Virtual Brush Box

A Herd of Postcrossing Horses

Celebrating Art In Small Packages

Awareness of the outside world. Tons of it. Literally. See last postcard.
~~~

Back Copy
Siena – Tuscany – Italy
Palio della Contrade nel secolo XVIII
The Palio in the 18th century

Other Info
Painting by by Giuseppe Zocchi

The Atlantic: ‘Instagram’ for 18th-Century Tourists, In the 1700s, highly realistic landscape paintings called vedute gave European visitors proof of their trips to exotic destinations. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, May 25, 2017.

Back Copy
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Other Info
The square forehead says Tennessee Walker to me. Thoughts?

Back Copy
Before the railroad arrived in 1908, passengers came to
Steamboat from Wolcott via the stage. It is pictured here
in front of the A&G Wither store. (Ellis collection.)

Other Info
From here. Arcadia Publishing: Postcards of America, Steamboat Springs. David H. Ellis and Catherine H. Ellis. 2009. Also a book by the same folks, Arcadia Publishing: Images of America, Steamboat Springs. Ellis & Ellis. 2009.

Does not look like a comfortable way to travel. “A two-day, 74-mile journey over two passes with an overnight stop in Yampa.” and ” ‘We tipped over three times that day.’ ” History Colorado: Stagecoach 1890-1908.

Back Copy
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Other Info
Unless there is another one, this is the Stone Mountain Park: Confederate Memorial Carving, Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA.

Even outside of the subject, I’ve always felt this was defacing a harmless piece of rock. Yes, I feel the same about Mt. Rushmore. Meaning no disrespect to the person who was kind enough to send the postcard. I asked for horse, they sent me horse.

Of interest, “The carving is actually much larger than it appears from Stone Mountain Park’s attractions. Workers could easily stand on a horse’s ear or inside a horse’s mouth to escape a sudden rain shower.” CMC

As for the subject, Smithsonian Magazine: What Will Happen to Stone Mountain, America’s Largest Confederate Memorial?. Lorraine Boissoneault, August 22, 2017. Note the year. The current questions are not new ones. The carving was started in 1914 as a Civil War monument; it was restarted in 1955 as a monument to segregation.

Which leads, in a very small way, to the problem of history. This was the card I was sent. Should I ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen? Should I include it and use that as an occasion for a rant? The rant, BTW, would boil down to ‘WTF?’. I voted for posting, with commentary. Although I will admit to burying it in the back of class in the group photo.

Stamps

Norway. The Philatelic Database: Stamps of Norway: Birds II (2015), by William Cochrane, May 28, 2018. “The Norwegian Church Abroad, also known as Sjomannskirken or the Norwegian Seamen’s Church … ” Linn’s Stamp News: Food on stamps: pork and apples, waffles, gift desserts, Feb 7, 2014.

Netherlands. Virtual Stamp Club: Typically Dutch: Carrots (Netherlands 2020), Virtual Stamp Club: Typically Dutch: Sprinkles (Netherlands 2020).

USA. USPS: U.S. Postal Service Issues New Postcard Stamps, March 28, 2019. #CoralReefsStamps.

USA. Linn’s Stamp News: U.S. Seashells stamps: When and where they will be issued, Jan 7, 2017, by Michael Baadke.

The fifth card arrived from the Netherlands with an pile of handwritten numbers and letters on the upper right corner in lieu of postage. First time I’ve seen that. Something like this? Linn’s Stamp News: Germany’s plans for codes to pay postage, track mail, March 2020.

Previous Posts
Restart [If We Can’t Travel, At Least Our Postcards Can]
[Postcard archives]
Postcrossing

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Fiction Prompt Prompting

Words … or lack thereof

Awareness of the outside world. Today is about Tulsa. Racial injustice. Public health risks. Politics. Wishing as much harmony as possible to everyone involved.
~~~

A great setting for fiction, right?

It is/was the proposed location of the The Lowline, an indoor, underground park. Last time I was in NYC, I made a point to visit the station, eventhough there is nothing of the Lowline there [When].

It could be the setting for an urban western.

It could be the setting for ghost story of long-time commuters who haunt the tracks after they die.

It could be the setting for a post-apocalyptic fable, although that one is almost too easy. It fairly screams End of Days.

It could be the setting for a gritty, noir urban fantasy. Although, anything set here would almost have to be gritty & noir.

It could be the setting of a near future when the Lowline park has been built. Turn the above expectations on their head and make it a place of light.

It could be the setting for …

I got nothin’.

My fiction career, such as it is, has stalled. Partly my fault. I got rid of something that was working.

Despite going nowhere, our bills have stayed the same. I panicked and canceled my 750 subscription [A Place To Write, Answering My Own Question]. This was a ridiculous reaction. Why should our expenses go down? The hay bill doesn’t change because we are both WFH. As for the subscription, it was $5 a month. I can spend that on snacks at a pit stop.

Still, I purged several recurring, monthly expenses that had accumulated. Rational or not, that’s the line I’ve drawn at the moment. Besides, I don’t need a website to type 750 words. I am perfectly capable of opening a file and typing.

I am; I don’t.

That’s one avenue derailed.

I would have fun writing a book. Clearly, I enjoy producing text. I groove on refining what I want to say and wrestling with my understanding of the language for the right wording. Except, I can’t think of what to write.

This is not usual.

“I am assuming that if you want to write a novel, you have one or more things that you want to write about. If you really just want to write any old novel, no idea what, then I don’t think I can help you.” Patricia Wrede: Getting Started

Despite my brave words on this same subject in an earlier post, I grow doubtful.[What To Write].

I’d love to blame the pandemic. Many creatives are saying they can’t produce/are producing at a slower rate due to the world being on fire. In truth, I wasn’t much of a fiction machine before the flames.

I’m not whining. Okay, I’m not *just* whining. I am also asking for your help. I seem to do better with other people’s ideas [Ring, Bridge, Sixteen]. What’s up with that?

Anyway.

What does this atmosphere suggest to you? Who visits here? Why? What could happen here? What could NOT happen here?

If you give me the boost that leads to fame and fortune, I promise not to forget you. I will name you in my Hugo acceptance speech and send you a mint-in-box action figure when the movie comes out.

Essex Street Station.

NYC Subway.

Spooky, gritty, underground venue.

Go.

The Lowline

The Highline

The Guardian: The upside down: inside Manhattan’s Lowline subterranean park, by Jake Nevins, April 6, 2019.

Spectrum News: Low on Cash, the Lowline Park is on Hold, by Michael Scotto, Feb. 22, 2020.

The Subway Nut: Essex Street. Welcome to SubwayNut.com, a website that is dedicated to rail based transit systems and trains in the United States and Canada, and whose goal is to have a photo essay of every station on every system. The Subway Nut: Home

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Doctor Whooves Is Going Places

Photography

Awareness of the Outside World. Am I being socially sensitive or jumping on the cultural bandwagon?

Either way.

Happy Juneteeth!
~~~

An eleventh-hour purchase from the now defunct USPS custom stamp program. “Sadly, the U.S. Postal Service has ended its customized postage program and we are no longer able to offer PhotoStamps.” PhotoStamps.

Trimmed from the original [Doctor Whooves] so that I wasn’t sending equine adult content through the mail [Taste Vs. Authenticity]. Please note that the number is Rodney green. I may save these for mailing show entries. Think big!

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

The Strolling Pigventure, Walk Report, Flying Pig Marathon, Virtual 5K 2020

Fit To Ride

Flying Pig Marathon
Virtual 5k
Date, official – May 2, 2020
Date, actual – Saturday June 13, 2020
Location, official – Cincinnati, Ohio
Location, actual – Pasture
Time, official – 1:15
Time, actual – 1:12
Pace – 23:13
No placings

App, offical – Race Roster
App, actual – Map My Walk
Soundtrack – Mort by Terry Pratchett, alternated with quiet laps.
From the bookshelf – Nada. Wasn’t working as well as I thought it would. Let it slide.
Awareness of the Outside World – FPM: Greening of the Pig, FMP: 2020 Charity Program Overview

Official Vs. Actual, What’s Up With That
Date & Location. The race was originally scheduled IRL in May. That got canceled. The IRL race was to have been in Ohio, The virtual walk took place in laps around my horse pasture, per usual.

Time. After much dithering, which I will spare you, I decided to use the Pig as my June walk. However, they had a deadline of June 1 for results. I picked a likely outside time and sent in it to get my nose counted. No way was I missing Pig bling!

The time I put down ended being pretty close to my actual time. Note to self, if I want to finish in under an hour, don’t stop to make notes to myself.

App. To register results, one needed to use Race Roster. That’s why I practiced with it earlier [Cellcom]. By the time I got around to walking, I was so wildly non-standard that I didn’t bother downloading another app onto my new phone.

Most of the loot came with my entry. I bought the coffee cup as an extra. I may have gone overboard on the pig paraphernalia. How could I not? [Flying Pigs]

[Walk Archives]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Hard Times Horse, Alexandria VA, Guest Photos

Random Images

The world is vast & weird.

Vicarious travel for the win. Photos taken March 2020, early in the month, before the world went away. Welcome Amy. [Amy’s Archives]

Deja vu? Yes. I sent this into the ring prematurely back on May 3, 2020. Was excused and sent back to wait in warm-up [Together]. Yesterday afternoon, dentist called to announce that my onlay was ready, so I sent this back in [Outing Report].
~~~

Hard Times Cafe, Alexandria, VA, USA

“Originally a mannequin at a saddle store, the fiberglass horse you can see outside Hard Times on evenings and weekends is a local landmark.” Visit Alexandria: 6 Things You Didn’t Know about Hard Times Cafe, 1. The Hard Times Horse, of course, Kelsey, November 6, 2014

“Last July, a horse statue outside Hard Times Cafe in Alexandria was given knitted leg warmers, a big blanket and other winter accessories.” Washington Post: A Yarn-bombing with heart, Jessica GoldStein, July 1, 2011

Alexandria Gazette Packet

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

In Praise of Imperfect Conditions

Training Journal

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

I hate my riding ring.

I can’t half-ass my way around the downhill turns. I have sit up, sit centered, steer, prepare early, sit chill, not grab with the reins, be zen when it falls apart, then go around and do it again. and again. and again.

If we had a lovely, level, graded ring with a fence, it wouldn’t matter if my steering was occasionally wonky or if I wasn’t absolutely accurate in my position.

My riding ring is good for me.

If we had a lovely, level, graded ring with a fence, it wouldn’t matter if my steering was occasionally wonky or if I wasn’t absolutely accurate in my position.

What is beneficially imperfect in your life?

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott