Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. Continue to chug away at the Johns Hopkins COVID Long Study. Survey felt shorter. They may have made it easier to say “I’m good” as a general answer. [Archives]

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Milton and other barn minion have been going out for rides several times a week. They walk back and forth along the morning walk path and then spend time in the ring. It’s all at a walk for about half an hour. They are doing exceedingly well.

They have developed a lovely, long rein contact wherein the rider has a soft hold that the horse moves into quietly and confidently. All that driving has given other barn minion excellent hands.

It was fascinating to watch them work on turn on the forehand, a move that Milton knows how to do from the ground.

Rider: Move your butt sideways.
Horse: Walk forward?
Rider: No. Try again. Move your butt sideways.
Horse: Backward?
Rider: No. Try again. Move your butt sideways.
Horse: I can’t figure this out! I don’t get it!
Rider: That’s okay. We’ll try again next time.

Milton was distraught about not being able to understand. He wants to do well and feels he must ace every test. What an exhausting way to live. I can’t imagine. [searches for sarcasm font]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. AP: Photos show Obama and Mamdani reading to preschoolers in the Bronx, APRIL 19, 2026. The level of charisma in that room must have been off the charts. Regardless of your politics, I think you would admit that both men have presence?

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Milton models the latest in seasonal wear. [Bug Season Has Begun, Horsekeeping]

They seem to like their fly masks. They happily poke their snoot into the tube and are tolerant of having their ears levering into position.

We get to use fly masks for a short while each year until it gets too hot.

Onwards!
Katherine

Birds of the outside world. BirdNote’s 2026 Photo Contest Winners.

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Belated participation in Draw A Bird Day, 8 April.

The mandate was a bird drawing. They did not specify a good drawing. Snark aside, it was fun. 10/10, would recommend giving it a try.

From the presentation “Comics and Conservation” by Rosemary Mosco for BirdNote. Mosco is the author of Bird and Moon comics. Recording, BirdNote: Watch Now: Comics and Conservation.

Content warning. The origin story on Draw A Bird Day webpage is jarring.

Update. Photo of pen drawing. I did a page of birds and picked one.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Rolex XC is today. How times have changed. First off, it is now the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. I have not been since 2010. New title. Show jumping. Tailgating. I wonder if I would find the Horse Park changed out of recognition or would it still be the old Rolex underneath? As for the competition. Movable fences. Skinny jumps. Warmbloods. If when if when I get back to eventing, I wonder how much of it I will recognize. Ditto journalism. Social medial. Live streams. Podcasts. Would I recognize the press tent? None of this is good or bad. It just is. [Peregrinatio in Stabilitate]

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🛒💲🛒

A young man, with his own apartment for the first time, wonders what kind of spaghetti sauce he would like.

An older man, with his own apartment again, wonders what kind of spaghetti sauce his ex-wife used to buy.

A woman takes pictures of cans of beans, and then messages her partner for an opinion on which one to buy.

A man moves through the store with the confidence of a regular shopper.

A woman buys Jaffa Cakes because a character in a book she recently read was eating them and she wants to see what they are. Finding them was a sign, to the extent that you ever require a sign to buy cookies.

Two friends load up for a road trip, indicated by the element of fantasy in the food choices.

🛒💲🛒

Afterword
Imagination exercise courtesy of The Errant Moon. As usual, items contain various levels of IRL and complete fabrication. [Faces In The Crowd, Procedure]

Archives [Fiction, Faces In The Crowd]

Onwards!
Katherine

Photos of the outside world. Photo.com: Shadows, 2025 contest winners.

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Porch railings in the sun.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Equisearch: Equine by Design: Top Equestrian Designers, The stories behind some of equestrian fashion’s top ‘designing women.’ May 21, 2008. Note date. History rather than current events.

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My new banquet shirt by Arista Equestrian.

I had two in the same style. I gave them away because they were riding shirts & I wasn’t using them. [OOTD, Selfie Photography] 2024 & [Annual Outfit of the Day] 2025

This year, I wore my old/previous banquet shirt. [Winter Tournament Banquet] 2014

The neckline did not work with the undergarment. There was a time – the Madonna era? – when bra straps were trendy. I have no idea if this is still the case or not. Either way, I don’t like it. In the past, I have worn a turtleneck. Or pinned the straps perhaps? Either way, I forgot. I am likely to forget again next year. So I got a shirt. It is the same riding shirt as 2025, in a different color. Since this is specifically designated a banquet shirt, I will keep it even if I don’t wear it until then.

Sounds like a lot of shirts, but this may be the only clothing I have bought in the last three years. I exaggerate, but not by much. I have profligacies. What I wear is not one of them.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Earth Day today. Earthday.org: 5 Things You Didn’t Know, You Didn’t Know, by Attiyah Abdul-Amin, August 12, 2024. Scroll down to Wild Horses Couldn’t Drag Me Away. Article links to UN: PRZEWALSKI’S HORSES RETURN TO CENTRAL KAZAKHSTAN AFTER NEARLY 200-YEAR ABSENCE. Read on after press release ends. Article refers to the horses as Kertagy. I have also heard Takhi. “In Mongolia they’re called takhi, and in Kazakhstan they’re called the kertagy or the kerkulan.” Horse Nation: Summer School: The Last Wild Horses, Ronan, July 18, 2024.

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Goldy
Rosewood Farm
11 April 2026

Work In Progress

Approaching the jump. I waver between too going slow or getting it right but overriding. I don’t actually have to override, but my brain/body thinks I do. Same with my hands. I give too much because I don’t want to pull. I need to find the midpoint, sweet spot, balance, happy medium, etc. Per Coach Deana, hold is not pull.

When said that way, it seems obvious. I’m learning. In the moment, it can feel like flailing.

OTOH, using the turning I learned in my driving lesson helped my turns under saddle. Imagine that.

Milestone

Jumped bigger oxer! Didn’t ride at it with authority but sat up & supported while Goldy did his thing. Points as co-pilot.

Legion of Lessons

Four in a row.
Wednesday 8 April – H/J
Thursday 9 April – ASB
Friday 10 April – ASB Driving
Saturday 11 April – H/J

It worked out that way due to the schedules involved. Not the plan. Not sustainable. I’m not sure what the plan is. No idea what this year will look like. Rodney is pretty much permanently retired. I need to get on top of the new horse project. I would very much like to be able to ride without having to have a lesson about it.

Some of plan needs to include riding regularly. My position felt noticeably weaker on day 4. Some of the plan needs to include increased cardio. Ran out of puff partly through a short course. Not hugely, but I could feel my physical concentration ebbing.

Onwards!
Katherine