Virtual Brush Box

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. Newspaper motto. All The News That’s Fit To Print, New York Times.

~~~

I’m cold, so you need a blanket.

Actually, it’s the other way around with Rodney and me.

In my head, I was making fun if Rodney while I was putting his blanket on. Then I realized I was wearing my heavy winter coat.

Similarly, if I’m putting on his fleece, I’m usually wearing sweatshirt or vest.

Yes, my horse wears a sweatshirt at 75 degrees. So do I.

Guess, I gotta stop laughing at him.

Does he need it? No. Does he enjoy it? Yes. Are we around to monitor the ever-changing temperature/blanket equation? Also yes. So, why not.

“Rodney has decreed that any temps under 70, possibly 80, degrees is chilly and he will be covered, thank you very much, that is all.” [Changing the Blanketing Protocol, In Which Rodney Plays The Old Man Card]

“Rodney and I are firmly on Team Sweatshirt.” [New Equipment, Horse Sweatshirt]

Onwards!
Katherine

Images

Awareness of the outside world. “Cachet. Any textual or graphic design which has been applied to a cover usually, but not always, on the left side of the envelope. A cachet may be produced by any means— printed, rubberstamped, handdrawn, etc. A first day cachet should be related specifically to the stamp on the cover.” American First Day Cover Society: FDC Terminology.

So The Graceful Envelopes would be non-first day cachets? Any stamp folks care to enlighten me?
~~~

My entry for the Graceful Envelope Contest run by the The Washington Calligraphers Guild. The 2022 theme was Greetings and Salutations.

Process Notes

In my defense, the envelope looked better in person. While a mere sketch compared to the winners, it amoosed me.

Plus, I got a blog post out of it.

Contest

TWCG: 2022 Graceful Envelope Contest Winners, VIEW THE WINNING ENVELOPES on IMGUR

Next year. TWCG: 2023 Graceful Envelope Contest Call for Entries. The theme is fan mail.

“In 1999 my envelope was a winner.” Kath Harney: The Graceful Envelope Contest

Carol DuBosch Calligraphy: Envelopes

Writealetter.org: The Graceful Envelope Contest Winners 2015

Writealetter.org: 25 Years of Graceful Envelopes, 2019

Envelopes

Smithsonian: Pushing the Envelope | History| Smithsonian Magazine, Kernan 1997

Smithsonian: The Graceful Envelope. Archived Exhibition, no photos

Stamp

“The stamps were designed by Zack Bryant using photographs by acclaimed heritage breeds photographer Aliza Eliazarov. Greg Breeding served as art director.” USPS: New Heritage Breeds Forever Stamps Honor Genetic Diversity in Farm Animals, May 2021

“The difficulty in finding this once popular breed was the inspiration for the creation of the first North American livestock conservation organization, which has become The Livestock Conservancy.” The Livestock Conservancy: MILKING DEVON CATTLE.

Onwards!
Katherine

Words

Awareness of the outside world. Bulwer-Lytton 2022 winners.

~~~

I get mistaken for a guy. Have done all my life, from as early as childhood to as recently as this month.

My kindergarten school picture shows a smiling child with long brown hair. The very obvious girl is wearing a red velvet dress with a lace collar. A year later, in first grade photo, the same child has a glum expression, a school uniform, and a side-parted, short haircut. This was many years before Dorothy Hamill convinced us that short hair could be cute. It was a boy’s haircut.

The story goes that my father took me to get my hair trimmed. He plopped me down in the seat and went over to the chairs to wait. When he looked up from whatever he was reading, most of the hair had been lopped off one side of my head.

Father: What are you doing to my daughter’s hair?
Barber: Your daughter? I thought it was your son.

I kept my hair long until senior year in college.

Getting misgendered bothers me. A little. Not enough to do anything about it, nor spend time figuring out why it bothers me. They call me sir. I open my mouth. They hear my voice. They look startled and/or apologetic. Before gay marriage, I was able to quip, ‘It’s okay, my husband can tell the difference.’ The implication being that if I had a husband, I must therefore be a wife. That’s a one-liner I’m happy to lose.

Part of the reason for the onlooker confusion is clothing. When I am seen as male, it is often in the winter. I have oddly wide shoulders for the rest of my frame. Add a hat and a bulky winter jacket, et voilà, a dude.

The second reason is a lack of female signifiers. I don’t wear make up. I don’t wear dresses, red velvet or otherwise. This is particularly noticeable in the southern US, where such feminine behaviors are still widely practiced. More so than in, say, New England. At one point, I was sitting in an Alabama movie theater wherein the audience was largely female. I realized I was both the youngest one there and the only one with gray hair.

The third factor is attitude. I was meeting two friends in a local park. When Friend A and I arrived, Friend B was being chatted up by a homeless gentleman. She was clearly uncomfortable but was both too Southern to walk off and encumbered with a baby in a stroller. Friend A and I have both lived in less polite parts of the country. We had no trouble whisking her away from her admirer. Friend A walked next to Friend B on the way back to her car. I hung back by several feet, my feathers fluffed up, my head swiveling from side to side, projecting a don’t mess with us attitude. It wasn’t a dangerous situation, but it was time to leave.

On the drive home, I was still agitated. I decided a batch of cookies was the answer. I stopped at a small, independent bakery. The counter person ask sir what sir would like. This was odd. I’d been there many times before. Plus, the bakery was casual and left-leaning. Not big on formality or gender roles. Afterwards, I decided that I was still emitting an aggressive, protective energy. Things society generally associates with men.

The most recent occasion was at the Native American Festival in Moundville. At one of the food tents, the gentleman taking the orders called me sir when he asked what I wanted. I saw him later walking around the park. We nodded. He stopped to tell me that he thought I was a person he knew, Chief X in the Y.

Chief?

I’m good with that.

Update. “While wearing new coat got called sir again two days later. At this point, I think it upsets them more than it upsets me.” [Farm vs Outdoor Nov 2022]

Onwards!
Katherine

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. Virtual 5K benefited Open Hand Atlanta.

~~~

My 5K for September. Took a while for the medal to arrive, wagging its ribbon behind it.

Dragon Con Hustle: Jubilee, RunSignup
All virtual, part of Dragon Con
Orr Park, Montevallo, AL
Sunday 18 September 2022
3.3 miles in 1 hr 13 minutes

Another view of the medal, from RunSignup page. The shininess defeated my photographic abilities.

The Park

First responders doing a practice exercise. Baptisms in the creek. Families grilling. Sports. Young couples sitting together at the waterside. People giving life to a park.

Been here several times. Managed to not know about the loop in the back until now.

One benefit of a busy park – food trucks.

ExploreSouthernHistory.com – Orr Park and the Faces in the Trees, Alabama

Little bit of a hill in this one.

Dragon Walks of Yore

[Flying Low, Walk Report, DragonCon Virtual 5K] 2021

[Strolling Around The Lake, Walk Report, The Dragon Within DIY 5K, September 2020]

Previous Orr Park

[Greenway Stroll, Part II, Baltimore Running Festival Virtual 5K, October 2020]

[Rubber Ducky Day 2020]

Onwards!
Katherine

Driving

Awareness of the outside world. NPR: Which Indigenous lands are you on? This map will show you, Treisman, October 10, 2022.

~~~

Milton wearing britching and going for a stroll outside the ring at Stepping Stone Farm.

He’s done both of these before, but not for a while. We’ve gone back to first principles and are slowly moving forward.

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. Alabama Charity Horse Show had a cute fundraiser for St. Jude. Pay $5 before the class. If you win, they play your chosen song during your victory pass. I would have so done this. The show itself benefited Special Equestrians.

~~~

No ASB lesson last week. Barn at show, see above. Same place as in the spring. For the last time. Facility is closing. Hartselle Enquirer: No more horsing around: Celebration Arena in Priceville has been sold, Fleischauer, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. 😦

Speaking of the Spring show. Back in May, one of the barn moms took our pictures while I was waiting to ride. [Switching Gears, Show Report, Mid-South Spring Premiere 2022]

Photos by Pam Cofield.

Not the worst photos ever taken of us.

Onwards!
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. Was watching a track meet and got to wondering. News article, The Oregonian: You thought your air travel was bad? Try flying with pole vault poles, Greif, 2016. Athletes weigh in, MV Rocket: How do pole vaulters transport their poles? 2014.

~~~

Lesson with Dakota at Silver Lining Equestrian Center. Coach Hanna was out of town, so I had a lesson with head trainer Stephanie Counts.

Was concerned. Years ago, I was on a course walk with Amy Tryon at Rolex. The crowd walked up to an enormous pile of lumber. She made a comment along the lines of ‘Just kick over this’ and walked on. Eventers are an enthusiastic lot. I was concerned that Coach Stephanie would be cheerful, confident, and not take into account my extreme weenieness.

Naturally, the lesson went great.

Helped that we stayed with flat work. My brain knows the jumps in the ring are small. My stress system completely shuts down at the sight of them.

Also, helped that Dakota is a large, comfy horse, who thinks we need to go stand over there so that I can talk with my instructor some more.

Coach Stephanie is big on biomechanics, which I have always believed in. Fixing the rider fixes the horse. In other words, 75 to 90% of riding is staying out of the horse’s way and letting him get on with it.

Talking Points

Discussing my arm position. Photo by Stephanie James Counts.

These were my take-aways from the lesson. There were more, but these were the two I decided to concentrate on remembering.

One. Keep your helmet level when you post. Instead of standing up and sitting down, think of moving your belt buckle toward the front of the horse. I’m not sure how this works, given the fulcrums involved. I’d need to be better at visualizing. However, if I say these words to myself, I post lower and more in rhythm with the horse.

Two. Hands belong to the horse; elbows belong to you. I’ve heard this, or variations, before. This time the explanation hit just the right way.

Move the hands forward. Bring the elbows back to the seam of the shirt. Of course, moving your hands one way and your elbows the other way is physiologically impossible. Balancing the two forces is where riding happens.

—–> Throwing the hands forward to the horse. This is my go-to move. Positive. Ineffective.

<—– Pulling the hands back. You will have an effect on the horse, it will not be a good one. Negative. Effective.

<—— effective & positive——>

At least, this is how I understood what what said. All errors mine.

Breeds

It occurs to me that I need to start keeping track of the breeds of my valiant mounts. At Stepping Stone, it’s easy, everyone is an American Saddlebred, except Snippy who was a National Show Horse (Arab x ASB). Furls brow to think if I missed anyone. Greg drove Wilco, a Fresian. [Photo]

Silver Lining horses so far.

Tuesday is a Thoroughbred. [Chestnut Mare Fanfare]

Freddie is a Holsteiner. (Egad, a Warmblood!) [Freddie Reintroduces Me To The Concept Of A Course]

Dakota is a pinto of unknown heritage. Observation would suggest parentage other than straight-up Quarter Horse. A touch of Gypsy Vanner maybe?

New Barn, New Barn Cats

Onwards!
Katherine