Virtual Brush Box

World Cup Wednesday. Mascot Hall of Fame: FIFA Mascots – 1966 -2026.

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Goldy
Rosewood Stables
27 June 2026

Item one. “Wrists are fabulous.”

Item two. Coach Deana keeps telling me to change things about how Goldy is going. As if I have any control over my reality. At best, I get a vote.

Item three. Learned my lesson last week and got Goldy in gear on the flat. Nice forward canter. I was almost willing to jump at that speed. On Goldy. Over a low fence. Almost. But still, progress.

The only bobble was that Goldy did not get the “almost” memo. When we started jumping I had generated more horse than I was ready to deal with. Goldy kindly dropped it down a gear. Not all the way back to grandma mode! Inner hunter rather than inner jumper. What a star.

Overall. Under the weather the week before. Canceled Thursday lesson. On Saturday, did better than I expected. Had energy once I was in the saddle.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. ANN: Vietnam’s mountainous communes record zero maternal deaths after four years of intervention, March 25, 2026, Hat tip to G.

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{Backstory. Each morning, people & horses go on a unmounted, off-lead team walk in the pasture.}

Temps over 90 degrees all week, with worse humidity. We have entered the time of year when we walk first thing in the morning or not at all.

Since other barn minion has to report to work, walking in the morning is always the case during the week. Weekend protocol varies. We’ll go through phases when we stick with a routine and get up early regardless of the day. Other times, we have been known to sleep in on the weekends. Relatively speaking. Feed time approacheth.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. NASA: Fly with Nancy Grace Roman. Add your name to the NGR Telescope. Deadline 12 July 2026. Launches 30 August 2026. Am I a sucker for a well-done PR campaign? Absolutely. [Welcome Mat/No Welcome Mat]

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Back in September, I said the horses were getting different feeds, despite both of them being Thoroughbreds. [Feeding The Same Breed]

As of now, the feeds have diverged even further.

Milton gets three types of pellets: Purina Equine Senior, Outlast, and a local alfalfa pellet. He gets no grain. None. Nada. “The ears were earier. The kicks were kickier.” [Feeding]

Rodney gets grain, not pellets. He has never done well on dense the little bits of nutrition. At least, he gets as few pellets as we can manage. Even this grain has a pellet component.

Mostly I feed on auto-pilot. This one gets this. That one gets that. Occasionally, I look at the buckets and am amazed how diametrically opposed their meals are.

The rest of the roster, while I’m at it.

Milton: tumeric supplement, Outlast, as mentioned [Weighty Considerations]

Both: beet pulp, yeast, salt.

Why so many additions? From my pellet rant. “Everything in the English world is tuned to Warmblood these days … Why shouldn’t this apply to feed? Therefore, we are having to retune our feed back to Thoroughbred.” [Feeds and Breeds]

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. Artst: 10 Most Famous Square Paintings.

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Dunno if this is of interest to anyone else, but I am fascinated.

First row. Reduce square by 50%. Place side by side. Fill in from there. Repeat, adjusting for 1/2 squares.

Second row, Reduce square by 50%, Place in corners. Repeat.

Third row is first row turned 90o.

What I find interesting is how differently the eye – at least my eye – takes in the panels in column two. In the second boxes of the first & third rows, I see a two-toned square. The middle box in that column is all about four blue squares. The differences are there in column three, but less noticeable. By column four, I need to search for the differences.

Also, interesting. Originally, this was just going to be one set of four panels. Since I was rough drafting with pen & paper (I do occasionally), my first iteration of the second square was by drawing an X from corner to corner, then filing in the result. An X is the easiest way to manually divide up a square. Had I been on the computer, I would have reduced the square by 50 and duplicated it, as in the second row, and then left it at that. I would never have realized how much the results vary between the two methods.

Same gallery, with edges around the boxes. Not as much effect as in prior design. [Nine Patch Redux]

Inspiration, “Draw your first panel.” DAY 1: FOUR-PANEL JUMP START!

Given the color choice, this was probably drawn around the same time as previous blue squares in 2024. The original plan for today did not eventuate, so I called up one from the vault. [Nine Patch Redux]

Same prompt as used in 2026. This four-panel must be the one I couldn’t remember over on that post. [Sunrise Sunset Cartoon]

Onwards!
Katherine

Fiction of the outside world. Interesting Literature: 10 of the Best Science-Fiction Short Stories Everyone Should Read, Tearle. The stories Omelas & Nightfall get no argument from me. OTOH, the list could stand to be expanded by several decades. My list would include Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge, which was published in 1994, which means 32 years, which probably counts as old school by now. I’m definitely of the 90s was when?! mindset. But I digress.

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Box of books. Unidentified Funny Objects #1-10, Funny Science Fiction, Funny Fantasy, Funny Horror. Edited by Alex Shvartsman.

I ordered these books with the specific intent to submit a story when the window opens for the next anthology. I have read several of these as ebooks. When the Kickstarter for #10 launched, I chose the backer level that had the full series in codex. Plan is to read each one cover to cover.

As a way into fiction, short stories are an obvious place to start. However, I have trouble reading from the standard magazines and websites. I never know what I’m getting. Three people in the woods. Is it cozy? It is horror? Will I fall in love with the characters only to have the author drop a safe on them? Good flash fiction is amazing. Mediocre flash fiction uses the literary equivalent of a jump scare. As I’ve said before, I don’t need angst. I have the news for that.

No previews on the blog. They do not accept previously published submissions. “Stories posted on your personal blog … are considered published.” Alex Shvartsman’s Speculative Fiction: UFO Series, FAQ.

Last year, the submission window was in December. I’m assuming a similar window this year. However, the previous series, #9, came out in 2022. So there is no guarantee that there will be a submission window this year for #11 in 2027.

That’s okay. If no window, at least I will have a story.

Meanwhile, reading counts as research.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. NASA: A Guide to Smartphone Astrophotography. Free, 192-page PDF. Found while preparing this post. Will read report & report back. So far, so good. Your tax dollars at work.

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Night sky
June 2026
Alabama USA

Estimating by the star chart in the Sellarium app (all errors mine), I’m guessing the bright center star is Arcturus. Left or top, regular mode. Right or bottom, night mode.

With my blessing, husband has taken over/inherited/reinherited all of the fancy photo equipment. I’m seeing what can be done with phone camera snapshots. Is it photography? Ehhh. Technically, yes. Am I in control of my tools? No. Is it amusing? Yes.

He wanted to try astrophotography. I went along to enjoy the company and to look at stars.

Onwards!
Katherine

Horse treats of the outside world. Peppermint fix. Saddlebreds run on peppermints. The stores sell two kinds. Round flat discs, which horses like, people like, but get sticky. OR. Orbs, which horses like, don’t melt, but taste weird. However. I have discovered that if you put sticky peppermints in the fridge, they harden up & release easily from their wrapper.

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High-point trophy for 2025 saddle seat season. Repost [Back in the Bling, ASHAA Banquet for 2025]

My current glasses are inexpensive bifocals, ordered online. They work great. Unfortunately, the computer screen is just the wrong distance, not far away, not reading distance. So I ordered a second pair of medium distance glasses. I have to switch between the two pairs to work on my desktop. And then remember to switch back when I’m done.

Stick with me, I’m going somewhere with this.

I ended up here from my previous glasses. They were a fancy, pricey pair with snazzy progressive lenses ordered IRL from a optometrist. Maybe they were okay when I got them. By the end, the correction was so bad that I had to take them off for distance viewing. They were basically very expensive readers.

This is why my current arrangement of two pairs of glasses feels like an improvement.

This is also why I have gotten in the habit of taking my glasses off when I’m not doing closeup work. I’m far-sighted, so it’s not a big deal. The new glasses offer a slight correction, but I do fine without them. Taking them off has become automatic. Heading to barn. Take off glasses.

Of course, if you take off your glasses, you have to remember where you left them. The bling from the banquet, pictured, had not been put away. So, the high-point tray sits on a shelf as a place for my glasses.

There is an inadvertent bonus effect. Every time I put my glasses down, I get a little boost, a little reminder of something I am good at.

Reality dose. My high point awards – yes, plural – did not arise out of my inherent brilliance. The rest of the academy adults compete in one division, riding OR driving, I compete in both, riding AND driving. More classes equals more points.

So, maybe the thing I am good at is showing up.

I’ll take it.

Onwards!
Katherine