Virtual Brush Box

Riding

.Awareness of the outside world. I wonder what it’s like having a species named after you. “We hoped that by naming this significant species after Jun that it would in some way recognize his contributions to Alabama paleontology.” AL.com: Alabama researchers discover ‘gigantic’ 83 million-year-old turtle species, Pillion, Aug. 19, 2022.

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Bubba and Peaches at Stepping Stone Farm last week.

Why two?

Has to do with lessons at Silver Lining. [Fanfare, Freddie]

New barn. New Teachers. New horses. Long drive. Right now I am going with my Emotional Support Husband. Therefore, we have to work within his schedule.

Eventually, I hope to put on my big girl pants and go on my own. Therefore, I would be able to stay for more of the day. Since it is a long way to go, I plan to ask if I can have two lessons.

Well, why not do the same at SSF? It takes the entire day anyway. Riding another horse isn’t the rate-limiting step. [Have You Got All Day? Anatomy of A Saddle Seat Lesson]

And here we are.

Alvin acts as office cat.

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. “Zero gravity indicators are small items carried aboard spacecraft that provide a visual indicator when a spacecraft has reached the weightlessness of microgravity.” NASA: Snoopy to Fly on NASA’s Artemis I Moon Mission. Video YouTube: Snoopy is Going to Space on NASA’s Artemis I Moon Mission.

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Lesson with Freddie at Silver Lining Equestrian Center. Sharing the ring, hence the vertical cropping.

A course!

18″!

Twice!

Freddie was a star!

I grabbed mane!

But seriously folks. I had moments that weren’t horrid. The pieces are still there. They are scattered all over the floor, but still there.

Previous lesson [Chestnut Mare Fanfare]

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding, Housekeeping, Life in General

Awareness of the outside world. Medical Care Alone Won’t Halt the Spread of Diabetes, Scientists Say, Rabin, Oct. 5, 2022. Hat tip to dr.berthahidalgo.

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The weather in my corner of the world has been gorgeous. Cool nights. Warm days. Blue skies. If Heaven has weather, this is it.

I was reluctant to say anything. I didn’t want to jinx it. However, I decided to give balance to the time I spend being annoyed by rainy days, muddy days, cold days, hot days, and so on.

Which leads to the question, why do we only worry about jinxing the good? We don’t think bad things will go away if we talk about them. Although, we often don’t give voice to truly bad things.

Anyway.

I wanted to acknowledge something good. I will enjoy it as long as it lasts.

Onwards!
Katherine

Images

Awareness of the outside world. Helga Stenzel: Clothing Line Animals Series.

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Legend

O – Gregorian Calendar adopted. October 4, 1582 became …

C – … 15 October, 1582. timeanddate: Gregorian Calendar Reform: Why Are Some Dates Missing? Bikos and Kher.

“However, most historians now believe that these protests never happened. You could say that the calendar rioters were the late Georgian equivalent of an urban myth.” Historic UK: Give Us Our Eleven Days, Johnson.

I still wonder what happened if you got paid by the day and your rent was due for one month.

Also, 11 days instead of 10 days in the link title above because as countries adopted later more time had to be subtracted. timeanddate: Gregorian Calendar Reform

T – Holiday

O – Hunter’s Moon, timeanddate: Full Moon Names. Full moon on 9 October. Photo courtesy of Dial-A-Moon, NASA: Moon Phase

B – Octo = 8

E – Holiday reversed

R – Birthstone

Last month [The Non-Illustrated Month, September]

Archive [The Illustrated Month 2022]

Onwards!
Katherine

Words

Awareness of the outside world. Tor.com: The Plotter vs. Pantser Divide Has Been Exaggerated, Palmer, Aug 8, 2022.

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Blog hop idea. What is it like to keep your horse in a full-care, full-time training barn?

I don’t know and I’m curious.

Over the years, I have kept my horses at eight barns in five states, from New Hampshire to North Carolina. Seven of the barns were boarding situations. They feed your horse; you do you. Some were basic. Some had an instructor available. In each case, you were the captain of your ship.

One barn was a training barn that I thought was a boarding barn. That worked out as well as you would expect.

Now my horses are home, and have been for years. [Barniversary]

So what’s it like not having control over your own horse?

Not talking about a co-op barn. I, personally, don’t share well enough to do this, but I could see how it could work.

Nor do I mean sending your horse off for training for a specified period of time. I wouldn’t, but again I can see it.

Nor do I mean training as a supplement to your riding. I have seen this in both dressage & hunters. At least you ride your own horse.

Speaking of riding your own horse, neither do I mean being the owner of a fancy horse shown by a Big Name Rider. That is a totally separate set of expectations. While I don’t see the attraction of paying for other people’s fun, clearly folks do. More power to them. Maybe if I were so rich that I could pay the fees out of petty cash, I might give it a whirl.

That’s a lot of restrictions. So what do I mean?

What I mean is the very specific situation where your horse, the horse you own and show, is mainly ridden by a trainer. Where maybe you have a lesson on the horse, or maybe you ride school horses until the show. Where riders are discouraged from hanging out at the barn before or after their lesson. Where your horse is presented to you tacked up. Where, perhaps, riders are not even allowed into the barn. Where the trainer is appalled at the idea that there are other barns wherein people ride their own horses every day.

I am on record as unable to fathom this. [Why Not Rack Off Into The Sunset?]

Is it the best way for you to get to the top of your chosen sport? You want to be more involved, but lack the time? You prefer it this way?

Talk to me, tell me what I’m missing.

As before, if you blog this, please comment here &/or message me so I can list your post. If you have already written posts that fit, please drop a link in the comments. Not a blogger? Please feel free to comment at length below or contact me about a guest post. [Stories I’d Like To Hear, 10 Blog Hop Ideas]

State of the Blog [archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. My Best Race: #5417 In a Naked Pandemic Race, You Can Leave Your Hat On. Aggregated from NYT, MIller, August 2020.

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Fitness program same as before. Lots of walking, a bit of biking. Have re-added taking one of the horses with me on walks. Figure walking can’t hurt any of us.

Places are walks, one mile unless noted.

New Places

Publix

Downtown Columbiana

Repeat Places

Pasture

Beeswax Creek Park, repeat & photo safari [Strolling By The Lake, Photo Safari The First]

Orr Park, repeat & 5K [Greenway Stroll, Virtual 5K post pending update Slow Flight Around The Park, Dragon Con Hustle Virtual 5K 2022]

Walmart [Ambling About]

Stepping Stone Farm

Local park

Virtual Places

Minnesota, walking & biking. [Biking and Walking Virtually, Mississippi River, Part One, Minnesota]

DragonCon Hustle, Virtual 5K

Virtual New Balance 5th Avenue Mile. On the third try, I finally sorted out how Strava recognizes this. Among other things, the type of activity must be a run rather than a walk. Didn’t bother me in the past. I walk all manner of 5K runs. This year, I decided to be a purist and not count this since I did not “run” it. [Strolling Along The Avenue 2020, Replicating The Setting 2021]

Data Dump

Walking – 23 days

Biking – 3 days

Doubles – 2 days

Nothing – 8 days. Six of the zero days where horse-related activities, show, lesson, driving derby. One day was the dentist, which wears me out. Only one day when I said Pffffft and sat on the couch.

Last month [State of the Fitness, Ambling About]

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding, Blogging

Awareness of the outside world. More of this please. The Guardian: ‘The American lawn feels irresponsible’: the LA homes ditching grass for drought-friendly gardens, Beckett, photographs by Jucevic, 24 Sept 2022. Yes! Thank you. I have long thought we as a society should stop trying to pretend we live in bijoux English country estates. I remember seeing pebble lawns at my grandparent’s retirement community in Florida many, many years ago. I was told that residents gave it the side eye. I thought it made a huge amount of sense.

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The new Now.

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As of 3 October 2022

Milton is driving.

Rodney senses a disturbance in the force. It’s easy to claim the #1 horse spot when both of you are pasture ornaments.

Until next month.

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Last month [State of the Now, School In Session]

Onwards!
Katherine