It’s been a few days of firsts, mostly season and weather related. Yesterday I put on shorts for the first time (don’t expect any photos of *that*), turned on the air conditioner in the studio for the first time, and watered various parts of the yard for the first time this year. Also got some of the first of the “kitchen garden” projects underway by planting my mesclun and spinach. I’m using seed tape in containers, which worked well for me last year, apart from the fact that I was a bit late off the mark then. Hope this year my timing is better.
Earlier in the week I did the first of my annual foal shots. My riding instructor and her business partner have a warmblood breeding operation down the hill from the riding stables, and one of my enjoyable tasks each spring is to document the new foal crop with photos. I usually make several trips to the farm, adding shots to my collection as new foals arrive. There were three on the ground when I was there on Monday and Tuesday, and I understand more have since made their appearance. By definition most young foals are cute and appealing (although I have seen some babies of the heavy horse breeds that stretch the meaning of these words) but every year there are always one or two that I find especially appealing. So far this year, it’s a little filly who was about a week old when we met. For one of the owner/breeders, it’s a little stud colt with an impeccable dressage pedigree. He’s a beauty for sure, but there was something about this little girl that I really liked. Maybe partly because she was so darn “camera ready”. Sometimes getting the foal shots can be a challenge. This young lady was one of the easiest to shoot that I have ever dealt with.
So, needless to say, you’re going to meet this filly in two of today’s photos. First one is a head shot, then one of her in action, right on her Mom’s tail (literally).
The bonus picture of the day is a hot-shoeing farrier shot from this afternoon. Alpac has an as yet unidentified leg injury (there is a lump on the bone, likely from a concussion of some sort) so I’m not riding until the vet sees him next week. As a result, I am lurking around the barn with my camera and was thrilled with today’s series of shots. I have to thank Norm the farrier for his endless tolerance (indeed, co-operation) with my relentless stalking of him as he tries to get his work done.
The “last” item is that I think I will be wrapping up the Friday posts for now. I might pick them up again in the fall when I’m in the house more, but for the moment I’m going to work on once a week postings on Mondays. I’m just not indoors that much these days, and any computer time that I do have should be used for processing photos and working on my Photoshopped art pieces. At this time of year I’m taking a *lot* of shots, with more coming along all the time, so I need to work hard to stay ahead of editing and organizing them. Actually getting the photos is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the amount of time I have to spend organizing, filing, and working with them.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
Last night when I went to bed, I fully expected to wake up this morning feeling *better*. I thought the cold was on its way out. Apparently not - I felt worse. I coped by having ice cream for breakfast - seriously, if someone is going to buy candy cane ice cream and put it in the downstairs freezer (which is right outside my studio) it’s fair game! Stalls got done a bit late, but they did get done. We had a mini-snowstorm mid-afternoon but it quickly passed over leaving little behind in the way of accumulation.
Pleaaaasssse? Or does it not count because it’s only half as good?
