lesson notes, mmxvii-ix-xxx

Howsoever, he found the gate whereby they had entered yesterday, and he went out into the little dale; but when he had gone a step or two he turned about, and could see neither garden nor fence, nor any sign of what he had seen thereof but lately.

- William Morris, The Wood Beyond the World, 1894

snippets, 9-29-2017

Six reasons dance training makes us better human beings (Dance Magazine, h/t dangerousmeta). "...in academic schooling not moving up to the next grade every year is seen as a failure but in the arts, it is normal to stay in a level for multiple years..." (Illuminating - reminds me of Ray Hunt's Square One.)

park notes, mmxvii-ix-xxviii

snippets, 9-28-2017

Stray dogs started turning blue (NY Times). "Mumbai turns out to be a pretty good place to be a dog."

Kenya moves to curb the rise of rabies (The Guardian).

snippets, 9-27-2017

Rice art (Colossal).  Land o' goshen.

banned books week, 9/24 -9/30/17

lesson notes, mmxvii-ix-xxiii

After our lesson I got to take Leda on a solo trail ride - my first - and it was so awesome. We'd been a little off and on in the arena, and then it took me a while to get her pointed toward the trailhead, but once we were on the trails we totally clicked - she was listening for and responding to the tiniest cues.  Sometimes when you get that connection it's like time stands still and lets you be in the moment, you know, not quite knowing where you end and the fall flowers and the morning sunshine begin. (Oh yeah at one point we startled a large non-venomous snake and Leda was rock solid.) Later I visited with Hot Shot and Lady and said "so long" to the ponies, who are leaving for their new home soon.

What a great morning. I love this place.

cú, mmxvii-ix-xxi

snippets, 9-21-2017

The Song of the Wandering Aengus (3 Quarks Daily).

Neil the Horse rides again (Paris Review). "His good qualities include stupidity, gluttony, gullibility, naivete, strong legs and a big smile."

snippets, 9-19-2017

In Mexico, weavers embrace natural alternatives to toxic dyes (NY Times).

lesson notes, mmxvii-ix-xvi

Got to ride the lovely Leda again his morning. We had a fantastic lesson, with at least six or seven "aha" moments. Kelly talked us through a silky-smooth transition from walk to trot just by increasing our energy; I felt my back picking up the rhythm instead of bracing against it. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm starting feel like I might be able to get it. Leda's not going to make it super easy, but we were having a conversation today.

Lady has taken to hanging out with Hot Shot. Never would have called that one - they have such different personalities - but it's super cool to see them together. She let me brush her face with the goat-hair brush this morning. (They all seem to like that one - lots of sighing and licking, lol.)

The ponies, Hansel and Gretel, look sooo much better than they did just a couple weeks ago - the folks at this ranch do some truly amazing work with these creatures.

garden notes, mmxvii-ix-xv

snippets, 9-15-2017

How Renaissance painting smoldered with a little known hallucinogen (Hyperallergic). "The outbreak was documented in the British Medical Journal, which describes symptoms such as nausea, depression, agitation, insomnia, a delirium that includes feelings of self-accusation or mysticism, and hallucinations that commonly include animals and fire." All sounds pretty normal if you ask me.

snippets, 9-13-2017

For future reference: Texas bucket list hikes (The Daytripper).

trail notes, mmxvii-ix-xi

Took a day off to get my car inspection sticker and wound up having to have some nosebleed-expensive work done, like ten times what I'd mentally budgeted. But having the day off gave me and Cú time for a nice morning walk to the community center.

playground notes, mmxvii-ix-x

a nice evening romp at the school playground

trail notes, mmxvii-ix-x

A beautiful four-mile walk with Cú up at the river, mid-70s, low humidity, light breeze. We only came across about four other people (oh and one happy wet lab pup) so Cú got to do some roaming.

trail notes, mmxvii-ix-ix

Ondine's my morning girl but today she got a dusk walk - loved it.

lesson notes, mmxvii-ix-ix

Hot Shot is still on the mend so I rode Leda today. I was a mess - it was pretty discouraging. Afterwards I groomed Hot Shot while he was standing at the arena rail watching some other horses and riders at work. He was quiet and mellow.

snippets, 9-8-2017

'My pony was that good, I'd give him my lunch' (The Guardian).

snippets, 9-7-2017

Hayao Miyazki's 50 favorite children's books (Treehugger). This looks like a great reading list.

horse notes, mmxvii-ix-vi