Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. Made chit-chat with postal worker about the sneeze guards over the counter. I commented that I did not mind some of the measures that had been left in place. (A possible radical comment in my area.) They agreed and said they were particularly appreciative when it came to cleaning and they saw how dirty the panes got. All that stuff not getting blow into their face.

~~~

As I write this (Tuesday), thunderstorms are incoming. So I will be brief.

Cold snap. [What’s Up Wednesday]

One night above freezing and then cold snap #2.

The horses were fine au natural, even when the nights dipped to 25o, as long as they could warm up during the day.

Friday was cloudy and raw and nasty. No one got warm. Friday evening we dug the blankets out of the basement.

Rodney was cool with it. As soon as he saw what was coming, he stood absolutely stock still.

Milton fussed a bit until he realized that he was warm.

I think they forget, as we all do. Blankets have to come with a cost in terms of weight and movement restriction. I don’t need a blanket. I don’t need a blanket. Oooooh, warmmmmmm.

Right now we have warm & rain. More cold on the way. Then – crosses fingers – back to our normal ~60o/40o for a while.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Covid shot last Friday. Consent form had a space for the translator’s name. Never seen that before.

~~~

Going For A Walk
L to R, Milton, human, Rodney
Pasture
December 2024

When the other human sits out a lap, I walk both. They are pretty good about it. Provided I run interference on Milton’s bitey bits.

Technically an early afternoon walk. Hence the sun at a photographically obliging angle. On the weekends, the standard pre-breakfast walk has been known to occasionally slide until later in the day.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. PSA: Watch your buttons. I was listening to an online lecture. A voice piped up along the lines of, ‘It’s kind of boring. I could just read the book.’ They were not wrong. They were also not muted.

~~~

Beginning Forging: Blade Class
Hank Simpson
Shelby County Arts Council
Columbiana AL, USA
November 2024

On one hand, as with other classes, this one was a success, “I got out of the house. I interacted with three-dimensional people. I had fun.” [In Which I Make Bad Art]

OTOH, less so. One of the reasons I specifically took this class was to use the result as a hay bale opener. Years ago, a friend gave us a knife made from a railroad spike. It was awesome. Slash. There goes that piece of baling twine. Alas, the knife went walkabout and reappeared eaten up by rust.

I was hoping to make another. I worked hard. I made a knife-shaped object. It’s pretty. It couldn’t cut warm butter. Even sharpening by Blacksmith could not create a viable edge.

Back to the utility knife & scissor assortment.

Previous SCAC class [Journal Workshop]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Cute greetings from last year, Desktop Stables: Merry Christmas! December 25, 2023.

~~~

From last year’s tree design. [Fractal Christmas Tree]

~~~

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.

~~~

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.

~~~

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.

~~~

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