Tracing The Lee Branch, Photography

Awareness of the outside world. The 2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Feature Photography.

~~~

An adventure in urban nature. Tracing a small creek through suburbia. First post. More to come.

Lee Branch 280
Highway 280 near Hugh Daniel Drive
Inverness, Alabama USA
April 2024

Technical Details

Lee Branch at Highway 28O, f/7.1, 1/125 sec., 18.0 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]

For context, the Lee Branch runs across the middle of the image, between the parking lot and the road.

Onwards!
Katherine

The Pre-Show Lesson

Awareness of the outside world. Marie Claire: The Barn Jacket Is Fashion’s Hardest-Working Spring Coat Trend, Holzman, April 2024. Hat tip to M.

~~~

Circling back to what is becoming traditional – the lesson squeezed in before a show. [Hey Kids]

No saddle seat riding since March, although I stayed with driving lessons. In April, I sat on Rodney three times for Virtual Tevis walks, and had my charming New Barn hunter lesson. With a show coming up on the weekend, I figured I outta sit on a horse and remember how to ride.

But first, what I learned from an excellent driving lesson with Coach James. Corners. Steer in, steer out. Be deliberate with the line. Always another one. Optimus seemed to appreciate. He can do it by himself, but I think he liked to see competence in his pilot. He cut me some slack on a bad corner after I did the corner really well the time before. After the lesson, I was tired, almost riding lesson tired.

For my pre-show lesson, the driving enthusiast in the house suggested that I try riding like I drove. It’s been suggested before. Here I took it specifically to mean rein management. It was not the miracle change that I hoped for, but I think Optimus liked it. Reins. So many reins. Inside rein. Outside rein. Top rein. Bottom rein. 1-2-3-4. All good. Check again. 1-2-3-4. And again. Not lower leg & weight (as much).

I came to the conclusion that saddle seat riders have a constant conversation with their hands. Nothing that I wasn’t doing before, but doing it all. the. time. You could make an argument that the aids are correlated to how they want the horses to go. I would also add that it’s what the horses are used to.

How did we do at the show? I think I managed to do a reasonable approximation of what I had done in the lesson, mainly because I think that’s why he spooked. By riding that way, I was asking him to work. He said, Yeah, no.

Sam use to like trotting down memory lane & reliving his glory days. Optimus is happy with is current role of showing Walk-Trot with the littles. Some people like to get dressed up and be fancy; other like to stay casual and chill.

Or I could be deluding myself. Always an option.

Onwards!
Katherine

Bring On The Show, Bring On The Nerves

Awareness of the outside world. Olympics.com: Olympic Torch Relay, Marseille. Also, Inside The Games: Paris 2024: Olympic flame set for France arrival, May, 7 May 2024.

~~~

As the moon follows the sun, so a nerves report follows a show report. [Hey Kids]

A few flat classes at a small, local show on a kind horse. Yes, the nerves were bad. Yes, it was ridiculous. Take that as read.

Two possible contributing factors.

Snobbery

Academy?! Seriously? And I am not stomping this into the ground? What is WRONG with me?

No one ever said snobbery was pretty, nor connected to reality in any way.

Scheduling

Being at a certain place at a certain time is a skill I do not practice often, even prepandemic. My lessons are generally at non-busy times, when I get out there, when I get ready. For doctor’s appointments and such, one can be early and wait. A horse show class requires bringing self and horse together at an exact moment.

I’m not saying either one is a big reason, just small elements forming the hot mess mosaic that is the inside of my head.

Onwards!
Katherine

Mile By Mile, Virtual Tevis 2024

Awareness of the outside world. Well, phooey, “With a heavy heart, the Potomac Horse Center (PHC) is announcing its closure on Monday, July 22, 2024.” Potomac Horse Center, cited 6 May 2024. 

~~~

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

Rodney
8 miles this week, 32 miles total
8 outings – 7 handwalks, 1 ride

Milton
9 miles this week, 33 miles total
9 outings – 7 handwalks, 2 rides

Tuesday 30 April to Monday 6 May

All one-mile walks in pasture. Enjoying the walks. Not much to say about them.

Virtual Tevis Posts [Archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Hey Kids, Let’s Put On A Show, ASHAA Fun Show

Awareness of the outside world. ANA: National Nurses Week History

~~~

ASHAA Derby Day Fun Show
Stepping Stone Farm
Chelsea AL
Saturday 4 May 2024

Optimus. Thank you to The Bearden & Gray families.
10 Academy Driving – 1st of 1
40 Academy Showmanship Adult WTC – 1st of 2
41 Academy Equitation Adult WTC – 2nd of 2

The barn busted out with Kentucky Derby costumes & decor.

Hats for all. Skittles shows his Derby style. Photo by Courtney Huguley.

The Classes – First

Apparently I have bad habits that only come out at shows. How to fix?

Coach Courtney, from the sidelines: SADDLE SEAT!

Me: Oh. Right. (Back of saddle, hands up, knees in, etc. etc. etc.)

The Classes – Second

Optimus spooked. Twice!

Optimus: Eeek! A person! In a swirly dress!

Me: Seems legit. It’s a place where people usually aren’t. How about we cut off the end of the ring next time around?

Later.

Optimus: Egad! A tent!

Me: No. You’ve seen tents all morning. You are just looking for an excuse.

The Plan

I said I wouldn’t. “Will I do this again in 2024 for the 2025 banquet? That is not the plan. Twice is enough. Time to move on. Grow. Try new things.” [Achievement Unlocked]

Let’s be real. We all knew I was gonna cave.

The particular manner of caving came about because there is a show later in the year that Coach Courtney thinks is fun. If I only do one show, I should do that one. Well, If I do one show, I only need one more to qualify for the year-end awards.

This show popped up. A big show canceled. Stepping Stone decide to put on a local show as a replacement. Not only a one-day fun show, but at home. This show & the one later in the year would be my two shows for riding.

I was going to stick a toe out of my comfort zone and ride another horse. Bubba? Maybe? I mean, even if it all went pear shaped and we lost all our canters, if we at least made it to the line up, the show would count, right? Then, some off-blog stuff came up and I ran out of spoons, frogginess, pick your metaphor. I meekly asked if I might ride Optimus, please, thank you.

Likelihood that I will do a third show to qualify for driving year-end? Yeah, pretty high.

Onwards!
Katherine

Journal Workshop, Art

Art of the outside world. Artland Magazine: 5 Artists Whose Diaries are as Inspiring as their Art, Wolfe.

~~~

Art Journal Workshop with Chris Cruz
Shelby County Arts Council
Columbiana AL, USA
16 March 2024

Instructor website, Chris Cruz Designs

The Photos

My table at start.

My table at finish. Different table, I switched before we got going. All the tables had basically the same gear.

The Thoughts

My understanding of an art journal is of a recording of events with illustrations, such as BORDER CROSSINGS: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway by Emma Fick. Or perhaps constituting only pictures. Either way, I think of a journal as a diary-like object. [Recent Reads, Mostly Memoir]

The idea here is different. Colors, textures, mixtures being recorded rather than events. This is journal as test bed. Take a watercolor paint. Use lots of water. Label the result. Now paint with the same color, with less water. Label the result. We were encourage to experiment with watercolors, and pastels, and inks, and tissue paper, and anything else on the supply table that struck our fancy. The goal was to try things and keep records, not to make designs. Then, when you were ready to paint for real, you had ideas of what colors, textures, etc. you would want to use.

Since I do not own a single tube of color in any form, nor a single paint brush, this is not likely to be a process I will use. However, I had fun learning the theory & great fun playing with all the supplies. I may have made the artistic equivalent of mud pies, but I had a good time.

Onwards!
Katherine