Life Choices

Spotted in the sleet. Note ice-encased leaf in the bottom right corner.
Spotted in the sleet. Note ice-encased leaf in the bottom right corner.

Last Saturday, we went to Stepping Stone Farm to feed breakfast after the ice storm. We live close by and the Fiat [Stocking] is a reliable, front-wheel-drive star in bad conditions [On Account of Snow, Snow Day Montage]. Laugh at the South for freaking out at a snowflake, but ice-coated roads are a nightmare anywhere.

As I have said before [Motivating], my stint as a working student was not the most fun I’ve ever had with my clothes on. However, one positive thing came from the experience. I realized that I had no interest in being a professional. I have never had cause to regret that decision.

Feed and care for my own horses? Fine. Feed and care for other people’s horses once in a blue moon (every 32 months (derivation, blue moon calculator)) as an adventure? Sure thing. Feed and care for other people’s horses twice a day, every day? No, thank you. Be responsible for ensuring that someone else feeds and cares for other people’s horses twice a day, every day? Not that either.

I did enjoy the sound of a barn full of horses contentedly chewing their hay. Peaceful.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Spotted on the windshield.
Spotted on the windshield.

An Inconsiderate Guest

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I was rude. Gina McKnight did something nice and I dropped the ball. I shall attempting to explain and remedy that.

I fell into the holiday vortex. The bad what-is-the-point one rather than the happy festive one. There was no obvious reason. I just wound down as the year did. I couldn’t get organized to drag my ass to the saddle seat barn for a lesson. I was screamingly late with a writing assignment. Reliability is usually one of the things I’m good for. I forgot to call the blacksmith to confirm. He came anyway, but thought the lack of contact was very unlike me. In short, December was a bit of a mess. Happy to leave it behind. I know it’s an arbitrary number, but I’m feeling very New Year, New Start at the moment.

One of thing I overlooked, wimped out on, was my guest post on Gina’s blog, Riding & Writing: Rodney’s Ready for Christmas.

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In my defense, I was out of town when it appeared. I got home, saw it briefly, then stuck my head back in the sand. I didn’t comment. I didn’t say thank you. Of course, the later it got, the more socially paralyzed I became. The post was also mentioned on her website, Gina McKnight Riding & Writing: Rodney’s Saga with Katherine Walcott

Therefore, I offer this post as public penance. Thank you, Gina!

Living in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains promotes inspiration and passion for creative writing; children’s literature, poetry, freelance, and more.  Gina is a graduate of Franklin University/Leadership Scholar/BA, Columbus, Ohio. Writing at an early age, an avid reader and lover of words, Gina continues to be encouraged by her horses, neighbors, family and friends.
Gina McKnight, Riding & Writing

Her Amazon page lists Gina as the author of three books:
The Blackberry Patch
To the Heart: A poetry collection
Poetry from the Field

& a contributor ( I assume) to a fourth:
The Significant Anthology

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art, AlphaBooks: A is for Anderson

2017-a-2

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Horse Show
C.W. Anderson
Harper 1951

In honor of his body of work rather than this particular book, which has more catastrophic falls that I wish to contemplate at the moment. C. W. Anderson’s Favorite Horse Stories & C. W. Anderson’s Complete Book of Horses and Horsemanship were fixtures on my childhood bookshelf. I remember staring at the covers more than I recall reading the books. I guess I was imagining a day when I would need to know about horses & horsemanship. The weirdly talismanic behavior of a horse-crazy kid in the middle of Manhattan.

 

Cover images from Good Reads & Amazon.

Since Anderson does not have an author website, two About pages: Author Factsheet & Pony Mad Booklovers.

Bought from Robin Bledsoe, antiquarian horse books and art books.

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~~~
A Authors on Rodney’s Saga
Abernethy, The Essential Fergus [Book Arrivals ]
Aaronovitch, Rivers of London [Energy Shortage]

[2016 Alphabet]
[2015 Alphabet]

Project explanation [AlphaBooks 2017]. Open to recommendations for the remaining letters. Which books would you choose?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

USDF Interview: Bo Lofvander, Back on Track (USA)

usdf-dec-2016-jan-cov

“Behind The Scenes: Bo Lofvander, Back on Track (USA)”
USDF Connection
December 2016/January 2017
United States Dressage Federation

 

A short interview with the owner of a therapeutic products company.

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©2016 United States Dressage Federation. Used by permission. Reproduction prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher.

[Previous Behind The Scenes]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Foto Friday: Instagram December 2016

December Instagram pictures on @rodneyssaga.

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Top nine of 2016, based on likes.

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Recap courtesy of 2016 Best Nine.

Despite a last minute resurgence of the camera [Snapshots], my old phone lost too much battery and was replaced. New phone has a nice camera and a long battery. Amazing how much better each iteration is.

Previous Instagram Post
Instagram Hiatus

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott