Another week closer to our eventual release into warmer and more hospitable weather. Progress is slow and with some ups and downs, but the snow is gone in some areas and we can now almost get all the way around our dog walking route without detouring around ice fields and/or deep puddles. I feel that I'm in a kind of "on hold" mode these days. Can't yet do anything much in the yard (although goodness knows there's lots to be done) until things have dried up a bit, ditto with getting outside to ride. Photo ops hold less appeal for me than usual since this is visually the ugliest time of year, especially for horse photos. The equine landscape is littered with the mounds of manure from an entire winter's production, no clean-up yet possible (as per my own yard cleanup and for the same reasons) and many of the horses have been enjoying a good roll in the muck, so they are often coated with a thick layer of dried mud. If I was in "grunge" mode I'd be thrilled, but I'm not (not in grunge mode nor thrilled at the prospect).
We had grandson Mark staying with us for the weekend while his parents headed north to weekend at the lake cottage. Most of the weekend was spent scurrying around going to various destinations and accomplishing small but necessary tasks. Sunday afternoon saw us all headed to one of the not too distant malls to try to purchase a couple of things. We ultimately ended up at Canadian Tire, each with our own goals in mind, and I was reminded yet again of the wonderful consistency of my experiences when I shop there.
I have come to think of Canadian Tire as "the store that never fails to disappoint". Doesn't matter if what I am looking for is in season, is a timely purchase, has been advertised in the flyer that came that very day (or the one before) in the paper, they never have what I am there to shop for. Sometimes they have sold out of whatever it might be, sometimes it is coming but no-one is quite sure when. Sometimes (and this is a personal favourite) they will check in the computer and allow that the desired item is indeed in stock and somewhere in the store, but no-one actually knows where. The only times I can ever find something to purchase are the occasions when I happen to be wandering through looking for something else entirely, and stumble across something I can use by accident. Needless to say, on Sunday all three of us came home empty-handed, as per usual.
Today's first shot shows that despite the ongoing freezing temperatures and ice-covered areas, nature and growth will win through. This is a little something (not quite sure what) that is already pushing out green leaves in our back yard, despite being almost completely encased in ice every night when the temperature falls. I'm always especially grateful for the hardy little perennials like this one that make their presence known before the snow has even left the garden.
Shot two is a "painting" I did with my new computer program (and which I still don't really have a clue how to use) from one of my Gypsy cob photos. I think of this one (a young brood mare) as "the bearded lady". This breed is known for extravagant "big hair" and it isn't confined to just the mane and tail of the horse, especially when they are in winter coat. One of the things I am keenly anticipating is the time (not too far off now, I hope) when this herd will be turned out to their summer pasture area and I can get out and do some decent photos of them.
You can check out the website for these horses here.
Shots three and four were taken at Ebon Stables over the weekend. Two of the young Pony Club riders (shot three) were indulging in one of the classic prairie spring rituals, one I remember fondly from my own childhood. Almost inevitably during one of these wading events a foot will hit a submerged gopher hole or other such hazard, and the boots will fill with icy cold water. It's pretty well a tradition.
I glanced out the end door of the stable and my eye was caught by a motion on the road. Something seemed kind of odd about what I was witnessing, although goodness knows seeing Terry driving one of the young Warmbloods is common enough around the barn. Then I realized that he was seated in a *wheeled* conveyance rather than the sleigh with runners that I've been seeing all winter. Yet another sign of spring. Hurrah.
Shot five came out of a visit earlier in the week to my usual herd south of the city. I had the settings mildly wrong (as per usual, it's an ongoing struggle for me to get things right when the lighting conditions are challenging) so my images were a bit darker than I had hoped for, but I played with this one and merged it with a textured ground I created in the computer, and quite like the end result. I know the theory (or am grappling with it at any rate) of how the settings *should* be for the low-light end of day shots I am so fond of, but in my eagerness to get shooting I often forget to apply this knowledge. Or else I have it right for the first while, then don't remember to keep adjusting settings to accommodate the changing light as the sun sets. Guess that's all part of what keeps me going back for more, in the hope that some day I'll actually get it all sorted out!
Edited to add: forgot to mention that part 3 of my ongoing series "Riding Lessons for the Artist" is now up on the Creativity Portal site .
