Virtual Brush Box

Jumping in the outside world. “John Whitaker took home the Ripon Select Foods Cock O’the North trophy for the seventh time in his career, 51 years after his first win in 1975.“ Darlington & Stockton News: John Whitaker, 70, wins Cock O’the North at Great Yorkshire Show, Engelbrecht, 17 July 2026. [N is for Newsum]

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Goldy
Rosewood Stables
18 July 2026

Goldy! My sidetrip with Monty was over for the moment. [And Now For Something Completely Different]

Lesson was lovely. Warmed up well. Nice jumping. Smooth efforts. Goldy being his stellar schoolmaster self.

The highlight was a small (tiny) oxer. I rode down to it way harder than I needed to. I was delighted that Goldy decide to agree with me.

Me: Big jump!
Goldy: Big jump!

⭐⭐⭐

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Diario AS: Who are Triplets Ghetto Kids, the Ugandan children who will dance with Shakira and Burna Boy at the Spain – Argentina halftime show? Tikitakas, Jul 19th, 2026, & USA Today: The Muppets highlight star-studded World Cup halftime show, Brinkerhoff, July 19, 2026, for the Muppet video.

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{Backstory. Each morning, people & horses go on team walk in the pasture. Current iteration is one-mile, unmounted, & off-lead.}

I said yesterday that Milton’s shoes are fine. They are. The foot, maybe not so much. He was fussy with the blacksmith. He was giving small signs around the barn that something might be bothering him. Bit of a mood? Summer grot? Time for his annual foot abscess? Our imagination?

We decided to lunge him during the morning walk. Check for soundness. Milton said no. Nope, nope, nope-ity, nope.

How does a horse say no? I’m glad you asked.

Further background. The walk is five laps back & forth along one side of the pasture. They get cookies at each turnaround.

First lap. Walk out to corner. On the way back, Milton picked up a trot halfway through the ring. This is unusual behavior for the Gray Wonder. Other barn minion says Milton saw the lunging equipment that was waiting on a barrel in the middle of the ring.

Second lap, heading out. Milton power walked – seriously, I had to stretch to keep up – through the riding area. Milton slowed down to a more moderate walk as soon as we exited the ring.

Second lap, heading home. Horses were still at liberty. Other barn minion stood in the ring to catch Milton for his soundness check. Milton swerved. Milton reconsidered the possibility probability that stopping meant treats. He wavered. Lunging. Cookie. Lunging. Nope. Milton cut a hard right, flung his feet, and galloped off. Rodney joined in.

They did not run back to the barn. They both stopped at the cookie spot and waited for the humans to catch up. Dispensed cookies. Finished rest of walk. Sans lungeing.

I’m happy that we didn’t need to force the issue. He was sound at trot on a straight line. Good enough. No need to see more. If he felt that strongly about communicating his opinion, I’m glad we were in a position to listen.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Does survival of the fittest have to mean vicious competition? Maybe the fittest are those most able to cooperate.

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Goldy

Saturday. Lesson changed due to twisted shoe. [And Now]

Acutely, Goldy was better once he was no longer stepping on his shoe. Longer term, I have not been to the barn, so I do not know if there was any aftermath.

Rodney

Sunday. Next day. Rodney is sans right front shoe. Blacksmith was already scheduled to come shortly. The last two appointments were successfully 9 weeks between shoeings. This time was 6 & 1/2 weeks with a lost shoe. Phooey. [Sustaining The Shoeing Record]

Monday. Blacksmith arrived. Rodney stayed in the stall overnight, kept his foot in one piece, and chose not to lose the other shoe. We were concerned about how well he would behave after being kept up all might. Once he realized he was getting his pedicure, he was thrilled.

Wednesday. Sprung left front. Photo, above, taken to apprise blacksmith of situation. Blacksmith able to come out & redo.

Horses!

Milton

Shoes are fine. For the moment. Shhhhhhhh!

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. JPL: Visions of the Future. Downloadable posters. From their “Exoplanet Travel Bureau”. Been around awhile. I just discovered. Hat tip to @kwistiba on Instagram.

~~~

Second in a series. I call this – Seriously, Stick With Words.

Class #2
Acrylic Painting with Anthony Best
Shelby County Arts Council
16 July 2026

Once again, this looks way better in the photo. The waves kinda look like waves. In the original, they do not. Not in the slightest. The object on the beach still looks more like the tip of a dragon’s tail than a stone with a shadow.

A good time is being had by all.

Tables at start.

Tables at finish.

Previous Posts

[Landscape, Acrylic Painting Class #1]

Onwards!
Katherine

Buc-ees of the outside world. My San Antonio: Buc-ee’s fan creates LEGO version of Texas’ iconic gas station chain, Romero, June 27, 2023.

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Have you ever been to Buc-ees? It is the platonic ideal of a highway rest stop. Cheap gas, good snacks, clean restrooms. We have been known to stop by our local outpost for gas & snacks, see below.

As of this week, I count 72 stores in 13 states: AL, AZ, CO, FL, GA, KY, MS, MO, OH, SC, TN, VA, TX. Buc-ees: Locations

I assume a high level of standardization among stores. That is the point, after all. However, I found one item that would have to be unique to each store, a postcard, with state attractions and the location of the store. Thus an idea was born.

Collect all Buc-ees postcards.

Level One. A postcard from each state.

Level two. A post card from each store.

Not a hardship. If I’m driving past one, I’d want to stop anyway.

Will I ever get a second postcard? Shrug. Maybe yes, maybe no. As a hobby, it’s low-maintenance.

I have NOT searched this. I prefer to keep the surprise.

Process Notes

What I learned. Postcards are extremely sensitive to breezes. Will have to ponder the best way to photography them.

Alabama Sites

My best guess.

Monarch butterfly, state insect. Encyclopedia of Alabama: Alabama Quick Facts

White state outline with red Cross of St. Andrew from the Alabama flag. EoA: AQF

Yellowhammer, state bird. Also know as the Northern Flicker. Outdoor Alabama: Northern Flicker

Beach. For the Alabama Coast?

Southern Longleaf Pine, state tree. EoA: AQF

Camelia, state flower. EoA: AQF

Boat. “B.A.S.S., born and raised in Montgomery, Ala.” Bassmaster: About B.A.S.S.

Fish. Largemouth bass, state freshwater fish. EoA: AQF

Gun & gun dog. ???

Checkered flags. Talladega Superspeedway.

Blueberries, state fruit. EoA: AQF

Ship. USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park

Football. Yellowhammer: Saban is America’s highest paid public employee, and he’s a bargain, Sims, September 21, 2016. Dated. Saban was the football coach at the University of Alabama from 2007 to 2024. These days, football is changing due to NIL money, so I hear.

Rocket for Huntsville, known as Rocket City.

Buc-ees on the blog

Repost. [Carbs To The Rescue]

Buc-ees Nuggets remind me of Screaming Yellow Zonkers. Remember those?

“Have you seen the subscription boxes with food from various places? I just got one from Texas.” [No Epiphany, Lots of Feasting, Blogger Gift Exchange, What Came In]

Onwards!
Katherine

Photography of the outside world. We Eat Together: Food Photography Composition Guide. Serious food styling rather than photo snaps at a restaurant. Has food-related tips rather than generic photo advice.

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American sushi restaurants offer enormous, gaudy rolls stuffed and coated with a kitchen sink worth of ingredients. They bear the same relationship to Japanese cuisine that Tex-Mex does to Mexican.

I am not a fan.

I consider them a blot on the menu.

Recently, we took in a local art show. That’s us, getting all arty these days. [Landscape]

Anyway.

We stopped for lunch at a sushi restaurant, name withheld due to the level of snark herein. Although classic sushi choices were limited, the menu had an entire page of these behemoths. I decided I would try one. With no way to choose, I ordered the roll named after town we were in. The description promised deep-fried, smoked salmon, crab salad, cream cheese, topped with mango sauce, sweet soy-reduction, green onion.

Did I like it? No. As sushi, it did not change my opinion that dairy and cream sauces have no place on a sushi roll.

Did I like it? Yes. As food, I could see how the accretion disk approach might work.

Will I order this or one of its cousins? Never. The purist in me remains offended.

My safety order.

Process Notes

Taking pictures of my food made me feel as if I were cosplaying an influencer.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. U.S. Mint: Fort Knox Bullion Depository. Found in the same Internet drawer as the Kentucky quarter. [The New and The Old]

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Last week, Stepping Stone Farm was at Lexington Junior Charity Horse Show with seven horses. I attended virtually courtesy of Richfield Video.

Why I Watched

I wasn’t going to get the livestream this year. It can be hard to see specific horses in a class. Then my friend Michelle (waves hi), who lives in another state, mentioned getting it. If we both signed up, we could have a joint virtual watch party. So I did. Okay, I wasn’t that hard to convince.

We watched. We texted. We had a blast. We are already talking about doing it again next year.

What I Watched

I watched mostly people I know. Classes while waiting for people I know. Always the five-gaited finale. Checked in on open roadster & carriage classes. I didn’t tend to watch the show for its own sake.

This is not an ASB thing. I don’t watch the livestreams of the big hunter/jumper shows either. Generally, I am not a nice enough person to want to be around a horse show that I’m not in. I’ll make exceptions for grooming, watching people I know, or working at the show. But not without making squeaky noises.

What I Saw

I noticed goggles, on drivers and at least one rider. They looked more eye protection than prescription. Maybe it’s not a new thing and I’m just seeing it for the first time. I can definitely understand them for driving, even pleasure driving. “If dirt wasn’t hitting me in the face, we weren’t going fast enough.” [Team Awesome]

Helmet Watch

All the juniors in the hunter division wore helmets instead of hunt caps. I assume it was a requirement. Not seniors. Same with roadsters. Youth, yes. Seniors, no.

The only suit helmets that crossed my livestream were a small handful in young kid classes. At least one class had two helmets. Some of the entries are undoubtedly repeats.

Class 68. ASB Three Gaited Show Pleasure 13 & Under.
Class 69. UPHA Walk/Trot Challenge Cup 9-10.
Class 73. UPHA Walk/Trot Challenge Cup 8 & Under.
Class 105. Saddle Seat Equitation Walk/Trot 10 & Under.
Class 156. ASB Three Gaited Show Pl. 13 & Under Championship.

Previous Posts

[Looking at Lexington] 2025 with list of previous years.

Onwards!
Katherine