Drought

Yesterday was our 57th day without rain.

The last measurable rain in Birmingham was on September 18 with 0.32?. The last time we had over one inch in a 24 hour period came on July 30, when the total was 1.33?. No rain has been measured so far in November … We blew past the record of 52 dry days in a row (set in 1924) last week.
James Spann, AlabamaWX Weather Blog: Drought Conditions Continue To Intensify

Upside
Beautiful, sunny days. We did not freeze our valuables off at Nationals. I realize this is short-term gain for long-term loss.

Dry, tough hooves. No mud to pull shoes. Multiple resets.

Downside
Hay. Rumbles are starting about shortages over the winter. We are thinking about supplementing with a hay replacement.

Thrush. Despite the epic dryness. Rodney has it in all four feet; Milton, in one. It is deep, deep down between the clefts of the frog. So deep that I have to use a Q-tip to jam the meds in. The frog is so hard and inflexible that no air is circulating through there. Anaerobic delight.

Hope your weather has been more reasonable.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Nicknames

Growing up in the 70s, I was huge fan of two characters:

One: Big, brown, very sweet, & kinda dumb.
Two: Small, gray, quick, & clever.

Do you recognize them? The answer is …

MOOSE and SQUIRREL!

We are contemplating a group costume:

Rodney as Bullwinkle J. Moose
Milton as Rocket “Rocky” J. Squirrel
Katherine as Natasha Fatale
Greg as Boris Badenov

I don’t know that we will ever get organized enough to pull this off. Meanwhile, we are endlessly amusing ourselves referring to Rodney as Moose/Bullwinkle and Milton as Squirrel/Rocky.

mental_floss: 11 Things You Should Know About Rocky & Bullwinkle
Hokey Smoke!: The History of Rocky and Bullwinkle
Wiki: The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

Do you have entertaining horse/dog/cat/people(?) nicknames?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art: Pretty Postcard

ks-postcard

 

The Kickstarter campaign Lettering your Life – By Hand was soliciting funds to start a lettering business. Figuring everyone deserves a chance to follow their weird, I contributed at the Personalized Postcard level. (Blog post!) This was my reward.

Disclosure: None. Project creator is a total stranger. What I know is what you see.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Match Game

peace-carrots-header

Can you match 36 pairs of equine ears to their blog homes? The contest put on by Peace & Carrots has passed, so any participation would be for giggles and the chance to explore a large number of horse blogs.

Entries: Peace & Carrots: Between the Ears Contest!

Identification: Peace & Carrots: Between the Ears Results/Answers!

Caveat: The contest is officially over. The winner has been named. While I was able to make an announcement for submissions [Title Question], the contest itself opened and closed while I was consumed with Nationals.

Disclosure: I participated (not gonna tell you which one), did not send in any guesses (see above), and won the random prize drawing.

Good Luck!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Foto Friday: Horses in the City

Budweiser Clydesdales, Birmingham, AL
Budweiser Clydesdales, Birmingham, AL
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex
Photo Op
Photo Op
Bathtime
Bathtime
Trotting for for a checkup.
Trotting for for a checkup.
Stall set-up: Hay net, salt, bucket.
Stall set-up: Hay net, salt, bucket.

As a dutiful graduate of USPC, I was concerned that the stall bars were too far apart. Possible hoof trap?

Not these hooves.
Not these hooves.

As I get older, I am less and less amused by alcohol as an activity, as a source of comedy, or as a social event [Aftermath: PSA]. Therefore, I was ambivalent about this post. On one hand, free advertising for a beer company. On the other hand, Clydesdales! Apparently, my principles crumble in the presence of a pretty face.

King greets an admirer. Photo by Judy Tavakoli
King greets an admirer.
Photo by Judy Tavakoli

Clydesdales on RS
Superbowl Sunday
Bucket List – Accomplished
Postcrossing

Barn Tour on RS
Foto Friday: Horses of Colonial Williamsburg

Update #followthehitch

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

New Equipment: MMXTreem

Saddle Seat Wednesday

saddle

Shively MMXTreem

Sold the old one [New to me]. Borrowed this one for boot camp. Liked it. Bought it.

As you can imagine, a host of hemming & hawing lurked amid those brief words. Is this brand better than that brand? New? Used? Now? Later? Never?

I wish questions had one (1) clear and correct answer. How do I pick a path among a cloud of possible options, most of which would probably work out just fine?

Bottom line: It was here. I had ridden well in it. Bird in the hand.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott