FYI, Another Writing Contest

Writing About Writing

 

 
14th Annual Short Story Challenge
“There are 4 rounds of competition this year. In the 1st Round (January 17-25, 2020), writers are placed randomly in heats and are assigned a genre, subject, and character assignment. Writers have 8 days to write an original story no longer than 2,500 words.” And so on. NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge

Undecided about entering. I remain dubious about paying for contests, but I may be fighting a losing battle. Perhaps if I think of it as tuition for an learning exercise rather than as paying a potential market.

I suspect I heard about this one because I entered the two Gotham Workshop contests [Can You Write Short?]. I am now on their radar.

Early entry deadline, with discount – December 12, 2019.
Final entry deadline – January 16, 2020.

What think you, should I? Would you join me?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Proof of Concept, Race, er, Walk Report, Magic City Run 2019

Fit To Ride

USA: Happy Thanksgiving
World: Happy Thursday
~~~
Magic City Run
Birmingham AL, USA
Sunday, November 24, 2019

Results
Time – 54.26.7 minutes
Pace – 17:31 minutes per mile
Overall – 570 out of 627
Female – 319 out of 369
Female, 55-59 – 14 out of 16

My course map from RaceJoy. Race results are from official start to my finish. RaceJoy numbers reflect when I actually crossed the start.

Before
I will never run a marathon. I have neither the knees nor the patience. However, many big name marathons offer easier alternatives that take place on the same weekend over the same course. The B.A.A. 5K starts/finishes at the Boston Common and tours the scenic Back Bay area. In London, the Westminster Mile finishes in front of Buckingham Palace. In NYC, “Runners will zip through the streets of Manhattan, and finish at the famed Marathon finish line in Central Park—without running 26.2 miles.” Run Guides: NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K

Exactly.

In order to test the theory, I signed up for a local 5k. I had no intentions of running a single step. The goal was to stroll around downtown Birmingham enjoying the sights.

During

Unlike any other activity in recent history, I was not the slightest bit nervous. I had utterly no doubt that I could walk 3.1 miles. On a day when I hand-walk both horses and the dog, I can easily cover over 2 miles. The only adjustment I would have to make would be to hussle up a bit. My walks around the pasture are more in the nature of moving meditation than power walks. I needed some speed if I wanted to stay in front of the broom wagon.

Or in this case, the broom balloon. For the half-marathon, runners in brightly colored red-and-white Waldo outfits ran the course at set paces: 1:40, 2:00, 2:20, etc. For the half and the 5K, a Waldo holding a large bunch of balloons brought up the rear of the pack. It was easy to turn around to see how far from the end I was. After a while, I lost sight of the balloons.

I met my goal of finishing under an hour. I enjoyed walking without needing to worry about curbs and stoplights and cars and the total inability of drivers in most US cities to deal with the concept of pedestrians.

But I digress.

In addition to what I expected, the people watching was OUTSTANDING, both in the run and on the sidelines. One spectator group had disco music, silver lamé outfits, and a bubble machine. Since the race was affiliated with Girls On The Run, I was surrounded by preteens and parents in multi-hued tutus and related costumes. One fit gentleman of middle years was walking with three girls. He worn black pussy cat ears and a bright pink tutu. He was the definition of ‘Are you man enough to wear pink?’ I probably spent more time looking at the people than at the city sights.

After
I did get a medal. They ran out of 5K medals and handed me a Half-Marathon medal. It feels rude to show that off.

Will I ever take advantage of this in a major marathon city? Who knows. Now I know it is feasible.

Nod of appreciation to Marathon Runs for the photo, “@Copy Right: These photos are free to download/print/use for all 2019 Magic City Half/5k event participants” Marathon Runs2019 Magic City Half/5k. Border added.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

My Magnetic Personality

Adventures in Saddle Seat

 

 
My sojourn at summer camp with Milton – twitch, shudder – lingers on as a refrigerator magnet at the barn.

Stepping Stone Farm’s Advanced Camp 2018
[Camp Report, The Three Stages of Drill Team]
[Camp Report, Hittin’ The Trail]
[Camp Report, Other Lessons]
[Camp Report, Up & Over]
[The Canadian Horse & The Red Queen Take Second, A detour for background]
While I’m at it, my camp experience, or lack thereof, in 2019 [The Unexpected Anguish Of Not Attending Camp].

Faces covered because kids.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Abscess Treatment

Horsekeeping

 
Weekend before last, Rodney had a suspected abscess [Noshow]. We soaked it, per usual. After that, my in-house medical advisor wanted to DO SOMETHING. We settled on a poultice.

Start with clean hoof.

Pack with paste of Epsom salt and water and grits. Google suggested wheat bran. The store we tried was out of stock. My in-house chemist (he’s a terribly useful dude) realized that the purpose of the wheat bran was to act as filler. We found that Epsom salt paste alone settled to the toe of the foot. Epsom salts & shavings didn’t shift but didn’t pack as well. The point is to kept the Epsom salts in contact with the foot.

Cover with feminine hygiene product. Leave wrapper on for added waterproof layer. Neonate diapers would also work.

Wrap foot in several layers of tape. In this case, we prefer Gorilla to Duck.

Finished product – top.

Finished product – side.

Abscess behavior was gone overnight. Since there were still traces of Captain Pitiful, we kept the hoof wrapped a few more days, changing twice a day, then switched to a padded bootie. Rodney was sound in a straight line almost immediately. He continued to take the very occasional bad step. Hence the padded bootie.

Once we started wrapping the foot, we did not soak it again. With poultice instead of bucket a) the foot gets constant exposure to Epsom salts instead of 20 minutes twice a day and b) a paste on the sole has got to be better than constantly immersing the hoof wall in water.

Caveat. Although three experienced horsemen and Google were involved, no veterinarian was consulted during this process. Our first line of defense tends to be time and Dr. Green. Do was you will with the information. It worked for us. Will definitely keep in mind to try next time. There will be a next time. As long as we have horses, there will always be a next time.

Process Note
It took me two days of bandaging his foot before I thought, ‘Hey. this would be a good blog post. Let’s take pictures.’ Proof that the blog isn’t *always* the first thing on my mind.

Update. Horsemen? Two horsewomen and a horseman? Three horsefolks? I need to ponder this.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Stamps 2019, Post Office Murals

Celebrating Art

 

 

“Kiowas Moving Camp” (1936)
Anadarko, Oklahoma
One of the Kiowa Six, a group of 20th-century Native-American artists hailing from Oklahoma, Stephen Mopope (1899–1974) designed a multi-part mural depicting Plains Indian life. Mopope and Kiowa Six artists James Auchiah (1906–1974) and Spencer Asah (ca. 1906–1954) painted 16 murals with tempera paint directly to the plaster walls in the lobby, including “Kiowas Moving Camp.” They can be seen at the Anadarko Post Office in Oklahoma.
USPS press release, U.S. Postal Service Honors Post Office Lobby Artwork with Stamps

USPS sales page, Post Office Murals

Location: Anadarko
Artist: Stephan Mopope
Title: scenes of Indian life
Date: 1937
Medium: tempera
WPA – Works Progress Administration, New Deal Art During the Great Depression, Oklahoma

 

 
Process Notes
Despite an enthusiastic start [Year of the Stamp], stamps ended up in the ‘Interesting, but …’ bin. I posted four times last year and then wandered off to do other things [Stamp Archives]. My opinion at the end of last year was, “I will engage with these if an opportunity lands in my lap, but I won’t go searching.” [Dabbling in the Art World, Graphics 2018] A quick photo post of this year’s stamps counts landing in my lap.

Update
ABC& News: Anadarko mural to be commemorated with stamp, with video

“Mopope was also chosen because he was considered by Jacobson to be the best and most outgoing artist of the “Kiowa Five,” a trait which necessary to becoming the lead for the project. His cultural ties to Anadarko, home to the Kiowa, would provide an accurate depiction of the culture from his personal experiences.” Stamp mural is one of 16 panels. The Living New Deal: Post Office Mural – Anadarko OK

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott