Virtual Brush Box

Blogging About Blogging

Awareness of the outside world. Katrina. 15 years ago today. Whatever: Being Poor & Whatever: “Being Poor,” Ten Years On.
~~~
tldr: No more weekend posts. Too much time. Not enough to say.

New Schedule
Starting in September, I will not be putting up weekend posts.

Previously, I have been trying to stay out of my office on weekends but still posting on Saturday and Sunday. That means writing 7 posts in 5 days. Lately, that has felt onerous. [Weekends Off]

Why now? If I have been writing this way since 2016, why am I feeling overwhelmed now? One, the time/energy going into Virtual Tevis and Virtual Route 66 are wearing me out. That would be a good thing. Or, two, I am feeling lazy and slothful because I am lazy & slothful and/or because the world is on fire. That would be a bad thing. [VTevis, VRoute 66]

Why now? A lot of my recent Saturday and Sunday posts have felt like filler. Neither are on message. Maybe if my fiction was zooming along for Saturday or I was more of an artist for Sunday. It’s not and I’m not.

Why now? I was having a snit over … memory fails. This idea popped into my head from left field. It had nothing to do with the snit. Even I can’t connect the dots from whatever was bothering me to weekends off. Once there the idea decided to stay. The thought of two days off is appealing.

This plan may last a week; it may last for the life of the blog. Or, maybe I’ll post fiction on a Saturday and graphics on a Sunday when I have something to share. Yeah, because I’m such an impromptu person. Ha.

I greatly enjoy being able to say that I have a daily blog, or that I have not missed a day since my last restart, back in 2018. However, this serves no purpose other than bragging rights inside my head. I like bragging rights as much as the next blogger, but not enough to keep slogging through two extra posts a week. [Bright-Eyed, Bushy-Tailed, & Back to Blogging May 28 2018]

Why Have a Schedule At All?
Clearly, I am the sort of person who likes my life to be under control. Organizing my life with lists and plans and schedules does this. Or at least provides the illusion of control.

A blogging schedule encourages me. The Sunday graphics posts motivated me to improve with Inkscape and GIMP programs. While I am nowhere near pro quality with either, I can generally hack my way through the buttons. Photography on Friday and Fiction on Saturday have stalled for the moment. Maybe I just don’t need more deadlines in my life right now.

A blogging schedule limits me. I started Saddle Seat Wednesday as a way to keep the ASBs from overrunning the blog. My own horses weren’t getting their noses in the barn door. Similarly I keep discussions of my fitness programs to Thursdays, so I don’t bore you with my off-horse exercise more than once a week. Granted, my blog, my rules. OTOH, I like to balance that with sufficient audience appeal to keep you coming back. [Whither Now? Saddle Seat Version]

None of this is news.

Daily deadlines keep me motivated. A weekly schedule keeps me organized. Rotating through the various activities keeps one subject from taking over the blog, e.g. saddleseat [Whither Now], and gently forces me to keep up with others, e.g. photography … Is all this categorization necessary? No. Could I put up a pretty photo on Monday, skip a day, talk about Milton for the rest of the week and then take a month off? Yes. Provided I was a totally different person. Even considering the idea makes my brain itch. [Back to Blogging]

True then. True now.

What’s Left On Schedule
Monday through Friday posts. Topics as available.

Mood on Monday, if I can think of anything to say other than ‘Gee, this bites.’

Virtual Tevis on Tuesday until done.

Fitness Thursday, mainly for monthly 5k walks.

Photos on Friday, if I have anything. It’s a nice way to end the week.

… or maybe not. Maybe the blog will turn into a mad free-for-all.

But I doubt it.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 
Awareness of the outside world. I am aware of the outside world. It sucks pond water. Why pond water, you ask? Have you ever accidentally sucked down pond water? Exactly.
~~~
 

 

Unsweetened, frozen apple juice.

Milton

Rodney

Music. Good Humour joins forces with musical genius RZA.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
Awareness of the outside world. Virtual Tevis entrant Whiskey Ranch-Horse is taking time off from talking about their ride in order to raise money. “From Aug. 20 until Sept. 19 (one people-month) 30, I am gonna donate $2 from every *paperback* book sold (of both my paperback books) to the UC Davis Veterinary Need Catastrophic Fund. They have real good vets, who are likely not evil vet-ladies at all, who help animals that need it the most. This is all about UC Davis: give.ucdavis.edu/go/vcnf.” County Island: Help for Critters in Northern California Fires. Emphasis mine. Update. Fundraiser for UC Davis extended to Sept. 30, 2020.
~~~
Overall
Three miles! Twice!

Not much for real endurance horses, but good for two pasture puffs.

In both cases, we had to wander around the ring while I watched the GSP tick over from 2.96 to 3.0. No functional difference. Magical thinking.

Milestones

Red Star Ridge, mile 28, Image source & additional photos, The Tevis Cup: Red Star Ridge.

Elephant’s Trunk. Listed on map.

Daily Log
We are doing our rides in 1/3-mile laps around our pasture. Link to standings, Doctor Whooves, Major Milton, All.

Thursday, August 20. Today 8 laps, 2.58 miles. Total 26.7 {25.7} miles. Time 57:37 min. Pace 22 minpermile/ 2.7 mph. Warm-up trots, then 2 long trots.

Friday, August 21. Day off. Planned.

Saturday, August 22. Today 9 laps, 3.01 miles. Total 29.71 {28.71} miles. Time 58:50 min. Pace 19 minpermile/ 3.2 mph. Rodney getting large & in-charge. Led many of the laps, including first lap. Weird. Three long trots today.

Sunday, August 23. Today 8 laps, 3.02 miles. Total 32.73 {31.73} miles. Time 1:02:03 min. Pace 20 minpermile/ 3 mph. Extra warm-up trot/canter attempt. 2 long trots.

Monday, August 24. Day off. Planned.

Tuesday, August 25. Today 6 laps, 2.01 miles. Total 34.74 {33.74} miles. Time 53:05 min. Pace 26 minpermile/ 2.3 mph. Technically riding in the rain. An easy day of walking after all the trotting.

Wednesday, August 26. Day off. Planned.

Scenery
I am getting a handle on map vis-à-vis streetview. There is a line that shows the Virtual Tevis trail. There is a line that shows available streetview. These were not in the same place this week. I dutifully collected two streetviews from each riding day before I sorted this out. I can’t remember if the two lines converged in previous weeks. My sense of accuracy is offended; otherwise, mox nix.

You’d think I would have realized this earlier. I had some half-expressed theory that one was an estimate of the other. Spent far too long figuring out how the proportions related in order to gauge where I was. News flash. It is a totally different trail.

Oh.

Streetview on roads and highways? That I can handle. Streetview in the middle of trees? I get lost sitting at my desk.

Nearby, but not the Virtual Tevis trail from this week. Included because scenic. Gives a general idea of the terrain.

Recent Posts
Mine
[Miles 16-24]
[Virtual Gaits, Virtual Trees, Update]

Others
Moonlit Pastures: Virtual Tevis Week 3: Red Star Ridge

Trail Horse Adventures: 2020 Tevis Cup
Trail Horse Adventures: I Conquered “Cougar Rock”
Trail Horse Adventures: We Finished the Tevis Cup Virtual Ride!

[Tevis post archives]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
Awareness of the outside world. The plot of No Fixed Line by Dana Stabenow (Gere Donovan 2020 Kindle) hinges on two children separated and detained at the border. A friendly reminder that old horrors don’t disappear when new horrors arise.
~~~
The ride is virtual. The gaits and the trees are real.

Gaits
Milton has bad moments and a good attitude. Rodney has good moments and a bad attitude.

Milton has decided that going around the pasture together is not a race. When Rodney trots off into the distance, Milton toodles along, knowing he will get there eventually. So far, the one time Rodney and I disappeared around a corner, Milton responded by putting up his ears. Wonderful.

We are working on deescalating his issues at the mounting block. Some days he’s relaxed. Other days, he’ll ratchet up the tension meter. Just intermittent enough to keep us on our toes. After a few steps, maybe as much as a quarter of a circle, he’s over it and ready for the day. He’s the same with driving. Weird.

Rodney has decided he is a big, bold endurance horse who cannot be contained by the pathetic paces of his traveling companion. If we are in front, he strides off at a walk, and motors off at a trot. If we are following at a walk, he tries to pop into a trot. Just where do you think you are going? If we are following at a trot, he gets all round and bunched up. If I pick up the reins and tell him where to put each foot, he will do a passable western jog. I am so not interested in riding a horse who I have to supervise at every step.

Our theory is that he has decided to behave but be as unpleasant about it as possible. He thinks I will blink first. Little does he know that Tevis rules allow for the rider to dismount and run beside the horse. Listen up, you big dork. We will finish this 100 miles, if I have to walk you in-hand for the next 67 miles. Put that in your feed bucket and chew it.

I know, I shouldn’t call him a dork. Name-calling is not going to help my attitude.

Trees
We went around with a lopper and a handsaw. Took down the more obvious projections. The result was heaps of branches off to the side along the path.

Milton gave them all the side eye. They had not been there before. He did not like the look of them.

Rodney kept trying snack on the downed branches, even as the leaves faded. Leaf jerky. It’s a thing.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 

Awareness of the outside world. Whatever: I Was Writing a Piece About Six Months of Quarantine and Annoyed Myself as I Wrote It, So Here’s Zoe Keating Instead. Six months? Nah. Can’t be. Counts on fingers. March (partial). April. May. June. July. August (almost over). Not six. Five plus. With no end in sight. Mouth hangs open.
~~~
Wrote the check for Rodney 10 years ago today.

I wish I could broadcast a message filled with unicorn farts. Serendipity! The unexpected road! How I have learned! and grown!

Nope.

Sitting here, exactly where I was 10 years ago, with addition of a failed writing column (thanks Rodney) and 8 years of whining on the blog.

Have I had horses to ride? Yes. [Sam I Am] 2012

Have I had shows to attend? Yes. [An Attempt To Freeze Time] 2020

Would I have preferred to spend those years running and jumping? No question.

Do I have anyone but myself to blame? No.

Could I have done something about it if I had only gotten my shit together? Of a certainty.

Way back on the initial post for this incarnation of the blog, the first two commenters (Waves hi!) wrote about how setbacks can shake one’s confidence. Tru dat. Doubt eats away at your will, whispering of pointless futures. Just because you know it’s happening doesn’t mean you can stop it. [We Begin]

Get a new horse?

Tried that.

Milton’s Gotcha Day was August 23rd, 6 years ago. We all know how that went.

Get a third horse?

Not as obvious as it sounds. I had to look out of the state for Rodney. I had to look out of the freaking country for Milton.

We are deep into tailspin territory.

Before I pull up, I’ll add that the biggest frustration is the feeling of spinning my wheels. I haven’t done anything with the last decade except get older. I have been given the gift of time and have nothing to show for it in return, except for the morass of stagnation I have wandered into. [A Look Inside My Head]

Or maybe it’s just the horrible month of August. More than five months into a pandemic.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
Awareness of the outside world. CDC: Considerations for Events and Gatherings. CDC: COVID-19 Considerations for Animal Activities at Fairs, Shows, and Other Events, includes ‘Livestock and horse shows’.
~~~
There was a dressage schooling show last Saturday. Will there be a show report tomorrow? Let’s examine the factors.

Factor 0) All Previous Reasons
As before, I have less than no interest in performing yet another mediocre exhibition of lower level dressage. [Finishing The Season]

As before, Rodney and I need the experience.

Verdict. Go

Factor 1) Covid
Should we be horse showing? No.

At least not in a state with hundreds of new cases a day and an undesirable postivity rate.

Too many people are wandering about, pleasing themselves instead of sitting at home not being the next match. Juan Delcan, Visual Artist

This disease is highly contagious, has no cure, no vaccine, minimal treatment, and is not under control. Maybe if we had a picture of what was going on. Maybe if we knew where transmission was actually occurring. Maybe if we had reliable test & trace. We don’t. So we are just guessing that X is dangerous but Y is okay.

Having said that, this show is as low a risk as possible, given our current educated guesses.

Local. No one is importing germs from other states. No restaurants. No hotels.

Outside. Wide open space. I probably didn’t get within 10 feet of a non-bubble human in pre-pandemic times.

Acceptable size? Depends on your definition for outside gatherings. Will it be over 25? Yes. Over 100? No.

Solid Covid plan, including wearing masks, minimizing contact, etc.

Since it is a dressage show, I can plan my day. No hanging about watching the show schedule drag on. No hordes of horses swarming the ingate waiting for a class to start. Show & go.

Really torn about this one. I want to be socially responsible. I also know that perfect compliance is not humanly possible, so calculated risks need to be accommodated. Close, tipping toward …

Verdict. Go.

Factor 2) Timing
Before we could go anywhere, we needed new Coggins tests. Back in the spring, the vet was not making farm calls.

Before we could ship the horses to the vet clinic, we needed new tires. [Shod]

By the time we got tires, the vet was making farm calls again. [Vetting]

By the time we got tires, got shots, and Sir Precious Petunia got over his shots, we had no time to school off grounds before the closing date. We had not been off the grounds since March.

No problem. He’s been to the showgrounds plenty of times. He was going all over the place earlier this year. He’ll be fine. Then we started trotting on our trail walks. I was reminded that Rodney does not adapt quickly. Springing a show on him with no warning is not the optimal path to success. [Virtual Gaits]

Verdict. No go.

Factor 3) Virtual Tevis
All of our walking meant no practice in the ring. That might be a good thing for both of us.

We would lose mileage that weekend. Meh, we have 2 1/2 months to go.

Rodney has been doing a great job coping with about all the activities the VTevis is asking of him, walking and trotting and going around the pasture. (Yes, I think it is ridiculous that he needs to think deeply about such simple issues. That’s not my call to make. But I digress.) Is it fair to ask him to think about two things at once?

Verdict. 2/3 go, 1/3 no go.

Factor 4) Class
If I did USEA Novice A, I would …

… be able to convince both horse & rider that we are doing eventing flatwork rather than dressage

… have a test that suited us better than Training 1.

… not go up against straight-up, serious dressage types.

… better acceptance of my rhapsody-in-green turnout of green saddle pad, green reins, and green shirt. People expect eventers to be over the top with colors.

… do a test of choice. Never done that before.

Verdict. Strong go.

Results.
Survey says: 3 go, 1 no go, 1 mixed.

However, the factors are not all equal. We gave heavier weight to the psychological component. We did not have sufficient time to prepare. Rodney has enough to think about at the moment.

A roundabout way of saying we didn’t go to a horse show last weekend.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott