Shadows at Silver Lining

Horse World

Awareness of the outside world. Survey appears to be over, but the question is interesting. Gizmodo: Volunteers Needed for Research. Must Like Talking About Your Cat. Scientists at UC Davis are hoping to survey cat owners about using telemedicine, which might make it easier for cats to get the health care they need. Cara, November 5, 2022.

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Went down to Silver Lining Equestrian Center to help with their fun show.

Human lawn jockey.

Standing by as jump crew.

Onwards!
Katherine

New Feed, Wellness Senior Mix

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. I have not been able to find out how the Seminole Tribe of Florida feels about the brand usage. I assume not thrilled? OTOH, there could be a historic association I am not aware of. Anyone?

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Seminole Feed, Wellness Senior Mix(R)

Silver Lining uses Seminole feed. We thought we’d give it a try. Previous feed was okay but not thrilling. We are having trouble settling on a good fit for Rodney.

A new feed involves readjusting the meal size, particularly for a horse who is sensitive to being overfed. So far, Rodney likes the feed. It smells wonderful, and – most importantly – he may have put on an ounce or two of weight.

We considered switching Milton to the easy keeper version in the Wellness line. Nope. Our feed store does not carry that particular bag. I did not want to get back into criss-crossing the county hunting for zebras. I’ll do it if I have to. Not worth it for a horse who does well on most feeds. [Milton’s Meals & The Feed Quest Becomes an Exercise in Perception]

Another point in their favor. “Seminole Feed® is one of the few companies today that manufactures fixed-formula horse feeds.” About. We’ve now had two brands that radically altered their feed for winter. [Feed Adventures]

Onwards!
Katherine

The Non-Illustrated Month, November

Images

Art of the outside world. MOMA: Lettering Magritte, Dowek, 2013.

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Legend

The plan was to do similarly themed letters for all the -ember months. But, as with September, I liked the graphic by itself. Here is the legend for the non-existent illustrations, and two that I liked enough to include.

N – A Bitter November, short fiction by John Scalzi.

O – The 23rd is Fibonacci Day: 1, 1, 2, 3. But not in Europe where the date is 23/11.

V – Election results: Senate/House, Presidency, Supreme Court, as of Friday 11 Nov.

E – Holiday colors for Thanksgiving

M – November’s full moon is the Beaver Moon. [timeanddate: Full Moon Names.]

B – Nov = 9

E – Holiday in reverse colors

R – Birthstones are topaz & citrine

Last Month [The Illustrated Month, October]

Archive [The Illustrated Month 2022]

Onwards!
Katherine

Apartment Building as a Framework, Fiction Thoughts

Words

Words of the outside world. Book Riot: 11 of the Best Stories Featuring Origami, Cahill, 2021. Includes links to free fiction. I have not read any of these, and most likely will not. More Nebula than Hugo. I don’t do lyrical.

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The concept is to use an apartment building as a narrative frame for a sequence of interrelated short stories. The supporting characters from one story are the main characters in another story. The plots are intertwined. Sometimes the influence of one story on another is strong, for example the same events told from two points of view. Other times the connection is a passing incident that can be overlooked or noticed as an Easter Egg. Each story can be read as a stand-alone. Taken together the stories form a larger tale.

The building is both backdrop and part of each story.

Now all I need are the stories.

Lobby. Civic space. How the building interacts with the rest of the city.

First Floor. Retail shops. For UK readers. US first floor in the ground floor.

Sidewalk. Building was the site of an Historic Event. How does Historical Event effect those who live there now? Are there occasional tourists? Lots of tourists? Ghosts? Once a year celebration/commemoration of the Historic Event.

Second Floor. Dance studio & offices. For variety.

Third Floor & up. Residences.

One apartment is a combined private museum and storage space for a collector (art? relics? books? all of the above?) Collector is out of town often. Another building resident has a part-time job of receiving packages, admitting visitors, giving tours, and so on.

Hallways. Are the residential hallways decorated or not? Do the stores connect to the lobby?

Roof. Gardens. Viewing spots.

Basement.

Stairs.

Elevator.

Service Elevator.

HVAC/Electrical Room.

Maintenance Room.

Window glass cleaner. Read an slice-of-life article on this. Must relocate.

Update. Swimming pool &/or exercise room, per comment.

Other parts of a building?

Also, the idea of interrelated stories is ringing a bell. A book I read for class, but that’s all the memory I can dredge up. Any suggestions?

Onwards!
Katherine

Trailer Camping, Work In Progress

Horsekeeping Away From Home

Awareness of the outside world. Camping concerns involve trash, overuse, and impact on the local environment. Since we “camp” at horse activities, the local environment is a parking lot.

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Our snazzy digs at Whip Hand Farm. [Clinic Report]

Sleeping in a horse trailer is not everyone’s choice. We’re cheap and we like to be near the horse(s). Trailer camping it is.

We have bedded down in the trailer four times now. Twice in the horse transport area. [Mid-South 2018, North Georgia]

Twice in the overhang of the tack area. In the post last time, I mention camping briefly. I failed to mention how freaking cold it was. We now have a camping limit of Not Below Freezing. [Rodney & Milton’s Excellent Overnight Adventure]

Issues

Hot coffee. Drive to local shop. Immersion heater. In this case, Coach Kate was kind enough to supply.

Ice. Not much choice other than buying. Needed daily infusions of ice in high summer. Clinic weekend was gorgeous weather but cool enough my sodas were still cold the next day. Everything else is negotiable.

Running water. Showers. Toilets for when a bucket isn’t enough. I’ll spare you the details. Let’s just say our colons were cooperative for the duration of this overnight trip. [Putting The Portable in Potty]

Not Issues

Electricity. This is not camping in raw nature. We are within feet of buildings with lights. Flashlights and battery-operated wall lights were enough to illuminate our space. Plus we were tired and went to bed at sunset.

Water. Those nearby buildings also have water.

Thoughts

Examine terrain better. We parked on a slope. Slight enough that I did not realize. Steep enough that my slippery sleeping bag gradually slid down the platform.

Better padding. I don’t remember the overhang being so hard last time. Either we brought padding that I have forgotten about or we were so cold that padding was not a top concern.

Temps. The overhang will probably be too hot in the summer.

Space. This was one night. We moved stuff around to sleep and then moved it back in the morning. This would get old on a multi-night trip. Plus we’d have more stuff.

Outro

Any advice from more experienced regular campers or trailer campers?

Onwards!
Katherine

Milton Rises To The Occasion, Clinic Report

Driving

Awareness of the outside horse world. Driving Digest: Going the Distance w/ Robin & Wilson Groves, Pringle.

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Coach Kate brought driving instructor Robin Groves, R&W Horse Drawn Services, down from Vermont for a clinic. We went up to Tennessee. Saturday was moved to a local indoor when the rain showed up on the forecast. Sunday was cones and dressage at Whip Hand Farm.

Greg drove with Robin Groves back when he was taking lessons with Coach Kate’s horses. Liked her teaching very much. When he heard about the clinic, he announced that he wanted to take Milton.

I thought he was nuts. Milton’s record is not good for going places and covering himself with glory. [Several instances come to mind are seared indelibly into memory. No links. Looking forward to good not back to bad. But I digress.]

Diligent work commenced. Milton kept making incremental improvements. We headed off to Tennessee. We posited all manner of off-ramps. Milton might just ground drive. Milton might not hitch the first day. Milton might come off the trailer and decide that the aliens were landing. In which case, we would pat him on the neck and go home.

Come the day?

Milton was a star. Milton was an absolute, amazing, freaking, platinum star. Elegant, forward gaits. Energetic without a trace of stiffness or anxiety. Holding a steady contact with the bit. Tolerated a noisy indoor ring on a windy day. Transitions. Figures. In and out of cones. Trotting around a dressage ring for the first time ever in a cart.

It was unbelievable.

Literally unbelievable.

As in, who is this horse and were did he come from?

We got exercises. We got advice. We got guidance for the future.

The big thing we learned at the clinic?

It’s in there.

Onwards!
Katherine