Horses & Other Interests
Awareness of the outside world. I am trying to stay connected to current events. The outside world is not making it easy. Bad weather hasn’t helped.
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Process notes. In Inkscape, make the stroke a different color than the fill. To be changed or removed later. This creates an outline on the letter that shows where path breaks. Why didn’t I figure this out months ago?!?
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Awareness of the outside world. While they make for great literary settings, bars come at a high social cost. I’m not quite a dry, but I’m edging that way. This is probably the most writing you will see me do with bars and alcohol.
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It was early in the night shift. The rush hadn’t started, so I had time to watch the stranger enter and walk to the bar, “So what’s good at Luna’s answer to Draco Tavern.”
I pointed at a sign over my shoulder and moved a jar in front of them.
Any references to Draco Tavern, Callahan’s, or Mos Eisely will cost you one dollar in the swear jar or a drink for a randomly-selected stranger.
It’s instructive to see which option a person choses. A dollar is the less expensive option. A drink is the more social option. Some get huffy and leave. That’s okay, they can go wait out by the speeder.
It’s my bar. I get to make the bad jokes.
~~~curtain~~~
Awareness of the outside world. Virtual schooling means we need to make sure everyone has access to virtual. An educated society benefits everyone.
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As so much is doing these days, the Lexington Carriage Classic went virtual. Screenshots from LCC Facebook page, saved 6/21/20.
Coach Kate, Whip Hand Farm, entered her horse Lyricc in Class 26 – Senior Horse/Pony. She used a photo of Lyricc & Greg from the MTCC Driving Derby in 2016 [Show Report]. “Lyric pulled out of moth-balls at age 20 in this picture, to take new driver Greg Walcott to some club driving events.” Lyricc entry.
They scored an Honorable Mention out of 26 entries. “The Committee loved seeing so many old friends celebrated in this class.” Sr Horse/Pony results & photos.
She also entered Bliss WH in Class 16 – Ladies Wicker Phaetons. for 3rd place. Bliss entry. Bliss looks great …
… hard to beat the fluffy legs. Wicker results & photos.
LCC is the reinvented version of the CAA Carriage Festival that we did in 2017 [Show Report]. Searching for these posts has been a stroll down memory lane. Dang, we had fun.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Awareness of the outside world. Medals4Mettle. An idea for what to do with athletic detritus, for those incomprehensible souls who are able to part with prizes. The website says marathon, half marathon, or triathlon. I still have a horse show blue ribbon from 1972. My medals are here to stay. Therefore, I will never have to find out if they would turn their nose up at my measly 5k medals.
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Medal, shirt, & cinchsack from the La Jolla Shores Virtual 5K. I did the walk and post in April [Strolling Along, Walk Report].
Yes, I will show off every shiny medal I get this year. What else I got to brag on? Not horse show ribbons, that’s for sure.
The goodies arrived a while back. They had to get in line for an open Exercise Thursday spot.
Since this is the second post on my walk, I ought to compensate with trenchant observations on the nature of exercise. Nope. About all you are getting today is Look! Loot!
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Awareness of the outside world. No one lives unconnected. Weather is shared. Water is brought in, used, and released. Poison travels up the food chain.
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Warning, nature in the raw.
To avoid spooking ophidiophobes, photo [HERE].
Snakes: 3
Cats: 0
Incident 0: “When we first moved onto this property, I went to check the barn. A slight motion out of the corner of one eye resolved into a humongous rat on a rafter above the aisle. Panning back revealed an equally impressive snake looped back & forth over the other end of the rafter. I shut off the light, backed out of the barn, & left them to resolve their differences. Never saw either one of them again.” [Crush! Kill! Destroy!]
Flash forward. Barn is home to a family of rats. I feared for tack and electrical cords. Too environmentally conscious to use poison. Too soft to use live traps and deal with the sequelae. Looked into rat aversion therapy. Internet suggested hot pepper and Irish Spring soap. Bought soap; have not tried. So far, leaving it alone and letting nature take its course seems to be working.
Incident 1: Snake falls out of rafters with rat in jaws. Lands on unoccupied chair. Chair moved out of barn. When I got to the barn, large snake was wrapped around the chair back, attempting to load the rat butt first. I watched. I know snake jaws can crazy expand, but this was a lot of rat. No luck. Swapped around to try nose first. Geometry more in snake’s favor. I kept checking. Eventually snake fell off chair. Slithered off with snake snack. Never found out if it was successful in consuming said snack.
Annoyed that I lacked camera to document this. [Dead Phone]
Incident 2: I found a dead rat in the middle of the aisle. Head weirdly crushed. I later reasoned that this is what happens when a snake kills you and tries to eat your face. Was sorry that snakes were having so much trouble with their food.
Incident 3: Another snake fell out of the rafters. This time with rat wrapped in its coils. Since the rats use the ridge of the roof as a highway, the snakes use the ridge of the roof as rat fast food drive-through.
By the time I got to barn with phone, snake had dispatched rat and was attempting to eat. Had the same problems with as previous snake. Smaller rat, but smaller snake. Took photo.
Unlike the prior snake, my presence &/or the click of the camera caused alarm. It started to slither away. I left. It did not return. I scared it off or it gave up on the mega meal. Sorry dude, or dudette. I gave rat a sky burial into the woods.
Yay snakes.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Previous Horse had rules. No. Previous Horse had Rules, with a capital-R.
For example, he had a specific show arrival protocol. He got off the trailer. He had a hay snack. He had a nap. I could shorten these to a bare minimum on occasion. Woe betide me if I skipped a step. That included trying to save time by grooming during nap time. In Traditional Chinese Medicine terms, Previous Horse was metal. Very, very metal.
Another rule was that he got the day off for shoeing. One time I tried to do an end run around that by riding before he got shod. History does not record exactly what he did in retaliation – this was over 20 years ago (really?!?) – but I never tried it again.
House rules develop momentum of their own. Rodney and Milton inherited this one. Made sense to me. New shoes meant new angles to their feet. Give them a chance to get use to the changes. I had no science behind this, simply squishy anthropomorphism. I’ve seen horses go from the blacksmith to a ride without turning a hair. It could be done.
Last week. Didn’t ride on Tuesday. Tired after second dental adventure [Hard Times Horse]. Blacksmith coming early Wednesday. Hmm. By Wednesday evening Rodney would have had a day off & most of that day to get used to his new kicks. Maybe I could fit in a short hack.
Ha.
Usually, Rodney licks and chews while getting shod. This time, he started waving his feet in the air as soon as the blacksmith was finished nailing. It was as if he had heard my plans.
He wasn’t sore. The best way to describe it was touchy. He was fine in the field, trotting and cantering hither and yon. As soon as I put a saddle on, he placed his feet with care, working the nomination for Best Dramatic Rendering of Evil Stepmother in red-hot, iron shoes.
Remember, he was trotting and cantering while at liberty.
It took three days of getting 50% better each day. Even after we had reestablished all three gears, he threw in a few questionable steps as we walked back to the barn afterwards.
I hath learned my lesson.
Follow. The. Rules.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Intro. My continuing efforts to document the moment. [Whither?]
Awareness of the outside world. Not everyone is able to stay home. I can, so I do. Although, the outside world is making that decision easier every time we go out. But I get ahead of myself.
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Let’s say you are a person who believes there is a global pandemic afoot. Let’s say you need cat litter. Let’s say you go to the cat litter store.
Preventative Measures
Sign on the door.
Social distance markers on the floor.
Acrylic barrier for cashier.
What Virus?
Once again, you are the only customer wearing a mask.
Cashier is not wearing a mask. Not interested? Not mandated by corporate HQ? Not provided by corporate HQ?
As you check out, the customer behind you blows past the social distance marker, drops stuff on the counter, and stands right up in your space.
Color Me Baffled
Do they think the pandemic is not happening? Do they think the pandemic is not happening to them?
It’s enough to make one pull up the drawbridge and fill the moat with alligators.
What’s it like in your area? Are you in agreement with the attitudes around you? Are you out of step?
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 