Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. The issue is not new. Literary Hub: How the Humble Pocket Came to Signify Feminist Liberation, Carlson, September 12, 2023. Have read article, not book. Carly Brown: Madeira Mondays: Why 18th century pockets were pretty great. Illustrations. Hat tips to I & L.

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I recently realized that I have not been to a tack shop in ages.

Oh, we’ve been spending money on the horses, certainly, but at places such as feed stores and Tractor Supply.

I still buy horse stuff. Feed, hay, supplements, electrolytes, horse treats, yadda, yadda.

I still buy barn stuff. Recently bought floor mats for the run-in area. Now everyone has rubber under hoof rather than dirt. Those things are expensive! and heavy!

Also buckets. So many buckets. Milton now eats his hay out of a bright red (new, unused) muck bucket. Much less wasted hay and he gets to eat the alfalfa down to the dust. We bought a green one for Rodney. He kept dumping it over and we finally gave up. Now it is Milton’s back up hay bucket.

Plus water buckets. Feed buckets. More yadda.

I still pay for shows & lessons. Advantages to showing a school horse are that the cost is shared with other riders and the rate is a flat fee.

Tomorrow. The other side of the coin,

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. Abstract art with LEGO bricks. Katherine Duclos: Lego.

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Process Notes

Inspiration: A presentation by Aisha Changezi for the Washington Calligraphers Guild, specifically AC: Geometric Pattern.

At this point, what I have is more geometry than art, but an interesting start.

Onwards!
Katherine

Part I [Preliminary Material For A ‘Magic Is Among Us’ Plot]

Part II

So, magic is real. We all do it. We just call it luck, or a gift, or diligence.

As for my job? People suck.

Yes, yes. Good people exist. I know that, theoretically. It’s just that law enforcement tends to see people at their lowest point. Either perpetrators, or victims, or victims of a shitty situation that turned them into perpetrators.

It can mess with your head.

Okay, let me try again.

As for my job? People are people. Crime is crime. The intent is the same, only the methods change. Whether the illegal activity is magic or mundane, you ask the same question, Qui bono? Who benefits?

So far, so standard. Then, is the person using magic to achieve these nefarious ends? If they are, is it a conscious effort? You don’t need magic police in the first two instances. We only come in when criminals are knowingly grabbing hold of the levers of the universe and given them a tug.

It is said that crimes are committed for love or money. Well, 90% of magic crimes are committed for gain. Magic takes time and planning and steady application to task. Think bank robbery or art heist. Not compatible with spontaneous crimes of passion.

Magic is not fireballs and levitation and making things appear. That’s stage magic, and damn hard to do well. But I digress.

Magic is persuasion. Magic crime is the dice coming up sixes just a little too often. Magic crime is the guard being just that little bit inattentive on a particular night. Magic crime is the thumb on the scale of life.

What the difference between actually magic and people being persuasive dirtbags? It’s not always easy to tell.

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Awareness of the outside world. ASCE: Report Card for America’s Infrastructure & 2021 Report Card: Overview of Bridges.

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Walking Bridge
Cahaba River
Hoover AL, USA
September 2023

Technical Details

Bridge. f/16.0, 1/100 sec., 50.0 mm, ISO 400. Manual.

Railing. f/14.0, 1/100 sec., 18.0 mm, ISO 400. Manual.

River. f/11.0, 1/125 sec., 52.0 mm, ISO 400. Manual.

Post production. Resize, border, and watermark.

I managed to keep my bright red shirt out of the camera reflection but not the camera strap. I had the strap around my neck to keep the camera safe on the railing. A good meta picture is hard! [Creek]

Previous photography post [Hot Summer]

River posts [archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Science Matters, Academy of Animal Behavior: Research Bites. Hat tip to Amy, Dog Consultant Extraordinaire

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A while back, I talked about the dogs using the area outside the front door as their al fresco potty. Outside is good. The smell, not so much. [Finding The Stinky Silver Lining in Dog Ownership]

As Amy said on the subject, ‘dilution is the solution’. We use it a lot. Water dish contents get emptied to roll down the ramp. Since Jasmine likes her water changed often, it adds up. We also dump the water from the dehumidifier. You can imagine how much water gets pulled out of the air in a southern summer. Ergo, much rinsing. [Finding, comment], [Water Management, Dog Version]

One of the other things we do is dump gravel on the most used area. What? Everyone doesn’t have a large pile of gravel sitting in their backyard?

But seriously folks, several years ago we got a truckload of gravel for some barn repairs. There were leftovers. Having gravel on hand has been so useful over the years that when this runs out, we’ll get more.

So I go get a bucket’s worth & dump it at the base of the ramp. Voilà, drainage.

The downside is that over time, the layers of gravel had built up into hump. That wasn’t so bad. The problem was that the nasally-offending liquid was running off the side of the hump to pool near the ramp, rather than running away down the hill.

Dig up hump. Level the area. Spread new gravel, as flatly as possible. Pile fresh gravel off to the side as a mini-levee.

Success. Liquid now goes where it is supposed to.

Urinary engineer. That’s a new one.

Dog posts [archive]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Alabama New Center: Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce holds conference in Birmingham, Kelly, 6.22.23. Meg’s photos inject action into what could be a visually dry subject.

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Caption: Behind the ears of a stellar dude.

When Rodney walks, he has thoughts. Many, many thoughts. Constantly. I have a bug on me. I have an itch. I want to follow Milton. I don’t want to follow Milton anymore. [The Morning Constitutional]

Rodney is that way about everything. Many, many thoughts. Plus reactive. Plus prone to sudden outbursts that make sense to him but seem random to the rest of us.

This is why I go over to Stepping Stone Farm and ride the kindest, quietest, most amenable school horse available.

Optimus is an awesome dude. Yet, at my most recent lesson, I could still feel part of myself, say 5%, braced for him to suddenly cavort across the ring. I know he won’t. I don’t believe.

Once again, I slipped in a lesson before a show. I had planned to take more than one lesson between the shows. August got away from me.

We rode & drove. Optimus was a star. I was beyond tired once I got home.

In other news, I realize Emotional Support Animal is a specific term that gets misused. I am employing it here to underline the emotional impact a lesson can have. I really, really feel better after a good ride.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. In looking up how to aid Morocco, I found this. The people who prey on disasters are not vultures. That is unfair. Vultures are awesome. Such people are not awesome. I’m sorry this organization has to exist. I guess I’m glad it does. National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF)

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ASHAA Summer Fun Show III
Heathermoor Farm
Moody AL, USA
Saturday 9 September 2023

Optimus
4. Academy Driving, 1st of 1
26. Academy Showmanship Adult WTC – 4th of 4
27. Academy Equitation Adult WTC – 4nd of 4

Thank you to the Gray family for sharing their multi-talented horse.

Discussion

Success. I have qualified for year-end awards (as I understand the rules). My placings were irrelevant. [Lesson Thoughts]

Success. I rode the horse of my choice (more on this tomorrow), although I know he does not suffer from an excess of show ring sparkle.

Success. I rode more like a saddle seat class and less like a jump-off.

Still. I dislike losing.

Onwards!
Katherine