Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. Did you see the disheartening news in the article I posted linked last week? “After 35 years in Boston, the annual prize ceremony will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, this year and will continue to be held in a European city for the foreseeable future. The reason: concerns about the safety of international travelers, who are increasingly reluctant to travel to the US to participate.” Ars Technica: Meet the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize winners, Ouellette, Sep 3, 2026.

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I continue to be amazed how at good the floor of the run-in area looks and how quickly it turned around with the addition of barn lime. [Floor Maintenance]

We have been on this property for over 30 years. (!?!) The floor had never looked like that. What happened? I have a theory.

Food.

Specifically, hay.

At the end of 2022, Milton had colic surgery. The vet recommended taking him off coastal hay. As a result, we switched both horses to timothy & alfalfa. If one horse couldn’t have it, we didn’t want it in the barn. [Rodney’s Hay Roster]

If the input changed, why shouldn’t the output?

Of course we cleaned the floor of poop. But a) you never get it all, outside of sanitizing stalls at a vet clinic & b) while it is lying on the ground waiting to be picked up, there would be leakage.

More importantly, at least by volume, is piddle. Milton goes out of the barn to pee. Rodney does not. He prefers to pee in the stall, but will use the run-in area in a pinch. (Insert eyeroll.) [Barn Remodel]

The theory is that the different hay made the urine more acidic. Then, over several years – January 2023 to August 2026 – the change gradually accumulated. The massive amount of rain this spring can’t have helped. The chemistry of the dirt got out of whack. Barn lime restored it to the dirt behavior we are used to.

Could be.

I have run this post past the ship’s science officer for confirmation.

Addendum. Exterior mud hole was better but not dry. We dropped another bag of lime. The interesting bit is that the floor of the run-in is looking even better. As the outside area dries it draws moisture from the inside? Fascinating.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. PCA: Pens for Kids(R)

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I hath ventured into the subscription arena once more. What can I say, I like fun things showing up at my door. [Pens, Pencils, Notebooks]

Some boxes didn’t work for me. [SketchBox Fail]

Some boxes did work for me, but were discontinued. [A Plethora of Purple]

Notebooks I have. [There’s Life In Them There Posts]

I decided to try another pen subscription box. I’m picky about markers and such, so that didn’t appeal. Finally, I chose three months of a fountain pen box. The price was enough to give me twinges of overconsumption. I could argue that it costs less than a fancy dinner for two and lasts longer. I could also argue that you can buy marking implements in bulk for small bills.

However.

I am amazed.

I am not a precise person. I’m likely to declare, ‘Close enough. Moving on.’ Yet with the pen from the first box, I was able to draw lines that were straighter and closer together. Plus it handles beautifully.

Good tools. Who knew?

Onwards!
Katherine

👽👽👽

Second Alien: My friend, you do not appear to be in balance.

First Alien: Alas, I am not. I was given a second chance and yet failed to deliver on the trust placed in me.

Second Alien: Do not fret yourself. All of us know that information gathering among humans is a difficult endeavor.

First Alien: You are overly kind. I know that my previous experience is used as an training example. [Attending a Science Fiction Convention with an Alien Disguise]

Second Alien: The lesson being taught is not about you. It is about how the unexpected can get a grip on us.

First Alien: Yes, well, I was the one the unexpected got a grip on. And now it happened again.

Second Alien: Perhaps you best recount the events. A journey of the mind can help restore order.

First Alien: Your presence alone is a balm to my disorder. Imagine my surprise when I was chosen to attend another assemblage of humans at a science fiction convention. The consensus was that my mistakes would aid me in enfolding the event this time around.

Second Alien: That did not happen, I take it?

First Alien: I fear another training exercise will be made. At first, I was pleased to have the chance. I even had what I thought was a brilliant idea. Instead of going in costume, I went as an author. Well, as an aspiring author. To support my facade, I wrote a novel. In human language! Having achieved that exercise, I went to events that catered to new writers. I would learn about human creativity.

Second Alien: I admire the effort in verisimilitude. Did it help?

First Alien: Not as much as I had hoped. Beyond a brief ‘What’s it about’, the plot of the story was not the main avenue of inquiry. No one wanted the clever details of my rising action in the second act.

Second Alien: I did not expect human to lack curiosity.

First Alien: Oh, they were plenty curious. The questions. So many questions. Did I have an agent? If not, was I looking for an agent? If I had an agent, how did I get one? Did have editor? How did I do it?

Second Alien: They did not want to talk about writing?

First Alien: Oh yes, they talked about writing. All about writing. Was was I plotter or a panster? Excuse me discoverer, that’s the new term, or gardener. I could hardly say that I entered my third mind and let the novel flow into a vial of glass. Tor.com: The “Plotter vs. Pantser” Writing Divide Has Been Exaggerated, Palmer 2022. [Plotter Pantser Y Not Both]

Second Alien: I remain interested. Please carry on.

First Alien: The first day was bad, but I tried to grow from it. The first night, I imagined being under the arch. After a while, I re-embodied the reason for my trip was to discover about humans, my discomfort was incidental and temporary. So I tried to reverse the questions. I was undecided on the issue. How did they feel about it? It worked for a while, but they still wanted to give me advice. They were so helpful. So very, very helpful. Did I realize that writing the book is just the first part? How was I planning to use social media? Did I want to come on their podcast? Who would be my ideal person to read the audio book? Was I considering doing it myself?

Second Alien: I applaud your willingness to refocus.

First Alien: Again, too kind. Again, it didn’t help. They know so much. So much detail. They would ask what genre. When I told them fantasy, they asked how I addressed the problem of Tolkien’s elves.

Second Alien: And that would be?

First Alien: Tolkien is a fellow who wrote a fantasy book longer ago that most of them have been alive, yet everyone still reads it. He is considered fundamental. Like Mount Fuji. It is either in the picture or you are standing on it. [The Ripples of the Rings, Pratchett]

Second Alien: Ah I see, one question. What is Mount Fuji?

👽👽👽

Awareness of the outside world. WTC: Wedge of Light.

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Hoover, Alabama USA
September 2026

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Ars Technica: Meet the 2026 Ig Nobel Prize winners, Ouellette, Sep 3, 2026. Improbable Research: The 36th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, video.

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I felt ignoble, and not in the clever-make-you-think way.

Yes, there are two sets of ears. I bailed halfway thru the first ride and was granted a second, remedial ride on Optimus. [Emotional Support Horse]

Phooey.

Luna, left, is a 5-year-old bay ASB mare. She rides like a much older horse. I’m told she is quickly becoming a favorite lesson horse. Not for me. I achieved walk, trot, and canter in one direction and decided I was done. Usually by then I would have settled down and be riding the horse. I was not settling down.

Of course, I felt really good about myself after. Not!

I think we can take a break from mares for a bit? [Being Sweet]

But then, I’ve never gotten along with mares, with certain notable exceptions. [Mares and Me]

You may notice Optimus’ ears up near the roof gable in the photo. There was a lawnmower on the hill. That is the highest I’ve ever seen him carry his head and ears. Riding was a breeze since the front end was auto-elevated. All I had to do was ride forward. He wasn’t wrong. It was quite the noise. At least I was on the horse I get along with.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Braymere Custom Saddlery: The Akhal Teke World Championship

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Goldy
Rosewood Stables
5 September 2026

It was hot. [Too Hot]

Then less hot. [Back To The Goldy Mine]

Then hot again.

This time, the mornings not were not awful. We thought we could slip in a lesson before the heat ramped up in the afternoon.

We were wrong.

Also, I keep forgetting that the sand ring is an easy +5 for heat.

The lesson was a brief warm-up, a few jumps, declare victory, head back to barn.

Goldie was fine. Shower. Fan. Shower. Fan. Tucked into his stall, dried off, & eating hay.

Me, not so much. I do not handle the heat well these days. I’m not unmercifully hot at the time. It’s just that my cooling system has gone awol. I get hot, stay hot, & take forever to recover. Bleeh.

I do have good news.

Pre-lesson walking worked like a charm. [Afterthoughts, Physical]

With okay from Coach Deana, I got on early and we ambled around the outside of the ring for a few minutes.

Subsequent lesson went well for horse and rider. Flat work on task. Jumps low – tiny even – but coming up where I expect them to be.

Wandering around. While I want to ride in (win!) the American Eventing Championships, I want this also. [Breeds, Enter Spooking]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Related to yesterday. NPR: Boston Students Get A Glimpse Of A Whole New World, With Different Maps, Dwyer, 2017. New maps since 2017. Article points out that the equator is in the “wrong” place on the Mercator map. I had never noticed, or had noticed but not really thought about. Subconsciously prioritizing the northern hemisphere? [Hoof Treatment, intro]

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{Backstory. Each morning, people & horses go on team walk: one-mile, unmounted, & off-lead. Route is back and forth five times along one side of the pasture. Theoretically.}

Due to foot issues, Rodney is spending the morning hanging out in the ring with Other Barn Minion. Milton and I walk back & forth. [Hoof Treatment]

What is different à deux?

Milton wants me to take point. When all four of us are walking, Milton will walk next to me, or stomp off ahead of everyone. Now, he slows down & says, ‘Nah, you go first.’ [Current Marching Order, Heading Out]

Milton has to walk past the cookie monster, aka Other Barn Minion, twice each lap. He tries to stop occasionally but is good about being steered back to the path. The fact that he will walk past his personal cookie dispenser at all is amazing. If he tries to stop, it is usually in a later lap. Laps one through three, he marches right by.

Milton goes at liberty most of the time. I carry a leadrope in case he gets tired of having to write his history paper while everyone else has finished exams. Generally, he feels smug that he is the one doing it right.

Onwards!
Katherine