Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. WWF: What is the environmental impact of sushi? 2017. Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch: Top tips for more sustainable sushi, 2024. “Salmon, tuna, and eel can be tricky to do sustainably. A general tip is to avoid eel, farmed salmon, and bluefin tuna.” ASW: ibid. Well, phooey. There goes my usual order.

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Nigiri
September 2025

Snapshot taken as part of a message exchange. Despite the fact that it was an impromptu photo, I’m pleased with the lighting on the salmon. The meal was chef’s choice, so I don’t know the other fish.

Food Photography [archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Dogs of the outside world. I am currently hooked on the TV series Hudson & Rex. Turns out it is a remake of Kommissar Rex (Austrian) & Il commissario Rex (Italian). According to Wiki, English subtitles exist and the show is aired in the US with Spanish dubbing, Wiki: Inspector Rex.

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I forgot to take an ears photo. Have a Pistachio.

1st lesson in over three weeks. Schedule frolics have kept me out of the saddle.

How did it go?

I absolutely rocked it.

That has happened before. I don’t ride for a while and then have a wonderful saddle seat lesson.

Less is more? Perhaps.

Mostly, Ramsay is a star. He is both talented and tolerant, an uncommon combination. Plus, he is rideable in a way that makes sense to me.

Obviously, riding once a month is not my plan. Riding other peoples’ horses means I have to adapt to other peoples’ schedules. Let’s not even look at the two grass converters living the good life in my backyard.

(Me: Awwww. Poor little princess can’t ride her pony. Worse things happen every day. Also me: True but how does that help? A stubbed toe is not a broken leg. It still hurts.

Plus, if you’re lucky, you stub your toe so hard that you still have nerve pain years later. Meanwhile, a broken bone in your foot heals up just fine. Ask me how I know.

But I digress.)

More schedule frolics this week. Then, I hope to put my energy into creating a better plan.

Onwards!
Katherine

Feet of the outside world. Ian Mortimer: How do you accidentally run a marathon? 2021. Link to PDF from IM: Notes & Essays.

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Restarting my fitness posts. Long post. Rationale at end. Most recent fitness post was July. [Walks While Milton Took Time Off, Fitness Friday]

How Is This Helping My Riding?

Let’s make this at least passingly relevant to a horse blog.

Walking is keeping me up and moving. I don’t think it is helping my riding specifically. What I really need right now is more endurance. Biking doesn’t seem to help that. I don’t ride hard enough to get out of breath. Swimming may be the answer. I tires me out so fast that gradually doing more may build up my puff.

Daily Walks

Back up to a mile in am. I never stopped walking each morning but for a while the trips were short, as little as 1 lap. Five laps equals one mile, so I was doing two-tenths of a mile. Eventually I got back up to 5 laps. Then I got back up to 5 laps without being exhausted for the rest of the day.

Monthly 5K, Almost

U Montevallo Campus
21 September 2025

I did an almost-5K in September, e.g. 4.6K. Since the second half was in a downpour, I’m declaring victory.

We had plans to go somewhere for a bike/walk adventure. Come the day, my tum was in a mood. We picked a place I would be near a restroom. We chose Orr Park. We went somewhere anyway because I didn’t want to sit around the house all day, because I was running out of month, and because I thought a walking cure might help. Didn’t get better. Didn’t get worse. Got distracted.

Before walking around park, I decided to walk thru the Montevallo campus. Adorable. Acres of Federalist brick. In New England, or even the Mid-Atlantic, it would be one of many. In Alabama, it stands out. At the farthest point from the truck & nowhere near an open building, the sky went sploosh. (I had lost track of the restroom plan.) I tried walking under trees. I spent 10 minutes on the porch of a student retreat building. It eventually calmed down to a steady rain that was not stopping. Fortunately my sun hat is a fancy adventure hat so it is waterproof/resistant. Wrapped phone in hat. Stomped back. I was at that point when you are so wet that puddles aren’t a problem. When I reached the truck, my phone said 2.8 miles. Sold!

Stiffer than usual the next day. Wore off relatively quickly.

5K Catchup

January 2025 [Sauntering on the Streets, Walk Report, MLK Day 5K Drum Run 2024, Weekend Warrior Part 1 & Feet On The Street, Drum Run Photo, Fitness]

February 2025 [Getting Started, State of the Fitness for February]

March to June was foot. [Playing Footsie, Morning Walk Stories, Or Lack Thereof start & archives]

July. Back to one mile. Still tired by the effort. A 5k was unlikely.

August. Almost. At the end of month I was hit with what was probably an attack of diverticulitis. Never had a fever so never went in for a formal diagnosis. Slept a lot & ran out of month. I mention this because it comes up below.

Biking

Wetumpka AL
14 September 2025

On weekends, I am doing short bike rides with husband before he goes off on his longer rides. One adventure to Wetumpka AL. [Scenic Arch Bridge]

Swimming

I was getting into something resembling a habit. Once a week, even twice a week on one occasion. Then the nap attack mentioned above. Project got derailed. Need to reestablish.

Virtual Mileage

Resuming my virtual trek down the Mississippi River with walk and bike miles – and swimming miles if I ever have any. Previously, I have been logging this trip over on my storage blog.

Introduction & list previous files [Table of Contents]
August 2020 to August 2023 [Part One – Minnesota]
August to November, I assume 2023 [Part Two – Minnesota & Wisconsin]
November 2023 to January 2024 [Part Three – Iowa & Wisconsin]
January to July 2024 [Part Four – Iowa & Illinois] Stopped logging here
Bits & pieces for when I get that far [Part Five – Missouri & Illinois]
Bits & Pieces circa 2022 [Biking and Walking Virtually, Mississippi River, xGeneral Info, Inactive]

On land, I will be restarting between Dubuque IA and the Quad Cities IA/IL. On the river, between locks 13 & 14. River Mile 516. Total 825 miles. The maps I was using counted the Upper Mississippi mileage down to St. Louis.

Reward for the Reader

In return for making it this far, some vicarious, virtual travel for your amusement.

What have I learned in the first 800+ virtual miles? So much material, so very, very much material. It would be impossible to read everything written about the Mississippi River. It would be a Herculean task to simply list everything that has been said about same.

What stuck with me from phase one?

“The Big Trip: Paddling the Mississippi: The Plan. First post … Trip & posts in 2012. German Tourist (seriously, her trail nickname is GT) and friend in two kayaks.” [General Info]

John A. Weeks III: The Bridges And Structures Of The Mississippi River. Amazingly comprehensive. Maps. Photos. Descriptions. Dated 2007, but bridges don’t change quickly.

Currently reading, The Great River, The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi, by Boyce Upholt (Norton 2024).

How The Sausage Is Made

Accountability is my minor reason for restarting the fitness posts. Posting isn’t a big push. It doesn’t get me into the gym but it might help get me out the door for a monthly 5K.

Recording is my main reason for restarting these post. As I have said elsewhere, the blog has become my external memory. I’ve used the blog to look up what month I got my Covid shot. I’ve used the blog to look up what year I went to KY, [2018, The Road Leads to Lexington]. Now I will have a record of how the 5Ks and the rest are going.

Scheduling is in question. I used to do these as monthly Fitness Fridays. I decided my photography skills would benefit from staying with photo posts on Fridays. Which means I’m not really sure where these go. Does this matter to anyone other than me? Probably not. No one is going to object if I do horsekeeping on Monday and Saddlebreds on Thursday or vice versa. However, I like to think that sticking with a schedule gives the blog on underlying structure. Or perhaps I am compulsively organized. Or both.

Why Wednesday? I didn’t have a hunt seat post for today.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. AI = Actual Intelligence. Video for the newest LLM, YouTube or website.

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Short version. Milton’s abscess came out his heel. Are we done? With this one at least? [Jog Report]

Long version, or how to be wrong, or how a diagnosis evolves.

Middle of Last Week

Milton was fine for rushing into dinner, but occasionally would take funky steps on his right hind. There was a wonky ankle wiggle that was either structural deterioration of the joint or an artifact of the abscess that will not quit. His minion wrapped the foot and all was well. (Photo above)

“Not using these wraps. Yay! Saving for next time. Boo!” [Foot Festival Fades into the Distance, Finally? HA!]

I didn’t think it was the abscess anymore. Blacksmith said that response to an abscess depends on location within the foot and that millimeters matter. My untutored veterinary opinion was that the growing out phase was hitting weird. [Jog Report]

It put me in mind of the tiny cracks I get in the corner of my fingers each winter. They are inconveniently located, hurt all out of proportion to their size, and take forever to heal.

We were not too worried. Dire problems are not eradicated by a diaper and duct tape.

End of Last Week

Less better. Ankle wiggle back. Occasionally. Sat out part of the morning walk on Friday. Bought an inexpensive rasp set and rounded off part of the hoof that was sticking out. Better.

Weekend

Saturday morning, walked. Tried to have Milton sit out the last bit but he insisted on keeping up. We walk. That is what we do.

Sunday morning. Lower leg swollen. Into the bucket you go.

Sunday evening. Abscess obvious on heel. Gentle prodding relieved the pressure. Happy pony.

This Week

Soaking & wrapping to keep it clean. Blacksmith appointment tomorrow. He will open what needs to be opened and trim what needs to be trimmed.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Anthropic Copyright Settlement Website.

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Having horses at home means we go outside more often than we might otherwise.

One night last week during evening chores, the moon had a rainbow ring around it. Other barn minion saw it as well, so it wasn’t just my eyes. I also saw a thin band of bright blue shading on the side of the moon itself, from about the 7 to 11 clock positions. He didn’t see that.

I wondered how it would look through the camera. The answer is, totally different.

The moon was waxing gibbous, four nights from full, 75% illuminated. Internet says what we saw was a moon halo, and is caused by refraction through ice crystals. No idea what the camera was looking at.

Cool.

NWS: How are Halos, Sundogs and Sun Pillars Created?

NASA: Daily Moon Guide. What Will You See?

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. Artsper: Famous Artists Who Created Acrylic Paintings, Halconruy 2022. TIL, rheology is “a science dealing with the deformation and flow of matter.” M-W: rheology.

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Walking In The Rain

Acrylic Painting Class with Chris Cruz
Class 4 of 4
Shelby County Arts Council
Columbiana AL, USA
28 September 2024

Instructor website, Chris Cruz Designs

My table at start & at finish.

Instructor, me, other student.

In the group photo, you can see that the blue thing is supposed to be an umbrella not elaborate neck plumage. Not quite sure where I got turned around. Other than that, the lesson for the day was to dilute and blend. I certainly achieved dilute.

Previous Posts [Class #1, Class #2, Class #3]

Onwards!
Katherine

Why do I keep chugging along?

I’m not building a brand.

I’m not selling a book.

Most – not all, waves hi! – of the folks who read are people I know IRL. Waves hi! I admire people who build vibrant online communities. That does not appear to be my calling.

So why?

Years ago, I talked about how the blog keeps me from going batshit crazy. [Bright-Eyed, Bushy-Tailed, & Back to Blogging]

Still true. One of the ways is that I enjoy the puzzle of figuring out what to post each day. There is a mental click when the right idea fits into place. Yes, that for Thursday. That will work.

What to Post

Last month I talked about two types of posts. Monday thru Thursday posts are reacting to what is up with the horses. Friday thru Sunday are project posts. [Thinking About Posts]

Despite the different types, my approach is often the same.

I often go with what is timely or easy. Timely would be a recent horse show or art class. Easy would be a short comment, or maybe something I had written up and put aside for later.

I have many ideas that I would like to write up. For example, we have set up drainage to dump the water buckets in the barn. Drilled a hole in an old bucket. Attached a hose that leads out of the barn. Set it next to the horses’ water. Now we can dump buckets without having to walk them out of the barn. It’s great system. I’d love to do a post. I would to need to take photos and write it up. As another example, I have a host of non-fiction ideas for Saturday. These tend to slide down the list. Sometimes I run out of time. Sometimes I run out of energy. So, I go with what bubbles to the top.

I have to remind myself that this is not a official record, I can let things go. Gasp.

Another metric is if I have spent money, whether it be new horse supplies or an online lecture. Partly, I spent the money, so I’m gonna get my money’s worth, at least get a blog post out of it. Partly, I spent the money, so I had some level of interest in it, probably means there is enough to merit a post.

Finally, if I am choosing between two options, I ask myself what is the most entertaining? What are you going to want to come here and read?

As long as you are here and I am amused, I shall keep yelling into the abyss.

State of the Blog [Archives]

Onwards!
Katherine