I'm not entirely sure of the question, but I'm pretty sure that the answer is layers. Or at least that's one of the answers. I work in Layers (that's the name of a Photoshop function) to create my photomontages. I have layers of time, space and meaning incorporated into many of my art pieces. And this past weekend I went back big-time to *wearing* layers, just like I do all winter.
With the double whammy of the first outdoor horse show of the season plus the Children's Festival downtown on the riverbank, you had to know chances were good for weather developments. Which with these events very frequently means *bad* weather developments. So, starting Thursday (warm-ups and clear jumper rounds at the stable) things were extremely windy, cold, cloudy, and intermittently damp. I suppose from the point of view of the horses and riders, the cold was better than the very hot and stressful working conditions that sometimes prevail at summer shows, but when the wind is howling out of the north so hard that jumps are in danger of being knocked over as they stand there minding their own business, that's getting a bit much. I recall looking into the sky above the jumper ring at one point and seeing two blackbirds overhead, pointing north and flapping their wings as hard as they could. They were staying stationary over the ring. Any time they slowed their flapping down, they went backwards. Sadly, since all the spectator areas for that ring face north, there was nothing any of us could do to shelter ourselves from the blast.
By Friday and Saturday, I had figured out that I needed my layers back, so I headed off each day with a long-sleeved polo shirt as my base, over which I wore a fleece shirt, a heavy wool sweater, and my "light" winter jacket. Plus gloves. I was still just barely warm enough, and could have benefitted from long underwear or wind pants but didn't think of that until too late.
We turned the furnace back on, got the heater going in the backyard greenhouse, moved some of the tender houseplants and the few not-yet-planted bedding plants into the greenhouse, and wished the tomatoes good luck.
I'm happy to be able to report that so far, late Monday, we still haven't lost anything to frost, although now the clouds are departing and giving us a clearing sky, all the better for temperatures to plunge this evening. One good thing about cloud cover is that it does help keep things warmer, "warmer" being a relative term these days.
All today's shots are from the horse show. Shot one shows one of the rider's support staff (likely a dad) trying to catch a bit of shelter by the "outdoor facilities" while he holds the horse between classes. Don't think it was an actual bathroom lineup, although at shows you never know for sure.
This being Saskatchewan and still a farming province, you don't get too far in the country these days without seeing some sort of farm machinery on the move, since it is (theoretically) spring seeding time. Ebon Stables is carved out of the land-base of a working grain farm, so seeing equipment similar to that in shot 2 lumbering by on the road is never uncommon.
I was able to snatch this shot (photo three) of two of the equine competitors having a quiet moment together as they waited for their turn in the show ring. They provided a nice peaceful counterpoint to the general chaos of a busy show and the vile weather that swirled around them. Those bridle numbers are always a visual distraction in my show photos, but they serve a purpose and need to be big enough for the show judges to make them out, so I'm learning to accept them as a necessary evil in these shots.
Shot four shows ones of the "blanket people" who were in increasing evidence as the show went on and the weather continued to deteriorate. Everyone who could lay hands on a quilt, afghan, or horse blanket of some sort was trudging about the grounds, swaddled from head to toe. I felt we had the makings of a good science fiction B movie, titled "The Invasion of the Blanket People".
I caught shot five just as a big gust of wind and a whirlwind of dust blasted its' way through the warm-up ring, causing general havoc. There now, having seen all this, aren't you sorry to have missed this show?
One final note for anyone in the Saskatoon area. I will be at the Waterfront show (sponsored by the Saskatchewan Craft Council) at River Landing next Saturday (June 13) from 10 AM to 5 PM. Call by my booth and say hello if you are in the area.
