Virtual Brush Box

Kitten Report, Piles O’ Kitten

Home Team

14 weeks last Saturday.

First they added length, like little kitten-shaped Dachshunds. Then they grew legs. Now they are bulking up. From an aesthetic point of view, I’m a little concerned about their heads. They have adorable kitten-sized skulls, which don’t seem to be growing. Will we end up with adorable kitten-sized heads on cat bodies?

The kittens have turned into full-on purr machines. They purr when I pat them. They purr when I pick them up. They purr when they decide I am a large, oddly-shaped kitten and dog-pile (cat-pile?) on me.

Still no names. Three-quarter tail thinks she (he?) might like to be called Princess, but isn’t sure. Long Tail & the Stubbies remain as before.

Lots of sleeping kitten photos.
1) They are fast when awake.
b) My house is enough of a hot mess that I don’t like having it show up in the background of photos.
3 or c) I’m trying to enjoy the moment rather than obsessing about catching the moment on film. So to speak.
Mostly, they are too fast for me.

Still haven’t see a pattern in who plays/sleeps with whom. Lots of two and three kitten piles. Not many 4 piles or 2+2 piles. Usually 3+1 or 2+1+1. If a kitten is off alone, it is often Long Tail. The male Stubby is the most likely to be meowing because he has lost everyone.

A friend was visiting when the pseudo-Siamese were young [Gratuitous Kittycake]. (That may have been the last time my house was in an acceptable condition for company. But I digress.) She said, “They look like popcorn.” These guys even more so. Apparently the accepted way to great one’s sibling is to leap high in the air with one’s front paws spread wide. Whaaa!

They are adapting to the dogs and other cats. Dogs and kittens ignore each other, by and large. The kittens are fascinated with the cats. The cats not so much. Much hissing and staring down from tall objects. The kittens are appropriately submissive to the cats. When reprimanded, they hunch down and back off. But they don’t back off far. I foresee bolder gestures of friendship in the offing.

The cats have a point. I was doing something on a table. All four kittens came to check me out. That’s a lot of eyes suddenly staring at you.

They are also fascinated with the bathroom, particularly the bathtub. The surest way to get all four together is to take a seat on the throne. They all come running in to bounce in and out of the tub, slid off the side, and play ruffle games with the shower curtain.

They are not jumping yet, but are climbing like squirrels. They’ve conquered great heights by climbing everything they can.

Note: As before, photos are in chronological order, not necessarily bearing any relation to the surrounding text. The border is taken from the tummy color in the four-kitten photo, not the color of the laundry hamper. I felt that needed to be said.

Previous
1 Our New Four-In-Hand
2 Kitten Report, No Toe Games

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

When the Stirrup Swings

Tackbox Tales, Adventures in Saddle Seat

Still no saddle seat. Reminiscing instead.
~~~

It was 2014. I was riding in my second National Academy finals. I had moved up to walk-trot-canter, which wasn’t as much of a big deal for me as it is for the average Academy student, I suspect.

I don’t remember which class it was. There wasn’t the feeling of infinte possibility, so not the first day. I wasn’t overcome with despair when it happened, so not the Eq Final pictured above. Probably one of the Saturday classes. [Show Report, list of posts]

I do remember exactly were we were in the arena. Right at the end of the ring, going past the in/out gate in the first direction. Details like that stay in your brain.

We had cantered. We were walking. I felt my left – i.e. inside – stirrup slip off my foot.

Crap.

I have a good leg position, which translates to my feet staying were they are supposed to be. I rarely lose my stirrups. However, when I do, they stay gone. Earlier that year, I had manged to lose both at a fun show. [Show Report]. This was Nationals. I couldn’t exactly pull up and fish around for a misplaced bit of metal.

So there I was, foot hanging in the breeze. We walked. They called for the reverse. ‘Okay,’ I think, ‘At least the judges won’t be able to see that I’ve lost my stirrup.’ Nationals may have three judges, but they are all in the middle of the ring. Sins committed on the outside are not visible.

I was on Sam, so I wasn’t worried about staying on for the trot or canter. I was worried about keeping myself from looking lopsided when posting with one stirrup. (One is actually harder than none. Try it sometime.)

As we swung around, the stirrup slipped neatly back on my foot. Off we went.

That was four years ago. I can still feel the stirrup sliding off and sliding back on.

Thank you for reading.
Katherine Walcott

So It Begins, Show Photos, Dressage at Full Circle Horse Park, Summer 2018

Jeremy Villar Photography

Dressage, CT, 3-Phase
Full Circle Horse Park
Pell City AL
August 25, 2018
[Show Report, Maintaining Our Firm Grip On Last Place And That’s Okay]

2015 USDF Intro A

Our first centerline. I know it’s looks as if I am pulling his mouth open. I’m not, see below. I have many sins, but riding with heavy hands is not one of them.

Horse is being a twink. Rider is clearly amused by this. Circle at A(?).

Our best scoring move. 7 for the halt.

2015 USDF Intro B

A passing moment of pleasant. Circle at E(?).

Loose reins, mouth still open. Milton likes to talk. Circle at B(?).

Joint relief at surviving our first dressage show!

More photos in gallery. Jeremy Villar Photography > online store > Full Circle Horse Park – August 25th > enter email > 286.

In many of the gallery photos, I look as if I am talking to Milton. I actually did pretty well at keeping my voice commands to myself [Into Each Life A Little Dressage Must Fall]. I think I am forcibly exhaling, which I do to keep all the hamsters in my head scampering in the same direction.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Braid Shade

Home Team

Under Milton’s mane, the coat is solid gray. As if the spots are a result of sun. Any coat color experts out there?
~~~

Yes, I braided for a small schooling show [Show Report].

It occupied my time while we waited. Turns out Milton needs practice in standing still to be braided and in having his neck hairs tied in knots. Better that he get used to it now rather than springing it on him for a big occasion.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

N is for National Velvet

Graphic Design: AlphaBooks

National Velvet
by Enid Bagnold
1935 Morrow 1949
Bought from Robin Bledsoe
Inkscape lines & cutouts
Gimp colors & finish work

Confession One. I chose the design because it was interesting challenge. It has nothing to do with the plot or the period of the book. Jessica Hische I am not, Penguin Drop Caps.

Confession Two. Major SPOILER. (Seriously, does anyone not know the plot of this book/movie?) I have not read National Velvet, nor am I likely to. Hearing about a person denied their dream due to gender? No, thank you. Not an appealing way to spend an afternoon. As I have said elsewhere, if I want harsh truth, I’ll watch the news [You Say Escapism Like It’s A Bad Thing].

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Horse Show Hack – Ice

Horsekeeping

The best way to keep drinks cold is good old-fashioned solid water.

We used to put our drinks in the refrigerator the night before and then use rechargeable freezer packs. This meant being organized enough to remember the drinks the night before and having enough room in the fridge. More importantly, this kept the drinks cool, but not cold.

Now, we fill the cooler with drinks, then dump one or two bags of party ice from the nearest gas station/convenience store. If it is a one-day show, we stop with Milton or do an ice run before we load. If it is a multi-day show, ice is our first order of business in the morning.

It’s not logistically convenient to buy ice each time, the semi-melted ice can be a pain afterwards, and we have had trouble with the cheap can’t-bring-ourselves-to-buy-a-Yeti cooler sweating all over everything.

However.

Having ice-cold drinks to hand has made all the difference in surviving sweltering summer horse shows.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Low Key Photo Challenge: Labor

Photography

Theme: Labor

Procedure
1) I post a photo on a given theme.
2) You comment below with a link to your photo on that theme.
3) We all click over to see what you have.

That’s it. No prizes. No rules. No submissions. For more explanation, see [Inaugural Edition].

Progress Notes
Another phone shot. Dragged the big camera out. Tried to be artistic. It was crap. I’m not being coy. Sometimes you can tell as soon as you press the button that nothing is there. I was aiming for gorgeous golden hour light wafting gently over a still life of muck bucket and fork, contrasting the sublime and the mundane. Ah well, insert Ira Glass quote, Advice for Beginners, beautifully illustrated by Zen Pencils. Still, I technically took pictures with my Nikon, so points for that.

Theme Commentary
“We must learn to honor excellence in every socially accepted human activity, however humble the activity, and to scorn shoddiness, however exalted the activity. An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”
John Gardner
Excellence
PBS: John Gardner, Writings

Hold the phone. I have been reading this quote wrong for years. I had only seen the second half, starting with ” The society that scorns … ” I took it to mean that we should not scorn plumbing as a humble activity. No. Gardner is saying that plumbing IS a humble activity but we should recognize excellence in it anyway.

Hmmmmf.

So, why is plumbing humble & philosophy exalted? I know which one I’d rather have working in my house.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott