Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. My area is having a winter adventure today. Our local weather dude felt the need to say this earlier in the week, “Please understand I possess no knowledge of future road conditions in any specific location at any given time.” AlabamaWX: Still Dry Tomorrow; Rain/Snow For Alabama Friday, Spann, January 8, 2025.

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City Tree
Birmingham AL USA
January 2025

Technical Details

Phone camera. Big camera was brought. Didn’t want to play. Had sufficient battery after last use. Drains over time? Too cold from being left in car? Dunno. I would have been better prepared if this had been a professional assignment.

Was going for a tree/streetscape juxtaposition. No unpleased with result, given lack of long lens to fiddle with zoom & angles.

Onwards!
Katherine

The sad news first.

Come back tomorrow if you’re having a rough day.

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Shortly after my last post, Jasmine passed away in her sleep. Spent the day asleep. Was gone by the evening. Quiet as could be. Not even a twitch or a squeak at the end. Can’t say it came as a surprise. [Gotcha Day]

We took her to the vet for cremation. When the time comes, the plan is to take both dogs back to Boston to reunite them with my mother-in-law. [Meet The New Dogs & Confessions of a Confirmed Cat Person 6:30 pm]

This was the unavoidable errand that we had on the morning of the horse show. [The Winter Blues You Want & Getting Ready]

We miss her. Her last days were as good as we could make them.

In Other News

Rose is adjusting to being the only dog.

She’s not at all sure she likes this much attention. In the first few days, we thought she was looking around for Jasmine. Did she miss her? Did she want someone else to share the load?

She’s getting better about taking treats. That actually started when we were trying to find what Jas wanted to eat. Rose liked the concept of vacuuming up leftovers. Now, she will pick up treats left on the floor or in a dish. She has even taken a treat from my hand. Occasionally. [Gotcha Day]

She will join us on morning walk if it’s not too cold, nor too muddy. She sits with the cookie dispenser while the horses & I walk. We’ve built her a fort of cones and barrels that she can hide behind when the big-snooted, four-legged ones get curious. [Version 2.0]

So, that’s us for now.

Previous dog posts. [Jasmine & Rose archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. I got nothing. Apparently the new year did not bring riotous amounts of new energy. Feeling dark and cold. Much like the weather.

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Back to work. Kinda. Sorta.

After an unplanned break of several months, both horses are back at work. Sorta. Kinda.

They have worn bridles. Rodney got reacquainted with a saddle. Milton stood in front of the new cart. A few minutes of lunging. A few circles this way. A few circles that way. Walk. Trot. Canter. The idea of back to school has been introduced slowly. These are your desks. Here is your class schedule. Now let’s cover our books.

At one point, Milton declined. It had been cold and damp for several days. The previous night had been long. It was finally, finally, a bright, sunny day. Milton did not fuss. He did not protest. He just stood, immobile, at the end of the lunge line and said, No. Not today. We looked around. He had a point. Enjoy the sun, dude.

They even jumped. Or, I should say “jumped”. A cavaletto was set. Horses preceded over it. At one point, Rodney kinda sorta hopped over with his front end.

Even if they never go anywhere nor do anything, a bit of movement is good for muscles and joints.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Helpful? Harmful? It’s complicated? Fodor’s No List 2025, Fifteen destinations to reconsider in 2025, Fodor’s Editors, November 13, 2024.

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New configuration for morning walks. I call them walks 2.0.

Medical advice has Milton’s walker keeping weight off a foot. So, he sits at the far end of the pasture and dispenses cookies at each turnaround.

The walks are still very much a team exercise. I’ve tried walking the two horses by myself. Milton gets mouthy. Rodney does not want to be mouthed. Shenanigans ensue.

On the first lap of a 2.0 walk, Rodney has been known to be dubious until he sees that the cookie dispenser in place. It’s been this way for several weeks. What does he think is going to happen?

Milton chugs along. He likes the walks. He likes team meetings. He likes routine. This is what we do in the morning. He’s only a little smug.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. The Big Picture: Surviving the Next Four Years, The Big Picture and Jay Kuo, Dec 24, 2024. Useful activist advice for any time. If you don’t want to sign up, look for the small print “no thanks” to click thru.

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Happy Birthday

As Thoroughbreds, both horses age up on the first of January.

Rodney, born in 1999, is 26.

Milton, born in 2008, is 17.

Hand Over The Alfalfa

While we’ve all been partying for the holidays, Rodney has decided that he now eats alfalfa, thank you very much. Technically it’s an 80/20 mix with timothy. The result is slightly cheaper and much easier to handle. The 20/80 – timothy with a touch of alfalfa – is only good for bedding, in Rodney’s opinion.

I held out for a while, insisting he clean his plate. In theory, he would get hungry enough to eat. But I also worried that he needs the calories. I caved first. He now gets close to free choice 80/20.

He’s made it this far. Who am I to argue.

Bring The Blankets

Milton has decided he likes more blanket, thank you very much.

We started blanketing during a cold snap last month. [Let The Blanketing Begin, Weather Wednesday Continues]

As the degrees bounced up and down, we would mix and match the level of blanket to the particular horse and the expected temperature. Sometimes they both got blankets. Sometime only Rodney did. We left Milton au natural more often than not. We thought it was what he preferred. Milton made it clear that we were mistaken.

Milton is the second horse to warm up, so to speak, to blankets as the years go by. Mathilda turned her nose us at blankets for years, only to become a blanket hog in her old age.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. V&A. This was my favorite museum in London.

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My newest alphabet will be colorwork. The project is based on the historic embroidery technique of blackwork.

The plan. Draw outline of letter. Fill-in with blackwork-style patterns. To start, the interior patterns will be iterations of the letter. That may change. To be posted every two weeks, give or take, on Sundays. First letter scheduled for 19 January.

I am doing the letters in color because 26 letters in monochrome would get monotonous.

I am calling it colorwork because the result may not resemble authentic blackwork patterns.

No embroidery will be involved in any of the letters. This is strictly a computer-based design project.

The posts that got me started, Blackworkembroidery.org: Kim Brody Salazar & String-Or-Nothing: The Unstitched Coif Exhibit. Hat tip to G.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. “Whenever I’ve had a little TV spot here in the States, the reporter has never read SF, though the cameraman always has.” Sidelines: Talks and Essays by Lois McMaster Bujold (Spectrum 2013), in Travel Memoirs, Croatia, April 2002. Note date. I wonder if this has changed.

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How to keep up with a horse blog when your content is not cooperating?

The original plan was to ponder this question at length. However, that would involve whining about not riding. I think we can take that as read.

So, short version. The blog will continue.

As for content, I will continue to take up as much space as I can with what I have.

“OTOH, not unhappy that I can stretch the photo retrospective over a second post.” [Optimus is an Insta Fav]

“Yes, I am spreading this show report jam over as much post toast as I can manage.” [Getting Ready For Not Showing]

Sure, lots of things are technically happening with the horses. They keep us busy. But it’s all feed and water and poop. Not a lot one can say about poop. Although I have tried. [Scenic Poop 2023, “I’ve just spent an entire post considering horse poop and pee.” The Poop-O-Meter 2018]

Putting out into the universe that 2025 will bring to all of us interesting and joyful and uplifting content.

State of the Blog [Archives]

Onwards!
Katherine