Virtual Brush Box

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. CNN: Race and ethnicity across the nation, Keefe, Wolfe and Hernandez, Aug. 12, 2021. Yes, Virginia, segregation is still a thing, de facto if no longer de jure. I think of NYC as multi-cultural rather than segregated, yet data shows that Manhattan is sliced in two right at the top of Central Park. I realize this is a surprise to no one. That sound is my optimistic delusions wilting in the glare of reality.

~~~

Milton. Yay! Cheers for Milton! He was amazingly consistent. 100 miles in 49 rides in 59 days. They both missed the first day while indulging in a woe-fest recovering from their annual vetting. After that it was rain &/or mud days. He had stretches of 12 to 14 days in a row. Bravo! Milton even chose to pull his shoe hours before the blacksmith came. Waited in a stall. Got shod. Went right back to work the next day. Unlike some horses I could mention. But I digress. Milton was a star.

Rodney. Since Rodney’s feet cannot hang onto the workboots, we are back to letting him adjust after shoeing. Three days off and a light weekend. Sigh. [Shoeing Dilemma]

Tortoise Power! Corrected from previous. These two are definitely land animals.

Where are we virtually?

Milestone. Rodney.

Map. Close enough to the end that I stopped.

Data Dump – Milton

Tuesday, September 21 – .08 miles, ?? minutes. Yeah. He was that close.

Total distance – 100 miles
Total time – 44 hours
Total rides – 49 days
Total calendar – 59 days

Pace, time to go one mile – Milton 26:26 m/m, per VT results page

Data Dump – Rodney

Tuesday, September 21 – .91 miles, 29 minutes
Saturday, September 25 – 1.01 miles, 28 minutes
Sunday, September 26 – 1.67 mile, 54 minutes
Monday, September 27 – 1.62 miles, 44 minutes

Distance this week – 5 miles
Time this week – 2.5 hours
Rides this week – 4 days

Total distance – 91 miles
Total time – 42 hours.
Total rides – 47 days
Total calendar – 66 days

Pace, time to go one mile – 27:16 m/m, per VT results page

Numbers rounded off for ease of reporting. May not add up as given.

My Links
Last week [Waiting For Nicholas To Pass By, Virtual Tevis, 99 and 86 Miles, 59 Days]
[VT Archives]

Official Links
Tevis Cup: Virtual Tevis 2021
RunSignUp: 2021 Tevis Cup – Virtual Western States Trail – 100 Miles in 100 Days
RunSignUp: VT results

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Horsekeeping

Awareness of the outside world. A data point. “The Trump administration added about $7.8 trillion of today’s $28 trillion debt, and during his term, Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling three times.” Letters From An American: September 22, 2021. Richardson, Sep 23.
~~~

Have I blanketed an unclipped horse? Yes, I have.

Is it 75o? Yes, it is.

In our – feeble – defense, this was during the undressing. The temps suddenly dropped below 50 during the nights last week. Rodney hates the cold and has an high tolerance for warming devices. He has been wearing the lighter blanket at night. This particular night was the last of this go-round. He will take a break as the nights get more seasonable and then return to pajamas for winter, such as it is down here. As a bonus for the rider, the blanket keeps his back loose and his attitude perky. [Piling on the Therapy]

Am I glad that Rodney has decided to wear blankets again? Yes, I am. [Blankets Are Back]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Images

Awareness of the outside world. NASA.gov: NASA Releases Interactive Graphic Novel “First Woman”.
~~~

In the spirit of yesterday’s participation post, a blank blog logo for you to embellish. [Announcing A New Feature]

Copy. Download. Print. Cast in clay. Whatever.

Fill. Color. Decorate. Fold into origami shapes. Whatever.

(Oooh. There’s an idea. I wonder if it’s been done? Of course it has. Origami Alphabet. But I digress.)

Return. I post. We admire.

No money. No prizes. For giggles only.

Remember to sign your work.

virtualbrushbox@gmail.com

Process Notes. Drew letters. Least I could do if I was asking you to be creative. Gridded. Maximized internal space. Inkscape/GIMP.

Project Inspiration

“For Mapping Manhattan, Becky Cooper gave out blank maps. People filled the silhouettes … The maps of Manhattan are the same but different.” [Letter Art: Invitation]

Color your heart out. Surprise me. Surprise us.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Blogging About Blogging

Awareness of the outside world. “Sadly, it appears that the organization that started the initiative, Riders4Helmets, is gone. Their website is abandoned and their Facebook page hasn’t been updated in a year. So kudos to the helmet manufacturers and tack stores who are carrying on this important tradition.” EQUINE Ink: Take Advantage of Helmet Awareness Weekend Sales.
~~~

Proposal

I would like to develop a running feature, preferably contributed by other folks. Problem is, I don’t know what.

Horse stories? Sure. Amusing. On topic. However, most people I know who a) have horses AND b) want to write about them, already have their own blog.

Interview people about their horse stories? That feels like work. Literally. This is what I do for money.

Favorite book? Favorite horse book? There are already so many places on the Internet to get book opinions.

Inviting authors to talk about their books? Did that for a while. Don’t have a big enough platform to be worth their effort.

Local stories? Off topic, but has possibilities. If this was the before times, I could offer people lunch in return for an hour of their time.

Recipes? I don’t cook but I live with someone who does and I like to eat. Wildly off topic? Sure. Why not. Horse show food? Too narrow to be ongoing.

I need a wrinkle that hasn’t been done before. If it involved something unique to me that I could offer in trade, that would be great.

It needs to be something easy for the other person. Scalzi can get long, introspective posts for his Big Idea series because he can offer a lot of eyeballs. There’s a sentence one doesn’t want to see taken literally.

So, yeah, I haven’t really gotten past the stage of ‘This would be cool.’ Shall ponder.

The previous invitations, see below, have been soliciting one-offs. The idea here is to build up a series that becomes a feature.

Origin Story

So, what brought this on? This blog by Don Koboldt:

Each week, we discuss elements of sci-fi or fantasy with an expert in a relevant topic area. We debunk the myths, correct the misconceptions, and offer advice on getting the details right.

Science in Sci-Fi, Fact in Fantasy.

Even if you never plan to write a word, you can enjoy the short takes on a variety of topics, everything from rocket ships to pottery. Click the blog tab for the most recent entry.

I found the blog through the compilation book, Putting the Science in Fiction, edited by Dan Koboldt (Writers Digest 2018). The upcoming companion volume, Putting the Fact in Fantasy, edited by Koboldt (Penguin 2022), is at the tippy top of my To-Be-Bought-I-Don’t-Care-How-Many-Unread-Books-I-Already-Have list. Book info, DK.com: Putting the Science in Fiction, page & DK.com: Putting the Fact in Fantasy Sold to Penguin Random House, post October 2020.

Of course, I’ve love a feature that grew into a book. Back in the real world, I’d be happy with inviting other voices into my echo chamber and with being diverted by other people’s stories.

Any ideas?

Previous Invitations

[State of the Blog, Open Mike Invitation]
[Guest Post Invitation & Rules]
[Letter Art: Invitation]
[My Best Class: Blog Hop Invitation]
[Living Digitally: RibbonFest Invitation] canceled

Four of the invites are still open. Canceled the ribbon one, not from lack of interest. Love me some presentation pics. However, such photos are often of the person and horse by another person. I didn’t want to wade into the thickets of photo copyright, particularly if professional photographers get involved.

[STOB archives]
[Wear a Helmet archives]
Last month’s logo [Blog Logo, Bell Serifs]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. The news industry is full of divination. If this happens, that horrible thing will happen. If this does not happen, that other horrible thing will happen. Well, maybe. We can’t actually tell the future. How much of this story is reporting and how much is prediction? Is the prediction based on educated guesswork or wild hysteria? Worth keeping in mind if one is the type to get spun up reading/watching the news.
~~~

The Summit

Walk Reports, New Places

Alabaster Promenade, shopping plaza. Across the road from Colonial Promenade. Took photos; too blah to use. [Places and Parks, August Walks I]
3 September 2021
1.05 miles
22 minutes

Downtown Homewood. Running an errand, walked the long way around to get virtual Mississippi River mileage total back to even number. No photo due to rain. Light enough to walk in; too wet for pics. I dry; phone doesn’t. [Biking and Walking Virtually, Mississippi River, Part One, Minnesota]
16 September 2021
.63 miles
15 minutes

TheSummit, shopping plaza. Bookstore at one end, ice pop shop at the other. What’s not to love? Started at one end the first day. Went back & started from the other end the second day, with company.
19 September 2021
1.19 miles
29 minutes
20 September 2021
1.04 miles
29 minutes

Full Circle Horse Park, one mile toward Virtual Tevis [The Flag Question, XC Schooling]
Jemison Park, virtual 1K [Replicating The Setting, Virtual New Balance 5th Avenue Mile 2021]
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, virtual 5K [post pending]
18th Street Tunnel, virtual 5K [post pending]

The rest were parks that I have been to before or laps around the pasture. GPS images from Map My Walk & Strava.

Other Activities

Dance. 2 of 6 at The Dance Foundation. Fall season started. Signed up for twice a week, then managed to miss most of them. The first week I was suffering from overwhelm. Not anything in particular. Just *gestures vaguely in every direction*. Week two, I felt off. Almost completely sure it was my tum being disgruntled. Almost. So I stayed home one of the days. Week three, blacksmith has moved shoeing to Tuesdays. Rodney’s ridiculous feet mean missing Tuesday class every other week. [Shoeing Schedule]

Biking. None.

Stretching. Also none.

Cardio. Say what?

Motion Days

Span – 28 days, from the previous summary Aug 27 to yesterday 23 Sept, inclusive. [Places and Parks, August Walks II]

Total – 24 days. 23 days walking and 2 dance classes, Homewood was dance & walk on the same day. That’s why the numbers don’t math.

Yay for movement. Boo for variety. I only give myself partial credit for the walking. It is an exercise that comes easily to me, so it’s not a struggle for me to get out. Other activities, more of a struggle.

What are you doing for exercise these days?

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Riding

Awareness of the outside world. “According to the World Federation of the Deaf, there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide. More than 80% of them live in developing countries. Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.” UN: International Day of Sign Languages 23 September.
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[A Dog Can Dream]

So why are we having so much trouble finding an instructor? I think it is structural. [Instructor Woes]

Supply Side

Dressage. Several folks come to the area on a regular basis. Ship-in is possible at some locations. (We got spoken to on this issue.) OTOH, I really don’t need an expert in piaffe when I’m trotting around Intro C. Waste of my time & theirs.

Eventing. Ditto. I don’t need cross-country expert if I can’t get around a handful of logs in a field. I don’t need an expert in solid fences when I’m jumping crossrails. Which leads to …

Hunter/Jumper. My impression is that it is heavily weighted towards kids with trainers. Also, small but well-funded.

When I first came down here, the adult classes had trouble filling. Adults would come to a show and be unable to ride when their classes were canceled. The association finally put the adults in the kid classes. At least you got to ride.

Most folks keep their horse at an instructor’s barn & work under that person’s program. The trainer/instructor supervises the horse’s care and trains the horse. You take lessons with this person and/or any assistant trainers at that barn.

There appears to be enough money floating around that everyone has the amount of business they want. Therefore, they have little interest in messing with a non-standard income stream, i.e. us.

Demand Side

I can say without a doubt that it is not me. (Not I?) This from someone with a massively overdeveloped sense of responsibility. How I be so sure?

The last time around, we wondered if my oversharing was causing the problem. Well, it certainly wasn’t helping. We let the agnate side of household handle the contact. (Agnate is the antonym of distaff. I had no idea.) He did all the texting and all the talking. I remained quietly in the background. Yes, I can do this. For brief periods.

We still got the raspberry.

Prior Lesson Misadventures
[Milton’s Missing Lesson]
[Looking For Lessons, The Big Nope]

I could quote chapter and verse on how many and what kind of instructors we have tried and how far we gotten with each, anything from ditching phone calls to lessons that didn’t work, see above. I don’t see a need to do that in print. It would a) spread negative energy and b) start to border on personal/libel issues. Should we meet IRL, I would be happy to dish over your brown beverage of choice. Until then, let’s just say that it has been a growth experience.

Yes, I should try again. I will. After I stomp around feeling pissy for a while.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine

Not Riding

Awareness of the outside world. NPR: What We Know (And Don’t Know) About ‘Missing White Women Syndrome’, Demby, 2017. “News outlets might be deciding that missing white women are worth more in terms of eyeballs and ad revenue.” Article closes with thought that it may play into the perception of women as victims.
~~~

Space for a breath.

~~~

I forget how much time & energy I have when not riding.

Last week, we had an weather-enforced break in the riding schedule. I got caught up on house things. Will wonders never cease. [Waiting For Nicholas To Pass By]

Riding soaks up more time than I realize. I’ve said this before, probably more than once. It surprises me each time. When you are in the middle of an activity, you don’t recognize how much effort is being expended.

The travel industry has concept of shoulder seasons. The days between the high season and the off season. Trying to make the boring bits sound inviting.

I extend this to the concept of shoulder time. The time between when you are doing the thing and when you are not doing the thing. The transitions.

Let’s say a store/restaurant/friend’s house is 45 minutes away by car. That’s driving time. It doesn’t count the time it takes you to get up off the couch, find your keys, start the car, and then, at the other end, park, shut off the car, gather your bumf, and head to the front door. The time from couch to cashier/menu/friend’s couch could be well over an hour.

That’s if you are ready to go. Add more time for prying yourself out of your daytime pajamas, taking a shower, deciding on &/or finding clean clothes, and so on. A 45-drive is suddenly a two-hour project.

That’s shoulder time.

Or at least, that is shoulder time for the drive. The drive itself could be considered shoulder time for the shopping trip/dinner out/visit with friend. But I’m losing my grip on this metaphor.

The point is, it takes a while to go from sitting on the couch to sitting on the horse. Even more so than driving. Cars don’t require special clothes and equipment. Cars don’t need to be caught and groomed and feed cookies. Maybe you need to commute to the barn. Once you get home, there is showering and unwinding and eating of people cookies to get your strength back.

There is also the expenditure of mental energy. Just because I’m back home and showered doesn’t mean I am rested and ready to take on the other parts of my life.

Riding for 45 minutes does not mean that I have 23 hours and 15 minutes of the rest of the day that I can expect to use productively. I forget this.

On the upside, we have been riding enough lately that I have less anxiety about taking time off. Downtime is less guilt-ridden if one has been busy.

On the down side, when I have free time, I have time for the existential questions. What am I doing with my life? What is the purpose of … anything? What … ? These questions always exist. When I’m fiddling with horses, I don’t think about them.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine