Another week, another month

Lots of happenings in the past week, and I am thankfully back on track health-wise and able to get riding again. I wasn't up to it most of last week, but since this coincided with the onset of summer (a week of temps in the 30s/upper 80s) and I am not a hot weather person, it was less of a hardship not riding than would usually be the case. I was well enough to get out to the barn on a daily basis and to get some photos done, and was extremely happy to have an air-conditioned car to do it in.

I have in theory had air all along, but at some point in the past couple of summers, the air conditioning packed it in and wasn't functioning. In a state of denial, I had convinced myself that really it did work, it just wasn't an effective unit. On one of the few warmish days last month, Jim needed to borrow my vehicle and after using it announced, in a definitive kind of voice, that the air conditioning didn't work. I finally called the dealer who wanted to check it out right away in case it was something simple (it wasn't) and the short version is that after booking an appointment for diagnostics and repair, I got the fix done last week right as the heat-wave started. Thank goodness for the extended warranty on this vehicle, as the repair bill was a few dollars short of four figures. I wouldn't have been willing to fix it at all if not for the warranty coverage. Turns out it's a really good air unit when it works so I've been very pleased to have it functioning the way it should have been all along.

We had a few of the annual family milestones last week. Wedding anniversary for Jim and I (forty-three years!! How did that happen?) and a birthday for the Boxer brothers who are now nine. Given that the average lifespan of Boxers is eight, they're doing well (not dead yet!). Mostly the stats on Boxers are skewed by the breed's high cancer rate, so if the boys stay in good health I should be able to get them into their early teens as I have done with most of my Boxers in the past. Nonetheless, they have to be considered "older" dogs now, and since the rest of my animals all fall into various parts of the senior range (the remaining cat is eighteen, horses are nineteen and twenty-nine) I'm afraid things are going to be challenging for us in the next few years.

Today's first shot shows the boys on their birthday. I usually try for a posed shot of them together on their birthday, but I preferred this one (not one of the "official" shots) since when asked to sit and pose Mickey always manages to look like a beer keg with ears, and a miserable one at that. This one was taken when grandson (and good friend to the boys) Mark was over that evening, dispensing pole beans from the vine into the mouths of the Boxers. That appears to be the secret to getting Mickey (pointy ears) to look enthusiastic.

Shot two is a close crop I got of Alpac one of the hot evenings when I was out tending to him and to my friend's gelding. I usually drag Alpac down to the west end of the barn a few times over the course of the late summer and fall to get these shots with the rich evening light.

Shot three is another one that is all about the light. I did some conformation and under saddle shots on Friday of a couple of promising young geldings from the Ebon breeding program. After the "formal" shots we turned one of the youngsters out for a run in the big turnout. The original shot wasn't good quality due to the prevailing conditions and where I was relative to him and to the light source, but with some work in Photoshop it has become quite a rich composition.

I got a heads up that there would be a couple of polo games on the weekend, so made it to both matches with my camera. One sunny and bright day, and one cloudy and windy day--made for a nice variety of light and feel. Shot four is from the second day where it was cloudy and less bright, but the bonus of that kind of day is that you don't get the harsh shadows of the sunny days. I liked this shot for the juxtaposition of the light and dark horses. I find polo tack to be quite interesting. These horses show a range of equipment from minimal on the grey horse, to a bit more fully equipped on the dark one. I know very little about polo so have no idea what the standard is, or indeed if there is a standard. Maybe it's just "whatever works" for the particular horse and rider. In any event, my ignorance of the game aside, these are photo ops that I always enjoy for their excitement and visual interest.

Shot five is the poster I made up for the art event I am putting on at the barn next Saturday. I think we're in good shape for this, so now we just have to hope the weather will co-operate and that people will show up to see the art and enjoy the site. Next week I hope to be able to report a big success. Time will tell.

The photo shoot that I *didn't* get this week was the Fireworks Festival which was held here on Friday and Saturday evenings. We went to the Saturday night event and I debated whether or not to bring a camera, and finally decided not to. Of course I was very sorry not to have it almost as soon as the display started. It was utterly phenomenal and would have been so interesting to shoot. I do have a very clear mental picture of one effect that I found particularly arresting, and I *think* I might be able to do some sort of re-creation of this in the computer if I can get some of the non-fireworks bits photographed. It would definitely be an "inspired by" artwork rather than images of the actual event, but I am mulling it over in my mind. If nothing else, it would be an interesting technical challenge for me. If I get it done to my satisfaction I'll post it here.