Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. NPR: The dark origins of Valentine’s Day, Seipel 2022.

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Sweet Home Alabama Mural
Artist. Menace Two ☯️ Resa Piece
Birmingham AL USA
October 2024

Video. Instagram, @menaceresa: 08 January, 2024

By the same artists [Heart Of Gold Mural]

Technical Notes

Phone camera.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Bored Panda: Hey Pandas, Share A Picture To That Might Brighten Someone’s Mood, Zagórska, Feb 06, 2025. #10 My 15 Year Old Girl Eowyn. How Can You Not Smile Back At Her? Posted by Life, the Universe, and Everything: A few odds and ends.

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Rode Optimus for one of our occasional position dissection lessons. Rode beautifully. I have no idea why. Therefore, long post. Mainly for my reference. Trying to remember what went well.

Riding is isometric. This is the big takeaway for me. Riding is all about staying in one position. Granted, one doesn’t want to be stiff, but being too quiet is not my issue, in any capacity. So, if I move too much and I think of locking everything down, I will end up in the right place. In theory, a solid, steady position gives you a place to work from, a place to adjust from, a place to support your horse from. The details of the position may vary, but I think if I can nail this, it will help all of my riding.

There was much else.

First thing. Sit in back of saddle, the very back. As soon as I sit down, I need to be sitting back. I know this. I understand this. It’s all about making space for the shoulder to lift. Yet, deep in my heart, I do not believe this. You sit in the middle of a saddle. End of story. Despite years of horses telling me how they want to be ridden, see below.

Legs generally okay. I could probably do a bit of styling with foot position if I were ever to be in a serious equitation class.

Do not ride from the lower leg. Use it and remove it. (Noooooooo.)

Hands up. Generally, the forearm is level from hand to elbow. Depending on the horse and the situation, occasionally above the line, very occasionally below the line. For me, never below the line. Hands up. Always up. Up higher than I think is possible.

Bending the elbow is a much subtler way of signaling the horse than sticking ones hand out as if hailing a cab. Yes, I had a jump trainer accuse me of this.

Hands do not follow. (Nooooo.) Hands create a containment space.

Canter. Although it looked good from the ground, I could feel that I was lifting off the seat a bit instead of following. Loosening my middle fixed this.

Knees in. (Again, noooooo). Knees in puts the upper leg on. Helps you stay in position. Keeps you from sliding forward. In my case, helps keep my lower leg out of trouble. [On the Second Day Of Christmas: 2 Talking Steeds]

I felt that I was falling forward. This happens for a bunch of reasons. I have been known to lean forward, see link. The entire edifice can collapse onto the horse’s forehand. What I discovered at the lesson is that even if everything is going wonderfully, you can still get tossed forward. The energy of the horse comes from the hindquarters. This thrust can push you forward. The idea of ‘fighting it’ is too combative. It is something one needs to be aware of and fix if needful. [Trying To Get Back In the Saddle, November Lessons, me modeling the traditional Saddlebred forward seat (tip for nonriders, there is no such thing)]

From an earlier lesson, I remember that saddle seat wants the horse to be straight. No subtle curve that allows you to ‘See the inside eye’. Face forward, straight out of the ring. [Errant Body Parts, An ASB Lesson]

And probably other things I forgot.

An Ongoing Issue

At one point, I lost my head and used a little inside rein around a turn:
‘Excuse me, do I look like a hunter? If you care to ride me like a saddlebred, I will continue to go like a saddlebred.’
‘Oh, so sorry, my bad.’ [Show Report: Dixie Cup, Conyers GA] 2013

“I sat too far back, lifted my hands to my eyebrows, and started trying to fix it like a saddle seat rider. Sam is never happy with my ersatz hunter moves.” [Show Report: Team Awesome, Pro-Am 2016] 2016

“Shades of Sam. On more than one occasion, Optimus wondered what I was doing up there. ‘If you would care to ride me like a Saddlebred, I will go like a Saddlebred.’ During the line up, Optimus kept moving around until I sat in the back of the saddle where I was supposed to be.” [Saddlebred Steadiness, Optimus at the Ellen Beard Clinic] 2022

“Apparently I have bad habits that only come out at shows. How to fix?

Coach Courtney, from the sidelines: SADDLE SEAT!

Me: Oh. Right. (Back of saddle, hands up, knees in, etc. etc. etc.)” [Hey Kids, Let’s Put On A Show, ASHAA Fun Show] 2024

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. From a potato chip of a science fiction novel that includes typing cats. “A bunch of dudes born into money who used that money to take advantage of other people to make even more money. It works great until they start believing that being rich makes them smart, and then they get in trouble. Unless they find someone else to take advantage of.” Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Tor 2023). It’s just a story.

~~~

Rodney and I walked about the ring for a few minutes. Under saddle.

It was warm & sunny. Rodney has been chill on the lungeline. Someone – not me – proposed this idea on Saturday. My initial response was, No way. I reconsidered overnight. We have horses. We should do something with horses. Okay, I’ll try. I reserved the right to bail at the first sign of adversity.

Rodney lunged. I got on. Plan was to stand for a while. Rodney kept moving off. Not because he was jittery, but because he was trying to go over to accost the snack dispenser. Okay, I guess we can walk about. A few circles. Walked over the crossrail a few times. Declared victory and dismounted.

Rider, amazed: That wasn’t horrible!

Horse, amazed: That wasn’t horrible!

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Belated discovery. This swam across my radar during the Super Bowl coverage last weekend. NPR: NFL agrees to end race-based brain testing in $1B settlement on concussions, AP 2021. I am appalled and horrified. I also apologize for being surprised. People have been warning about entrenched reprehensible behavior for years.

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We’ve continue to walk in the mornings. Just haven’t been posting about it. [Winter Weather, Morning Walk Stories 14 Jan]

Been posting about other events. [Show, cold, & new tack]

We missed a few days of walking, as mentioned: snow, vet, zoomies (partial). [Walking Hither]

The horses missed few days. Obviously, Milton did not walk while at the vet clinic. Rodney walked one day, didn’t walk the other. I forget why. Once Milton came home, we gave them a few days to settle. I went by myself on those days.

Otherwise, we walk.

A few times a week, we have gone back to one horse doing a bit of lunging while the other one walks. Reverse the next day. In an ideal world, this would be a prelude to great adventures. Even if not, moving is good for bodies.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. I was this many years old when I found out about Alabama in California. “The Alabama Hills are a formation of rounded rocks and eroded hills set at the base of the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nevada.” BLM: Alabama Hills. “Beginning in 1920, Hollywood filmmakers began to take an interest in the Alabama Hills for its natural scenery. Since then, over 400 movies have been filmed here.” BLM: Alabama Hills National Scenic Area.

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New record! 10 weeks!

The weather contributed.

At 7 weeks, the blacksmith was busy.

Scheduled for 8 weeks. Cold. [New Minion Level Unlocked]

Scheduled for 9 weeks. Shoes still look good & rain was forecast.

Photo above taken one day before 9 weeks. This is Rodney’s left front, always the shoe to loosen first. If this one is good, his other shoe & both of Milton’s are good.

Waited one more week, et voila, shod at 10 weeks.

We are done setting records, barring emergencies. Nine weeks is their limit. Milton had slightly sprung (bent) one of his shoes and Rodney was just starting to overgrow his. Clenches were tight.

Speaking of emergencies, turns out the horses would not have been available at the 9-week appointment. Milton had other plans. [Milton Arranges A Spa Stay]

Proving there is a dark lining to every shiny cloud. There is a downside to waiting this long. We have to clear the aisle for the blacksmith. A lot of detritus can accumulate in 10 weeks.

Previous record was nine weeks. [Setting A Shoeing Record, Again]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Bookplate.org: Ex Libris: The Art of Contemporary World Bookplates. [Guest Post: Amy Kilkenny on Equine Bookplates]

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Two books, two stitch samplers, & a place card. The latter is brilliant, and should be standard for any class.

Introduction To Bookmaking
David West
MakeBHM
Thursday 06 February 2025
Class 1 of 4

Yes, this is exactly the same class I took last year. [Finished Books, scroll down for list of posts]

Why?

Before class, the nice instructor does all the prep work, brings all needed materials, and sets up. After class, the nice instructor cleans up, gathers everything, and takes it all away. I swan in and play with paper. Sounds good to me. [Gotta Start Somewhere]

And, as always, a reason to get out of the house and be around three-dimensional people.

This is why. Here, take this pre-punched stitch sampler. Practice patterns. Thank you. Don’t mind if I do. No muss, no fuss, at least for me. (BTW, the sloppy one on the right is me trying out a few more stitches.)

Last Year

For comparison. [Quick Books, Book Making Class #1]

Class Photos, Instagram @MAKEbhm, January 22, 2025

Onwards!
Katherine

🪄 🏴󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁫󠁿 🪄

Main Character: Alaska?! I’m an earth mage.

Dispatcher: They have earth.

MC: North of the Arctic Circle, they have permafrost, as permanently frozen.

Disp: The frost is getting less perma.

MC: Do NOT make climate change jokes to an earth mage.

Disp: Fair enough. The problem is we need a mage who is level two or higher.

MC: I thought we had someone there?

Disp: Yes, and they’ve gotten into a fight with the indigenous communities. They’ve retreated to their lab and told everyone to, quote, deal with it their own damn selves, unquote.

MC: Wait, I thought the person there was local?

Disp: They are. The leader of the nearest tribal council is their uncle. No fight like a family fight.

MC: There is still the problem that I have no power. Earth Mage. Earth as in soil. As in green, growing things.

Disp: Well, we’ve got someone there who has power.

MC: This is like pulling teeth. Just tell me.

Disp: We had a problem. The disagreement, as mentioned. We sent someone. It did not go well.

MC: Who. Did. You. Send.

Disp: Balthazar-not-his-real-name.

MC: Why? Why would anyone think that was a solution to a personnel issue? Balthazar-not-his-real-name doesn’t get along with anyone. He’d have a fight with himself in the mirror.

Disp: He’s an ice mage. He’s has been doing good work. Until now.

MC: He does great work. With glaciers. And icebreaker ships. And remote Antarctic substations were you don’t talk to other people for weeks on end. Do I need to remind you what happened in Siberia?

Disp: Do I need to remind you that we are limited number of mages to cover the entire planet?

MC, sighs deeply: How bad is the imbalance?

Disp: We are getting spikes as high as 7 dedis .

MC: Oy.

Disp: Let us not forget that Alaska is home to an extensive chain of volcanoes.

MC: Yes, yes. Ring of fire. Doom. Gloom. Dogs & cats living together. Fire as well as ice. This is so not me.

Disp: You are more than your magic. As you said, the problem is as much personnel as power.

MC: I know. I know. Of course I’ll go.

🪄 🏴󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁫󠁿 🪄

Afterword

The obvious title here is PermaFrost. A conflict between ice and earth. A substance composed of ice and earth. As with previous, I have managed to set myself up for a romance novel. [North To Alaska]

In this case, enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine. What is the trope reversal? A throuple with all three mages? Having his heart grow three sizes without a romance? A mystery element? A straight-up end-of-the-world urban fantasy?

The muses have not revealed specialization of the third mage. Perhaps from a magic system orthogonal to the earth/ice/fire system.

Talking animals would be a given.

Source of unit name, Dedi The Magician, credited with performing the first magic trick.

Inspiration. Currently ettending UChicago Graham School, Alaska: Indigenous, Russian, American.

Onwards!
Katherine