Horses & Other Interests
Awareness of the outside world. History.com: “Sesame Street” debuts.
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Milton came with us to the SLEC fun show. [Shadows at Silver Lining]
Same Cookie Monster costume as before. [C is for Cookie, The Return of Cookie Monster, Guest Photos]
Tidied up felt blanket & added cookies.
Yes, I am spreading the costume class peanut butter to the edges of the blog bread slice. Much work went into costume. Want to get much mileage from it.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Gerrymandering backfires. Eventually. “Gaming the system sets up a structural problem for democracy, of course, but also for the party in power … they become so extreme they lose even members of their own party.” HCR: November 9, 2022
“In that year (1884) the Republican Party had become so extremist that many of its members, disparagingly called “Mugwumps” by party loyalists, jumped ship to vote for a reformer, Democrat Grover Cleveland. It was a chaotic and consequential election, for it showed those Republicans who stayed with the party that they must moderate their stances or become a permanent minority.“ HCR: November 8, 2022
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I have let annoyance get the better of me.
Silver Lining fun show. Home horses said no. I hadn’t ridden in enough lessons to show a school horse. So, went down to help out.
The show was nicely organized. They would have been fine without me.
Still, a show can always use an extra hand. I’ve run enough horse shows to be able to tell where a hand is needed. Leadline. Horse holding. In gate. Jump crew.
I’ve said this before. [Shadows]
I bring it up again because working at the show caused me to have thoughts. Being able to step in where needed reminded me that I am actually good at this horse stuff. It also made me realize that I am tired.
I’m tired of messing around over crossrails.
I’m tired of beginner classes.
I’m tired of other people’s horses.
Just want to ride my horse. Why is this so hard?
I realize my own choices got me here. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.
It’s one thing if you have a young horse, or are getting acquainted with a new horse. I don’t and I’m not.
I want to go places and do things. I want to ride at the Kentucky Horse Park. I want to have stellar cross-country rounds. I want to ride side-saddle again. I want to lay down fast jump-offs. I want to go on trail rides. Truthfully, I harbor holodeck fantasies of winning everything in sight, but going places and doing things would be a good first step.
I feel like an an actor who wants to be in movies but only gets offered home shopping commercials. Truthfully, I want to star on Broadway, but I’d be happy with a supporting role in a sitcom.
I’ll get over myself in a bit. Just having a moment over here.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Why raising awareness helps, “Scientists, she said, were spending too much time trying to get what little funding was coming into the space.” Boston.com: The Frates family always knew the Ice Bucket Challenge would result in hope and treatments for ALS patients. It has. Dwyer, November 7, 2022.
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Question: What kind of riding do you do?
My new answer: This & that.
In the past, I have been stumped by this question.
“Questions like this take me back. I don’t have an elevator speech for where I am with horses. Wanna know how I feel? Here is 11 years of column, monthly blog, & daily blog tracing every step from buying Rodney to now. Read that. That’s how I feel.” [No Stirrup November, In Which I Complicate An Introduction]
“The poor lady at the store asked, ‘What kind of riding do you do?’ A simple question with complicated answer. More of a fraught question than she was intending.” [Tennessee Travels, Shopping]
Thanks go to a rider at the Silver Lining fun show. We were chatting, as one does standing around at a horse show. She asked what kind of riding I did. After my initial vague-it’s-complicated noises, she said, ‘Oh that usually means little of this, a little of that.’
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Actually, a belated ding.
She said what she said. I proceeded to give a hyper-condensed version on the state of my barn.
Upon reviewing the conversation (mostly to see if I had said anything unbearably stupid. Anyone else do that? Fun, right? But I digress.) I realized that people posing this question are not asking for my life story. Neither do they want 12 years of frustration dumped in their lap.
We are chatting. We are being polite. In the case of the Dover saleswoman, she wanted to know what she could sell me.
What is called for is a pleasant, non-committal answer. This & that. True enough and sufficient to the moment.
If the conversation continues, chime in with a few quips, still on the theme of this & that. I’m taking some lessons. I have two horses at home. I’d like to jump more. Accurate but not belaboring the point. Keep it light. Find out what they are really asking. Are we passing the time until the next class? Are we sitting over a get-to-know-you lunch swapping in-depth bios?
Then, and only then, if they end up wanting the details, I can provide those. Lots and lots of details.
So, with luck, if you meet me in the future, I should be better prepared to interact with society.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum.
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Pendant from Riskto Stitch. Chain custom designed & created by KalmiaArt.
Closeup of bead work.
Close up of swirly pattern.
Process notes. Jewelry photography is hard! The subject is shiny & tiny.
Also, my house does not get winter golden hour. Summer? Lovely light. Winter? The angle of the sun and the position of the hills puts everything in shadow at the relevant time.
Disclosure. No promotional affiliation. Personal affiliation with both artists. I’m all for buying from friends, as long as they make pretty things.
KalmiaArt (one word) belongs to the multi-faceted blog contributor, Michelle D. [Post archive]
Whats a photo shoot without a photo bomb? Rhyme.
Onwards!
Katherine
Birds of the outside world. “A surprisingly productive place for year round birding.” Alabama Birding Trails: Birmingham Zoo.
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Murals by Carolyn Rox
Bird Department
Birmingham Zoo
Birmingham Alabama, USA
Instagram: carolynrox.wildartist
Previous post [Murals at the Birmingham Zoo]
Photos taken during [A Walk in the Zoo, A Sprint for Sloths, A Semi-Virtual 5k]
Inside pool. Murals are what happens when I run out of anything else. Mental inkwell so dry I couldn’t even come up with a non-fiction writing post, which are usually a piece of cake for me. Ah well, better luck next month.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. “Proceeds from NYRR Volvo Cars Virtual Racing support NYRR’s mission to help and inspire people through running, and help to support programming like Rising New York Road Runners, our free youth program.” NYRR Virtual Racing: FAQ
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Monthly 5K for October
Virtual Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K
Erie Canal towpath
October 2022
Stats: 3.2 miles in 56 min 38 seconds
Recorded by Strava
Time includes photos & notes. Go me!
New York State seemed like a good place to do a NYC virtual walk. Fortunately, the Erie Canal towpath is a fabulous place to walk: level, well-maintained, accessible from a variety of points along the canal. [Rearranging the Admin, State of the Fitness]
Props to the Strava Tech Support. I managed to do something with the recording program that shouldn’t have been possible. They got various widgets talking to each other so that my walk got recognized. Success!
IRL Walk
Start.
Turning …
… around.
Finish.
Walk went well, fast even.
1.2 miles. Energy sag. Starting to become a regular feature. Perhaps the switchover from my regular one mile to the three miles of a 5K.
1.7 miles. With an out & back, one has no choice but to turn around and finish, particularly if you are not at home where someone could come scoop you up if you bail. Not a problem, just the inevitability of it.
2.7 miles. My knees wanted to hear more about this “quiet feet” concept. Although they refer to it as gentle steps. Not interested in feet for their own sake, only as they affect structures higher up. Knees are a very self-involved part of the body. [Magic City, comment]
Logo from NYS Canal Corporation: About the Canalway Trail
Post Archive [Erie Canal]
Update. Easy to omit the obvious. I was in New York for few days for a family function. The canal was definitely a highlight of the trip. Visited every day. Walked on it most days.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. “The American Driving Society, Inc. supports carriage drivers in the United States and Canada through education, events, rules for competition, and licensing of Officials.” The American Driving Society
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Milton & Greg
Robin Groves Clinic [Clinic Report]
Whip Hand Farm
Franklin TN
November 2022
Photos by Kate Bushman. Border & watermark added.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 