Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. May The 4th be with you. I admit to wandering away from the franchise in recent years, but the first will always have a place in my heart. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”

~~~

Bird Watching and En Plein Air Painting Event
Taught by Timothy Joe
The Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation
Harpersville AL USA
19 April 2025

Perception

Reality

When in doubt, add text.

I jest. I had zero expectation of discovering latent artistic talent. Instead, I had fun playing with paint & creating color.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. National Hat Museum. It appears to have closed. End of an Era. Website has many photos, many hats.

~~~

Last year I showed in a fancy Derby Day hat. [Hey Kids, Let’s Put On A Show]

Here is how it was made. First, a huge thank you to my personal hat maker. What, you don’t have a personal hat maker?

Assemble the elements.

Cover helmet.

Add brim.

Fold scarf over brim.

Tuck in.

Add flowers.

Attach.

Et voila.

More helmet hat. [Guest Post: It’s Let’s-Wear-A-Helmet Day!] & [Safety Doesn’t Have to Be Ugly: Helmet-Hat Debut]

Onwards!
Katherine

Photography of the outside world. From friend, fellow blogger, & frequent contributor Life, the Universe, and Everything. “Please vote for my photo in the America’s Favorite Photos competition. It’s water droplets on a daisy. Voting starts May 4th.” LU&E: LtU&E: Photo contest.

~~~

Creek
Shelby County AL USA
April 2025

Technical Notes

Phone camera. Went out with big camera but photos were pffft. Second trip with phone. Meta pic taken on first outing, hence the difference in lighting.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. ❤️. [Over The Years]

~~~

Years ago, I was standing at the side of the ring watching a rider at an event do their show jumping round. Next to me was spouse of rider.

Spouse: They are really having a good trip.

Me: Don’t say that. You’ll jinx it.

Spouse: Oh, I don’t believe in …

CLONK!

Pole down.

🐎🐎🐎

Put this on the list of things you can’t use in fiction because no one would believe it.

Do I truly believe in jinxes? No. On the other hand, I never say a ride is going well until everyone has their feet safely on the ground. Make of that what you will.

Onwards!
Katherine

!

Awareness of the outside world. Dead white man’s clothes. I can’t determine how current the website is. I can’t imagine the problem has gone away.

~~~

We were on the first lap of our morning walk. The horses were off lead. I was taking point. Rain during the night had made the ground soft and squishy.

I heard a loud thump behind me.

I turned around to see saw a large brown lump lying on the grass several yards back.

Fortunately, before my shock could turn to horror, Rodney moved. He was rolling. He finished and hopped up.

Whereupon Milton said, Oh, we can roll during a walk?!

Whereupon Milton selected a broad muddy spot and dropped. He rolled thoroughly. He braced a foot to get a good angle on scratching his neck. He flipped over to get at the other side. Satisfied with his work, he heaved to his feet.

We now had two bays.

His gray coat was still dyed mildly brown the next day.

I love watching horses roll – once I am certain they are in fact rolling. They seem to enjoy it so much.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Space.com: ‘We learned so much that we didn’t know’: Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost moon lander mission was full of surprises, David, April 26, 2025. Hat tip Balloon Juice: Overnight Open Thread, TaMara, April 27, 2025.

~~~

Milton is cruising on Purina Outlast. It seems to be helping. It’s not ulcers, we’ve been down that road. We’ve been down many roads with him. Supplements, new feeds, husbandry changes. They help for a while and then don’t. Outlast seems to have staying power. So far.

Now we are wondering if Milton was truly fat in the past. Or was he bloated and puffy from whatever weirdness is going on within his digestive system? That would explain the pot belly. Current project is trying to get the right kind of weight on him.

OTOH, Rodney remains skinny, despite free choice timothy. He can’t get unlimited alfalfa nor piles of grain. Too many fancy calories and they start leaking out his ears, making him whack-a-doodle.

Thoroughbreds. Not know for being easy keepers.

Onwards!
Katherine