44 pm
Symbol: camera, glass
Words: Cahaba Brewery, Film Walk, Ginger Beer
Activity: Bham Film Walk assembled at Cahaba Brewery. I tried a ginger beer (NA). Pretty good.

Hour: 2 pm – 3 pm
Timestamp: 2:40 pm
Symbol: food, small container, 4 happy faces, one sad face
Words: quattro cheese flatbread, provolone, garlic ricotta, mozzarella, Gouda. Could’ve happily lived my life not knowing about spicy honey.
Activity: Lunch, cheese bread came with hot honey, as in spicy not as in heated. 😦

Hour: 3 pm – 4 pm
Timestamp: 3:08 pm
Symbol: steering wheels
Words: Back in truck again, This is why we don’t get out much lots of (small steering wheel)
Activity: heading home

Hour: 4 pm – 5 pm
Timestamp: 4:15 pm
Symbol: showerhead, couch
Words: Shower, Sofa, That was a long day for us
Activity: home & rest

Hour: 5 pm – 6 pm
Timestamp: – (within hour but forgot timestamp)
Symbol: dog face & football, small bed
Words: Puppy Bowl, & maybe a small nap
Activity: (clearly I cannot let something go undescribed)

Hour: 6 pm – 7 pm
Timestamp: – (ditto)
Symbol: cat face, notebook
Words: Time to feed & Make plans for next week
Activity: yup

Hour: 7 pm – 8 pm
Timestamp: 7:11
Symbol: grid & place setting
Words: Nightly Waffle & Dinner
Activity: Waffle is a game

Hour: 8 pm – 9 pm
Timestamp: 7:50 (done early bc bedtime)
Symbol: Bed with book & audio book
Words: … and so to bed
Activity: What can I say, I live a narrated life.

Process Notes

This year was way more fun than the last time I did this, back in 2021. [#hourlycomicday]

It also happened to be a day that we had things to do.

Things That Worked

+ Pre-made grid. Anything in a thick black lines was drawn before. Last time I did this, I started to feel that my main activity was drawing. So, I set this page up to be able to make make short hourly cartoons and then get on with my day.

+ A square for each hour.

+ Clock visuals, even though I also put a timestamp, when I remembered.

+ An activity from the hour, not all activities. Not aiming for comprehensive also helped a lot. More day; less thinking about day.

Things to Change for Next Year

– Clock hours on both sides of all boxes, even though that means duplication on the margins.

– Bigger boxes, slimmer margins, especially horizontal, smaller headers.

– Accept that there will be words.

Sausage Note

Photographed bc no scanner.

Belated post because last week was Mardi Gras and I had already bought the colored papers for the Sunday post on the Mardi Gras weekend. [Masu Boxes]

Chose not to do live bc I didn’t want to spend the whole day in front of a screen. Notebook was more mobile.

It feels pretentious to call this post Art. I thought about using Visual Story Telling, but that way leads to a proliferation of subheaders. It is art as in, Not a Horse Post.

Coda & Link

Many, many artists participate in Hourly Comics Day. I invite you to have a searchfest.

Onwards!
Katherine