Horses & Other Interests
Awareness of the outside world. Cute greetings from last year, Desktop Stables: Merry Christmas! 3.
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From last year’s tree design. [Fractal Christmas Tree]
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Update. two images redone. Turns out rotating an asymmetrical design requires greater attention to detail.
First iterations. Can you see the error? I didn’t until after the post was published.
More update.
In the spirit of graphic inquiry, here is an alternate version of one of the redos. I think it looks spikier.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Whatever Holiday Gift Guide 2024. Traditionally Published Books. Non-Traditional Books. Arts, Crafts, Music and More. Fan Favorites! Charities.
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A while back, I was asked to join the cool kids.
Screenshot
September 2024
(name & contact redacted)
A pet apparel brand asked if I wanted to be an influencer. From the photos, which I did not include, the brand is mainly aimed at dogs.
Screenshot
September 2024
This is my Instagram home screen at the time. What part of this shouts pet apparel? Cats, horses, metal chicken? Sure. Dogs, pet apparel? Not so much.
Repost [Instagram Wrap-up 2022]
The most recent dog photo on this Instagram account was December 2022.
The ways of marketing are a mystery,
Instagram, @virtual_brush_box. Used now as a notification account for the blog. Several other iterations litter the landscape. [Contact Page History]
State of the Blog [Archives]
Onwards!
Katherine
Unless suddenly inspired, I’m taking a break from big camera adventures until January. Capitalize on that new year energy. Here’s one from the vaults.
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Bubbles
June 2024
Appeared between short videos I took of Milton driving. So, either our pasture, or the inside of my pocket. Also, weirdly tall (or wide) at 710 pixels instead the usual 533 pixels. An inadvertent video still?
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Alabama News Center: Alabama Power’s Lineworker Career Day introduces students to utility linework, career opportunities and more, Taunton, 11.29.24.
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Had two lessons at Stepping Stone Farm in November, both with Diego, a new horse.
Regardless of my mental agita before, I usually feel better after a ride. Not so much. Coach Courtney videoed my ride to cheer me up. Didn’t work. She didn’t think I looked all that bad, functional was the word she used. All I saw was the reemergence of every bad habit I’ve ever had.
Twelve years of saddle seat goes poof. (I can’t remember the photographer, apologies.)
Second lesson was better but still nowhere near what I ought to be doing. Probably won’t get fixed until I get my own riding career back on track. Yes, I’m a drama llama. This is not news. One has to deal with the brain one is given.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Stateline: Manufacturing already has made a comeback, After the pandemic, small cities led the first full recession recovery for factory jobs since the ’70s. Henderson, November 12, 2024. Hat tip to A.
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What’s up lately? My step count. So many steps.
Cold snap. Time to carry hot water to the barn. To be honest, they already have daily tea service. But we ramp it up for below-freezing nights.
Since I am a better walker than I am a lifter, I prefer to make two trips carrying a half-full bucket each time rather than lug a full bucket. Lighter. Less splash.
But lots of steps.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. CNN: How lavender became a symbol of LGBTQ resistance, Hastings 2020. Hat tip, The Lavender Trail. “The Lavender Trail is a counseling service that provides mental health support to individuals and couples in need.” FAQ
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H-O-R-S-E
not
D-E-E-R
Please pause to admire the length of Rodney’s mane. I am considering cosplaying him as a Saddlebred.
Prior Perennial Posts
[Foto Friday: Don’t Shoot] 2012
[R is for Ribbon] 2019
[Seasonal Decoration] 2023
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. “imagine if someone promised human cloning then handed you an animatronic baby, and when you pointed out it was a robot covered in rubber, they told you the technology would improve, while someone from WIRED wrote an article about how they believed it was a baby/ /this is genAI” Tim Dawson @ironicaccount.bsky.social, Blue Sky, November 22, 2024. Hat tip to A.
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Nine weeks!
Horses went nine weeks between shoeings.
And not by the skin of a nail either. Rodney’s clenches were juuust starting to come up. (For the non-horsey, loose clenches are a sign that a blacksmith visit is imminent.) I almost thought of putting it off another week. Then, I thought, ‘No, they’re due, let’s get them done.’
Actually, what I said to myself was ‘lets get them done, it’s been 8 weeks.’ Because I miscounted. Then, I looked at previous date. What?! Counted twice. Made husband count. Made blacksmith count. Yup, 9 weeks.
The record was not intentional. First blacksmith suffered schedule shenanigans. Then offered to come on a Saturday to catch up. I said horses could wait, and they did. Then we had scheduling shenanigans. Voilà 9 weeks.
Even when I thought it had been 8 weeks, I was impressed at the condition of Rodney’s feet. A combination of good blacksmithing,
pine tar, [Feet Change]&[Pine Tar Update and New Barn Rule]
good hay, [What Goes In The Mouth Effects The Feet]
& walks. [Circulation Considerations]
Previous record was 8 weeks, twice. [What Goes In The Mouth Effects The Feet] & [Setting a Summer Shoeing Record]
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 