Virtual Brush Box

Conversing with the outside world. All Things Linguistic: How to interact with someone who’s just given a talk – A guide to academic conversations. Gretchen McCulloch, 2017. Also applies to non-academic conversations where the power balance is uneven.

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The Solution

Free time imperiled.
Words coiled. Plea! Where in the square?
Brow clears. Found one more.

My entry for Squaredle Poetry Contest 2024 to celebrate the second anniversary of the word game Squaredle. I was not among the finalists. Winners are on the Squardle Discord server. I don’t know of any open access site to see the winners. Titles, authors, & one poem, r/squardle: Announcing the Poetry Contest Winners!! (reddit).

Afterword

Part of the rules were to solve a special Squaredle puzzle and then use 5 words from the found list in your entry, 1 word if the entry was less than 20 words.

I had 15 total words and 6 list words, for an inclusion rate of 40%.

Free time imperiled.
Words coiled. Plea! Where in the square?
Brow clears. Found one more.

I may have the poetic potential of a lima (list word) bean, but I can make words jump through hoops.

Note. This was written before the haiku clarification proved by janpriddyoregon. I intend to implement the suggestions next time. Or try. [Horse Haiku]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. USGS: Stream Ecology. Who lives in your stream? Water Resources Mission Area, 2018.

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Lee Branch
Greystone Commercial Boulevard
Inverness, Alabama USA
May 2024

Photography a small creek as it winds through suburbia. Previous photo taken downstream, across the larger road. The location is hidden by the tree in the top center of this photo. [Tracing The Lee Branch]

Technical Details

Lee Branch GCB, f/11, 1/100 sec., 48.0 mm, ISO 100. Manual mode & auto-focus. Post production: resized, border, & watermark. No cropping.

Border colors. Gray for project, yellow for Nikon. [Photo Safari The First], [Quarry, Photography, Things]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. U. S. News: PHOTOS: at the Pet Gala, Fashion Goes to the Dogs, AP, May 21, 2024.

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POV Jasmine. You are 13-year-old Basset Hound. You have one eye and a wonky back end. It still takes two people to administer your daily eye meds.

You go, girl!

POV Rose. Greenery. Nom. Nom. Nom.

Lore says dogs eat grass when they feel sick in order to throw up. She isn’t sick, doesn’t throw up, and keeps chomping the scenery. Enjoy your salad.

POV supportive spouse. Are you feeling badly? Poor dear. Go buy back-up Covid tests, just in case? I’m out the door. Want to sleep in? I’ll try to be quiet. Clean up after the geriatric dog? Nope, you’re not that sick.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. “Ugol’s law states that if you ask ‘Am I the only one who…?’ the answer is always no.” Tor.com: Do You Skim, Walton, 2010.

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Rodney is anxious about ridden walks in the pasture. I have no idea why. We started walking in-hand for the first few laps and have now graduated to riding all five. He takes comfort following but thinks Milton walks too slow. Can’t have it both ways, Dude.

Milton is chill. He recognizes that the activity is the same. Five laps (or three if we do the long route) at a walk, on a leadrope, under saddle, or pulling a cart. He seems to appreciate the regularity. This is what we do. He tolerates having to take point during the rides.

Lower the bar? We dug a trench and dropped the bar into it. Given that, Rodney and Milton are clearing the bar. Milton with more panache than Rodney.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Companion to yesterday, Vision Zero in the US. Vision Zero Network. Also, US Dept of Transportation: Safer Roads. Personally, I’d prefer better public transportation & less emphasis on cars.

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Virtual Tevis Cup 2024
100 Miles in 100 Days
10 April to 21 July

Rodney
6 miles this week, 47 miles total
6 outings – 5 handwalks, 1 ride

Milton
10 miles this week, 52 miles total
10 outings – 7 handwalks, 2 rides, 1 drive

Tuesday 14 May to Monday 20 May

Logistics

All one-mile walks in pasture.

Tuesday to Friday. Morning walks. Ride Thursday afternoon.

Rodney. Morning walk on Saturday. Then pulled shoe, once again hors de combat on a weekend. [Step]

Milton. Morning walk & afternoon ride on Saturday. Morning walk & afternoon drive on Sunday.

Monday. Morning walk for Milton. Blacksmith due out today (Tuesday).

Commentary

Out of over 1,000 entries in the Virtual Tevis, only 14 have logged riding AND driving miles. Yay Milton!

We swapped lead ropes one morning. The horses were perturbed.

The ride on Thursday afternoon was lovely. Beautiful weather. Riding with my husband on our horses in our backyard. I do recognize the good bits as they go by.

Virtual Tevis Posts [Archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Vision Zero. BBC: More than a million people die on roads every year. Meet the man determined to prevent them, Kremer, 19 May 2024.

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Nice to know the old man still has it in him. #shoeremovalshenanigans

Nine 16 days after being shod, Rodney took his left front shoe off. The horses have been feelin’ frisky. We assume frolics were responsible for the footwear decision.

Neat as you please. The divot on the left side of the sole is a shallow scrape from the hoof pick. The shadow makes it look deep. The only sign of shoe removal is a small chip on the outside, at 9 o’clock in the photo. Kind of admirable, in a please-never-do-this-again manner.

Ready for the pasture. We are keeping him up more, but can’t do 24/7. Crossing fingers that blacksmith has a slot soon.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. BMA: Guarding the Art, 2022. Hat tip to A. Rabbit hole below.

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[Fractal Alphabet]

Guarding the Art links

BMA: “Guarding the Art” Exhibition Guest Curated by BMA Security Officers Opens March 27

One of the curators. Hyperallergic: We Wanted a More “Punk” Exhibition; The Museum Said No, Mangus 2023. Considers opposing viewpoints. Overall, more positive article than the headline suggests.

NPR: Meet the security guards moonlighting as curators at the Baltimore Museum of Art

The Urban Activist: Guarding The Art: Baltimore Museum Gives A Voice To Its Community

The idea spreads, Phoenix Art Museum: Guarding the Art: A Frontline Perspective, July 2024.

More on the job of museum security. All the Beauty in the World, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me, Bringley (‎Simon & Schuster 2023)

Onwards!
Katherine