Horses & Other Interests
Book Arts of the outside world. Center for Book Arts.
~~~
Introduction To Bookmaking
David West
MakeBHM
Tuesday 11 June 2024
Class 4 of 4
Coptic Binding
Three-tone pamphlet stitch. The blue & black are running stitch, one up, one back. The red is gratuitous decoration.
Group Graduation photo
Links
Instagram post from instructor, @dwestart_studio, 10 June
[Quick Books, Book Making Class #1]
[Preparing The Parts, Book Making Class #2]
[Two Covers, Bookmaking Class #3]
Onwards!
Katherine
Claire caught up with me in the hallway. I could hear her stomping all the way from the elevator, “Why are we meeting in person!”
I took a deep breath and intoned, “Face to face time is important because humans beings are social animals. Millions of years of evolution cannot be shoved aside by a few years of technological convenience.”
Claire rolled her eyes.
“Well, if you knew the answer, why did you ask?”
“At least they will have snacks.”
That was true. Management might have weird ideas about mandatory in-person meetings, but they weren’t stupid. People are much more amenable about showing up when promised food.
At which point, we had reached the door to the conference room.
~~~
A VSV, aka Very Small Vertical, on the fiction-as-jumps measurement scale. [A Book & On The Mountain]
In driving, the division for minis is called VSE, Very Small Equines. “VSEs are under 99cm with or without shoes.” ADS: VSE & Pony Measurement Program. [Watching from the Sidelines, scroll down]
This post was planned to have several fragments, perhaps even enough to be a considered a course of Very Small Verticals. Alas, work.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Giraffe Conservation Foundation: World Giraffe Day. Also, have you met Finn, The Baby Giraffe? Appearing on Instagram Highpoint Haven @Gerald’s Life & TiKToK although you are on your own there. Dairy Mail: Adorable moment two-week-old baby giraffe Finn goes outside for the first time at Texas sanctuary, Saletta, 2 April 2024.
~~~
From the maps, it appears that the Lee Branch begins under the outdoor shopping center that bears its name. This is where the creek comes out from under the asphalt.
Technical Details
Creek Outlet, f/2.4, 1/129 sec., 7.0 mm, ISO 32. 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]
[Lee Branch, Greystone Commercial Boulevard]
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. DOE: Agrivoltaics. For subscribers to the Boston Globe, there is an article on agricvoltaics & sheep in yesterday’s edition. Hat tip to G.
~~~
Milton has been wearing a kicking strap since January. [Tack Update Milton]
Recently, I thought, Hey, we haven’t used that since it was put on. You’d think I would know better.
Last weekend, Milton had a short, sharp hissy fit. Hit the strap. Bounced a bit. Got over himself. Got on with the day.
Because …
They started the drive in a different place in the field?
He was asked to work?
He was asked to work in the morning? Tack in the morning gives him track flashbacks?
The world was too much for Young Werther?
Shrug. Sometimes you never find out what got their knickers in a twist. Next time, his driver dialed it back & everyone’s feet stayed where they were suppose to.
Strap did its thing.
Yay, strap.
Boo, needing strap.
Yay, getting back to work after.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. “Juneteenth provides us with an annual space to do so.” Vox: Juneteenth isn’t just a celebration of freedom. It’s a monument to America’s failures. Collins 2022.
~~~
Last weekend was forecast to be hot. So, we worked in the mornings and skipped the afternoon sessions. Neither morning involved walking by the humans. By Saturday afternoon, I decided I needed to move and took myself out for a walk.
We pause for a bit of weather math. At 5 pm on Saturday it was 98oF (36oC), with a RealFeel of 106oF (41oC). The humidity was 39%. Temp plus humidity was 137. This is not the heat index, a fact I learned while researching this post, NOAA: Heat Index Calculator. It is however, a number used to calculate when it’s too hot to ride. Under 130, okay. 130 to 150, maybe not. Above 150, no. Cited in various places, example Maryland Horse Council: Riding in Hot Weather.
As I walked, I thought it wasn’t THAT bad.
One, I’ve always lived at the warm end of the scale [I’m Cold].
Two, I was in the shade.
Three, there was a light breeze.
Four, I was at a leisurely stroll.
I decide heat calculations ought to account for things such as activity level & heat of the sun. Turns out, I had very cleverly sidled up to the concept of wet bulb temperature. I learned this from the Monday link, Vox: This number can measure how dangerous a heat wave is for you, What is the wet bulb temperature? And why is it so important? Irfan, Jun 17, 2024.
Other weather numbers, Reader’s Digest: What Is the Heat Index—and How Is That Different from the RealFeel Temperature?, Stathis, Jan 25, 2024
Fancy math or not, 98oF is too hot to ride.
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Vox: This number can measure how dangerous a heat wave is for you, What is the wet bulb temperature? And why is it so important? Irfan, Jun 17, 2024. The Guardian: Millions face record-high temperatures as heat dome intensifies over US, Helmore and Salam, 17 Jun 2024.
~~~
Virtual Tevis Cup 2024
100 Miles in 100 Days
10 April to 21 July
Rodney
9 miles this week, 90 miles total
9 outings – 7 handwalks, 2 ride
Milton
7 miles this week, 86 miles total
7 outings – 4 handwalks, 2 ride, 1 drive
All outings one mile in pasture.
Tuesday 11 June to Monday 17 June
Logistics
Milton. All mornings. Tues to Fri, handwalk. Saturday, hitch. Sunday & Monday, ride.
Rodney. Tues to Fri, morning walks. Wed to Fri, additional afternoon walks. We doubled up to catch Milton, got on a roll, & kept going. Saturday, day off. Ran out of time after hitching Milton in the morning. Real Feel of 106o even late in the afternoon. Sun & Mon, morning ride. Sunday afternoon off because hot, again. Monday afternoon off because shod.
Commentary
The pulldown menu for Activity on the VT logging page has Ride, Hand-Walk, or Drive.
To be pedantic, Hand-Walk is an inaccurate term here. The parallel to ride or drive is work-in-hand. You can do this at any gait. I’ve seen a trainer do a dressage test in-hand, by jogging along behind the horse at the trot. I don’t remember if they cantered. The Spanish Riding School does fancy airs above the ground in-hand. So, you could do VT miles by running along next to your horse. Last year’s IRL Tevis winner did a large chunk of the race this way. Equine Ink: Jeremy Reynolds and Treasured Moments Win Tevis 2023 Bridle-less!
Anyway.
The term works for us, although I skip the hyphen, because it’s what we do and is shorter than saying, walk the horses in-hand.
Virtual Tevis Posts [Archives]
Onwards!
Katherine
Awareness of the outside world. Lawns around us are sprouting signs – No Convicted Felon Camp. WVTM13: Shelby Co. residents worry about released inmates living next door, Crane, Feb 20, 2024. Given the political redness of the area, I wonder what the lawn owners think about the upcoming election.
~~~
Fly Sheet
When Rodney and I go for a walk of an afternoon. Milton comes out to supervise. Generally, he hangs in the ring and grazes as we march back & forth.
During a walk lately, he kept crowding us. Each time, he had a bug that he wanted me to swat. He really is bug bait.
We tried a tried a fly sheet. As suspected, it was too hot for him. On an only moderately hot day, he was sweating after a few hours. We will try again in spring, fall, or during cool spells.
Meanwhile, Rodney has been wearing it. Put on for the morning walk. Take off when the heat of the day sets in. We would not have bought one for him, but he does love it.
In general, he likes to be warm. Body temperatures that others would find too hot, he finds to be toasty. I know how he feels. [I’m Cold, You Need A Blanket]
Fly Mask
Milton has been wearing his facemask during the day. Now it comes off for meals.
He has slight hair rubs each side of his snoot. Yes, he moves his jaw to graze the rest of the day, but grazing appears to be a more leisurely activity. He also spends a lot of the day napping. Hay and grain are the frenetic snoot motion periods.
So, off when he comes in. On when he heads back out. Because our horse care routine was not elaborate enough.
Ear Tags
Revisited ear tags as fly repellent. [Tag You’re It] [Tag Report]
Tied one into Rodney’s mane. So far, it has stayed on over a week. Does it work? Shrug. We have ’em, why not use ’em.
Feed Thru
Looked into feed thru. Used for cows. The purpose is to introduce chemicals into the fly population once they have bitten the cows. It does NOT make the cows less biteable. (updated)
Previous
[Summer Is Here, Fans & Fly Masks]
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 