Virtual Brush Box

Thoughts

Awareness of the outside world. From the bookshelf, *A Christmas Cornucopia: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Yuletide Traditions* by Mark Forsyth (Penguin 2016). Book announcement. Don’t think of this as a repeat posting. Think of it as the start of a Christmas tradition. [Christmas Gift]
~~~
Last year, I made of list of things to do before my next milestone birthday in 2022. [60 Before 60]

It will be a year tomorrow. How many have I made progress on?

Not.

A

Single.

One.

The only item that came true was number 60, and that was only half true.

60 Left blank for things wondrous and unthought of.

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been unthought of.

But seriously folks.

The entire list was an exercise of the imagination. Some of the goals were clearly aspirational. No way am I going to ride 3rd level dressage within the next two years. I’m not even sure I want to.

I could blame the pandemic for failures in activities that are travel- or horse-show related. But I’d be lying. I can barely drag myself off the farm for a once-a-year trip within the US to see family. Suddenly, I’m going to start prancing around the world? Even if I could? I think not.

Nor have I been near the pandemic-suitable activities, such as riding my bike 100 miles, doing a photo show, or writing a book. I’m not saying I should have achieved these. I’m saying I haven’t even started.

Every so often, I used to get a wild hair and decide I needed to draw up a budget. I diligently recorded all expenditures. I created a spreadsheet. I compiled categories. There may have been charts. The answer was always the same.

Books. Food. Pets.

The amounts spent in other categories are too small to matter: entertainment, clothes, music. Money gets spent on these things, but so little in comparison to the big 3 that the categories become statistically irrelevant.

To the point now that I don’t even bother with budgets. I know where the money goes. Saving money is a matter of controlling those three expenses.

The 60 Before 60 is much the same. I can make all the lists I want. I can have all the passing fancies I want: model horses, stamps, art. I’m going to keep doing the same things: words, horses, walks. This is not a bad thing or a good thing, simply an observation. But it does leave my 60 Before 60 list blowing in the breeze.

Dang. I was looking forward to using the list as blog fodder for several years.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Fit To Ride

 
Awareness of the outside world. Premier Charity Cerebral Palsy Education Centre.
~~~

Virtual Melbourne Marathon
Official – December 5-13, 2020
My Date – Thursday, December 10, 2020
Bib Number – 2729
Location – unnamed corporate park, Inverness, AL
Time – 49:20 officially, 1 hour 7:23 minutes actually
Results, Overall – 280 out of 377 official, 350 calculated with actual time
Results, Gender – 173 official, 225 actual
Results, Gender/Age – 29 official, 49 actual
Trackers – race app, Map My Walk

Why Melbourne?
Because I am a digital tourist in Australia right now. [Biking Virtually, Great Ocean Road]

And because I went a wee bit overboard with horse show ribbon replacements medals this year. This will be my last bling walk of the year. Had fun. Plan to do only a handful next year. We’ll see how well I predict the future. [Will Walk For Bling]

Why A Second One?
Yesterday was supposed to be my virtual walk for this. I remembered the official app when I was half way through. I figured I’d go out again the next day to see what the official app had to offer. Why not? What else I got to do? [5K to Nowhere]

The app gave km announcements in Australian and a few signposts along the way. “The Tan was originally constructed in the early 1900’s as a tanbark horse-riding track.” Only Melbourne: Tan Track.

As with Peachtree the trade-off didn’t seem worth the hassle and eventual failure of creating one’s own app. BTW, I did not redo Peachtree because a) I had already used their app, 2) it was 10k rather than 5k, and, most importantly, 3 or c) it was the weekend. [Strolling By The Lake]

Virtual races existed in the before times. I signed up for Virtual Gaelic Gallop in January. “For our runners that can’t make it to Kentucky there is a virtual 5K option, too!” BreyerFest Blog: The Gaelic Gallop!. Little did we know that ‘runners that can’t make it to Kentucky’ would be everybody. Virtual-everything got a huge boost with the pandemic. It will be interesting to see how virtual races evolve over time.

Why Here?
I’m running out of new parks, at least of new parks/walking tracks that I am willing to drive to. The nearest one I have not done was more hiking in the woods than I cared for at the moment. After 5k the day before, I wanted a flat, paved route that I could motor around.

Why So Fast?
Another failure for a race-specific app. Google Earth says the lake sidewalk is just under a kilometer. Five times around should have been 4 1/2km, not 5. My official pace was 9:52 minutes per kilometer. I was making good time, but not that good. Nor was I taking shortcuts across the lake as the GPS image shows. I was in sight of a cell tower the entire time so it doesn’t have the same excuse of dense foliage that I did for the Peachtree walk.

Oh well, go out. Got fresh air. Saw the sun. I finished the extra distance while wandering around taking photos, hence the massive drop in pace.

Time would probably have been between 50 and 55 minutes, or 10 to 11 mpk. I marched along. Didn’t stop for either photos or notes, The only time I paused was to pick up a stray fishing line. I remember seeing signs about this at Joe Tucker. Helena teen improves Joe Tucker park for Eagle Scout Project, by Staff Reports, September 2020. [Lake Reflections, Joe Tucker Park]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. Alabama Department of Labor: Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program.

~~~

Shelby County Reporter: Lee Springs Park opens in Helena, has historical remnants, by Alec Etheredge, November 2020

Felt long, probably because I wandered hither and yon to make up the distance.

Section 1: Lee Springs Park. So new the large rocks made for unstable footing. Scenic but short.

Section 2: Hillsboro Trail. Converted roadbed.

Section 3: unnamed woods trail. Well used.

Historical Bits at LSP

Coke Ovens

Inside the water storage basin

Material samples

Outro
Was supposed to be a virtual 5k. I decided on a redo the next day …

Update: [Another Lakeside Stroll, Westin 5km Run, Virtual Melbourne Marathon, December 2020]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Riding Journal, Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

Awareness of the outside world. VACCINE ROLLOUT! I’m a few days late due to writing ahead and the impact will take a while to filter down to daily living. The logistics are staggering; the population numbers enormous. Still. Celebrate where we can. Vaccinations have started!
~~~
What with one thing and another, the home team hasn’t appeared in a post since last Wednesday. They aren’t scheduled back until at least next week, and then they’ll be dodging holiday posts and yearly recaps.

They’re fine.

Milton’s latest feed change is agreeing with him. His coat is even getting slick.

Rodney is liking his feed and tack arrangements.

Ringwork on the weekends, here or one of our regular spots. Handwalks and bodywork during the week. Rodney may do stand practice or a short walk.

I was loving the daily mile. Rodney less so. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable he was alone until I saw how relaxed he has gotten in company. I could work on it, but why? If he hates it that much, is it something I want to insist on?

There are a few iron-clad absolutes with our horses. Keep your teeth to yourself. Keep your hooves to yourself. Stand still when required. Follow when asked.

The rest? Up for negotiation.

Particularly when competing, you are not going to do well if the horse doesn’t like his job. I’m not saying they should adore dressage to the extent of dancing pas de deux in the moonlight together. Just not regard the arena as the sandpit of doom.

The Virtual Tevis provided structure August through November. We are casting about to see what is next.

According to the NPR Hospital look -up tool, area hospitals are over 80% full. We discussed this and have elected to keep riding. In return, we are keeping it as quiet and predictable as one can with horses. Activities that we know. Places they are used to. Quiet walks. Trotting and cantering in protected spaces. Maybe bail a bit earlier than usual if things start to go wahooni-shaped.

Now is not the time for bold ventures and elborate plans.

I have taken to wearing my cross-country vest, both as a safety gesture and to get used to riding with it in case one day I, maybe (swoon), go XC again. [New Equipment]

We are chugging along. At this point, that is awesome.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Other Voices

 
So many stories from the Virtual Tevis. This one’s a sniffler. In a good way. Quotes and photos posted with permission. I wouldn’t ask you to click over three times unless I thought the story was worth the effort. Welcome Deuce. [VT Archives]
~~~

“And what do you know, I have a little black horse I bought to do distance riding with.” Two Paths Farm: Tevis Comes to Us!
 
 

“So now I’m supposed to be an endurance horse.” Two Paths Farm: Along the Tevis Trail, by Deuce
 
 

NEWSFLASH We interrupt this Tevis attempt for colic surgery.

 
 
 
 

“So we walked. One quarter mile at a time.” Two Paths Farm: Just a Little Farther…
 
 
Congratulations Deuce & Two Paths Farm! To finish is to win!

Images

 
Awareness of the outside world. Once again, I ask, charity or PR? Or both? Wells Fargo: Community Giving.
~~~

From old …

… to new.

Wells Fargo Unveils New Logo to Rebuild Its Battered Brand, by Steve Cocheo, with assistance from Bill Streeter, 2019

Process Notes

All photos from Birmingham branch. Street photo previously posted for photography project. Sign photos taken on the way home from Railroad Park. Four posts from one walk. That’s what I call a successful day. [Spotted at the Birmingham Mural]

Railroad Park posts
Thursday [Strolling In Another Park Another Day]
Friday [Views of Vulcan, Revisited]
Saturday [Coming Fact to Face With Unpleasant Realities]
Sunday [Commercial Horses, Banking]

Commercial Horse Art Posts
[Commercial Horses, Pharmacology and Trucks]
[Equine Logo, KLLM]
[Equine Logo: Norfolk Southern]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott