My Crazy Summer

I'm impressed I'm actually posting before the end of August. Okay, it's the last day of the month, but it's something anyway...

Since my last post:
I discovered that Jul (Diadem Golden Jul) had cancer and was going downhill quickly. I called the vet, had a final grooming session with her, gave her lots of treats, and had her humanely euthanized. She's now buried next to Rho.

Diadem Golden Jul 1973-2010

My photography business is picking up a bit. In the past month or so I've photographed a dressage schooling show, a dog show, a high school senior, a rodeo, and plus sized model troupe after dark at a county fair. I need to get some more equipment soon, especially if I'm going to be doing more after dark and indoor shoots. On my list are one or two good flashes (I'm looking at the 580 Speedlites) and the 24-70 2.8 lens. I'd like the 100 2.8 macro as well, and I may get that first as it's a bit less expensive than the 24-70.


Bahim injured his leg while I was gone one weekend. When I got back, his whole leg was swollen. I cold hosed it that night and gave him some Bute for the pain, and made an appointment for the vet to come out the next day. The vet determined it wasn't broken but probably an infection in his hoof somewhere. She prescribed antibiotics and Bute, cold hosing and stall rest. He was fine the whole day, hosed him and fed him that night and he was in good spirits. The next morning he was dead. I think the infection went to his heart and he died in his sleep. He's now buried next to Jul.

CBA Bahim Shetan 1984-2010

I've been to Bristol twice this year, and it looks like we're going to try to get to closing weekend. We're also planning to go to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in the next couple of weeks. I'm still hoping to get to the Michigan Renaissance Faire, as I won a family 4 pack of tickets, but I'm not sure when I'm going to get out there. I have until the end of September I think, so we'll see what happens.

I've been lazy and distracted, and haven't been keeping up with my diet and exercise goals. We signed up for a free month at Curves, went for two weeks and stopped going, at first because I was out of town for a few days and SBC 1 wouldn't go on her own. We decided that it wasn't worth the cost membership, because of the trip to town and the atmosphere and such. I got off track with my diet, my weakness for throwback Mountain Dew and burgers may be my downfall. I'm trying to go for salads, but it's tough. I am working more veggies into my meals, and trying to eat more fruit too. I am drinking more water, though, and adding a little lemon juice for flavor.

Weight this morning was 184.3.

Home again

I had a great time at Anime Central, fondly known as ACen. I didn't get a lot of sleep, drank too much Mountain Dew, and ate very little. There was a ton of food, but I just wasn't hungry. I was nervous, but once I relaxed I had a great time meeting new people and taking pics of just about everything. Some of the guys on our press team gave me a brief tour, as did SBC3 before she had to report for duty at dispatch. Later she and one of her team mates took me to a really great photo vantage point, where I think I got some good shots of the costume contest.

I got a lot of exercise this weekend, mostly walking. I took the stairs when I could, walked the long way to the exhibition room, wandered around looking for photo ops. I also did some heavy lifting and such when we were setting up and taking down, and I also enjoyed some extra curricular activities as well, so I'm finding sore spots and bruises in the oddest places...

All in all, it was a great weekend, and I really want to do it again!

Weight this morning was 180 on the dot. Not bad for all the soda I drank.

Blargh

So, I was sick pretty much all week. Not in the vomiting, head cold sort of way, but the jumpy tummy, nothing solid through the colon sort of way. I think it may have been food poisoning, but my neighbor thinks it could have been the flu. If it was the flu, it's the weirdest I've seen. So I pretty much ate saltines and chicken broth, drank water and Pedialite (yuck!), took charcoal caps, and walked around like a zombie for most of the week. Fun. Needless to say, I didn't get in much exercise.

The charity photo sessions at CWC went well, even if I wasn't. There were a total of 6 customers Thursday and Friday, and I was asked to come in on Saturday too for a couple of sessions. I had a mini meltdown Saturday morning, but got better as the day went on (kitties and bunnies and good friends texting you does wonders).

After the open house was done, SBC1 kidnapped me for the rest of the day. We did some shopping, then picked up a friend and headed for Wausau. I had won a gift certificate to Tangos a couple of months ago, and still had some left, so we all had steak! Then we went to see The Losers, and I loved it! Lots of explosions and eye candy. We got home at 2am, and I eventually fell asleep.

Weight yesterday was 183.2.

Another busy-ish week

Last week had me traveling to the Burlington area on Wednesday. I stayed in Kenosha for the night, and Thursday I helped a friend dig up some hostas, daylillies and irises, which I now have to find a place for and get them in the ground. I went to lunch with my mom, to a nice authentic Mexican place in Burlington. I attended a meeting in Kenosha that night, and it was as fun as always.

Saturday, SBC1 and I were planning to go to the Midwest Horse Fair, but decided not to go because money is tight and I haven't been feeling well. My period finally started on the 14th, and it went a little longer than normal, with a little more cramping. I'm glad the appointment is next week!

Sunday was another band photo shoot for Snakes and Sparklers. It was a little more difficult, the lighting was worse and I was trying to get more creative. I think I got a couple good shots though. I didn't eat supper, as I wasn't hungry, but I did drink 4 cans of Dew and ate some sushi. I'm thinking I shouldn't have, as it still seems to be disagreeing with me. I also didn't get home until 2:30 am, and didn't get to sleep until 4:30, so that may also be part of the problem.

My weight yesterday was 185.2. My weight today, according to the nice lady who took my vital information for health insurance, was 175. I like her scale better. I'm walking more, but I'm still not eating much.

Fun times in Libertyville

I was asked by a friend if I could come down this past Saturday to Libertyville, IL. He was filming an event and was hoping I could take some promotional pics for him and some documentary type pics for the organizer of the event. I said sure, even though it was a 3+ hour trip and I probably wasn't going to get paid. I was looking for an excuse to get out again, and I was so glad I went. I had a great time, hung out with fun people, laughed a lot, and slept in a clean, peaceful room for a couple of days. Total bliss, and my idea of a great mini vacation.

On the negative side, I weighed in at 188.4 this afternoon. I still haven't had my period yet, but I'm not totally worried as I don't really cycle regularly. I am, however, scheduled for a GYN appointment at the end of the month, so maybe I can get stuff figured out.

Spring has sprun, the grass is riz...

I've been pretty negligent about posting to my blogs, or doing much of anything with the computer besides my daily morning ritual of comics, forums, networking sites, and mail, which usually takes about an hour, more or less. So since the lawn has been mown and the gardens tended, today I'm going to play a little catch-up.

The past few weeks have been busy. I've been working with Never, trying to get him used to having his feet worked with so they can be trimmed and doctored, but he's been fighting me all the way. He's developed a lovely case of thrush, and every time I try to clean and doctor his hooves he tries to jerk away, prances, and even rears a little. He's just not learning to give, and it's very frustrating. So I'm looking even harder for a good trainer. Someone close by would be nice, but I'll consider anyone within a 3 hour drive if they're good enough. Bonus points if they train dressage.

My aunt Astrid's memorial was on May 4th, and it was the first time in a while that I've seen some of my relatives. My cousin Eric, who was born the day before my 1st birthday, was back from Portland, Oregon, and his sister Laurie was in from Chicago. We had a pretty good time talking and catching up, and I have a place to stay if I'm ever in Portland.

I went to Rolex on April 22 and came back on the 27. It was a lovely working vacation, just me and my camera. I did what I wanted for the most part, met up with some old friends and made some new ones, and mostly just relaxed. I did a lot of driving, and thus a lot of thinking (I think my best thoughts while I'm driving), and made some decisions. Some were things I already knew and just needed to make them a priority, others were things that I put off and didn't want to think about.

I decided that I needed to really push my photography this year: advertise, upgrade equipment, advertise, take more classes, and advertise. I need to design a logo, make a brochure, update my website and portfolio, send said portfolio to magazines and websites, work on my business and people skills, and make new business cards. All this means I need to sit in front of the computer more, buckle down and do things. It's been so nice out lately that I've been doing more outside, but it's past time that I get to work and get something done.

I also decided that I need to put Tassel down as well as Sparky. Both of them have arthritis, Tassel's mostly in her front legs while Sparky has stiffness in her hips and hocks. Tassel is 31 this year and has had a charmed life, most of it spent with the herd she was born into. She's been a great teacher, easy going on trails, had two foals, and got along with most horses. She's in pain, and I think she's ready to go on to greener pastures. Sparky is 28, and is laying down more because of the pain and stiffness in her hind end. She has also spent most of her life with her herd, had a brief stint as a 4-H show horse, and had a foal. Like Tassel, I think she's ready to move on.

My other big decision was a back up plan or 'Plan B', if you will. Ken and I are getting a divorce, and Mom is panicked that Ken will screw me over, or that we'll have to sell the farm as part of the settlement. Ken wouldn't (that would take too much effort on his part) and we won't need to, but she did make me realize that I do need to think about 'what if...'. So I thought about what I would do if I didn't have the farm anymore. I needed to think about where the horses would go, where I would live, what I would do. I discussed it with Mom and Dad on separate occasions, and I think I've got a pretty good contingency plan. Dad would rather buy a place closer to where they are, so I told him I need to have at least 15-20 acres, and I'd be willing to share a house with John, my younger brother. Rumor has it that he's looking into a place between his house and Jay's farm that has 100 acres, a couple of barns and a very run down house. I would get the buildings and some acreage, and Jay would get to farm the balance. Plan B also includes going back to school, or at least taking some classes (probably graphic and computer arts focus), getting at least a part time job, and still working toward the goal.

Yes, even if I 'give up' on my current life and start over, I still want to rescue, rehabilitate, and retire horses. The current plan would transfer over to a new farm without too much difficulty, and SE Wisconsin may even be a better area for it. I would probably have to start by boarding a few horses, and make improvements and friends as time goes on.

So that's pretty much it, a basic synopsis of my life to date. There's other things that have happened (we got more chicks, I've caught up on bills, I'm looking to fix up the house...) but that's all stuff that I can put in later posts. Right now I have to go out and buy a staple gun so I can build custom scratching and climbing posts for the cats. Maybe tomorrow I'll write about how it goes.

Rainy days of Spring

It's raining for the second day in a row. It was windy and cold yesterday, as well as wet, so I kept everybody in. Today isn't was bad, the rain is intermittent and the wind isn't as strong, so I let the youngsters out and kept the old ones in. I let Never out, and I hope I don't regret it. He was inside for a little over a week and his leg seems better (he's not limping and he's putting weight on it), but you would think by his behavior that it had been years! Trotting here, trotting there, arched neck at the mares in the next pasture, he had to check everything out. He's cute, but what a goofball!

I've been working a lot on the computer lately, mostly because it's so icky outside. I've updated some stuff on my Duchess Hill Photography website, and I'm getting pictures ready for the Duchess Hill Farm website. I've made a new animated advertisement for my Cafe Press site, and I'm working on designing a new print and internet advertising campaign. I'm also going to be adding a link to my photography blog, and I'm going to try my take on the '365 days of photos' project. We'll see how that works.

I'm still planning to attend the Rolex Kentucky 3 day event. I've got the room reserved, the tickets paid for, meet-and-greets with internet friends in the works, and a farm sitter booked. Barring incident, everything is a go.

The Name Your Dream Assignment contest

A fellow photographer let me know about this, and so I've entered a couple of ideas for projects I've always wanted to do. You're only allowed 3 ideas, so I chose the ones that would help others out the most. If anybody feels these are worthy ideas, please vote and pass the word!



Thanks everybody!

Making progress

We've finally gotten to the point where both Willow and Alex will pick up their front feet with no problem. The issue now is keeping them up. Alex is better about it, he stands and doesn't hop around but he does like to try and pull his foot away while Ken is working. He's still iffy about relaxing and letting Ken hold his hind feet, but he did well enough the other day that we got them trimmed. Now he has four lovely trimmed feet!

Willow is another story. Like her son, she picks up her feet like a pro. She just doesn't like to keep them up and will dance and hop around until she's up against a wall. Then she demands a treat and and sniffs Ken - back and forth - until Ken puts her foot down. The good news though is that both fronts are trimmed and balanced and can now grow out properly and the toe crack is healing nicely. We're still working on getting her to pick up her hind feet, but we're getting closer.

We haven't been working much with Never because he's been really anxious about his feet, and tense and anxious in general. I think part of the reason is because he wants to get out and play after being in all night, so maybe I'll start doing some work with him in the evening. I can't wait for the snow and ice to melt so I can get him working in the round pen and work off some of his energy. He still thinks a little like a stallion, no mating urges but he still flirts, but I'm hoping that will fade with time and focused work.

We've hit a lovely heat wave, 30's and 40's with a little rain. I figure most of the snow will be gone by the end of the week. YAY!

I haven't updated my photo business site yet, but the farm site is up and running! Check out the Duchess Hill Farm website here. There are no pics yet and I'm not sure about the color scheme (the green is a little bright for my tastes) but there are lots of links on the links page and the most of the individual horse pages have links to their pedigrees. It should only take a day to get pics up and arranged. Hopefully I can kick myself in the butt and do it this weekend.

Another bitter cold day

After enjoying an almost warm week (highs in the 20's), we're back to single digits and less. It's currently bright, sunny, and 2 degrees with a wind chill of -12. Needless to day, Sparky stayed in with Gem for company. I hope to find a turnout sheet/lightweight blanket for her so she can go outside without getting too chilled and thus lose more weight. I wish I could afford a chiropractor for her, to align her hips, but all I can really do at this point is to keep her comfortable until Spring.

I've been doing some training this week, mostly with standing quietly and picking up feet. Alex was so good that Ken was actually able to trim his front hooves! We're still working on the hind feet, but he's getting better. He's a bit of a 'cookie monster' at the moment, but I'm going to cut back as he does better.

Ken was able to trim Willow's front hooves today. Her near front hoof has a long toe crack that fortunately is starting to grow out. She stood pretty well while Ken trimmed and rasped it, but she got antsy with the far front hoof and barely let him finish trimming.

Never is going to take more work. He picks up his near front hoof pretty well, but he won't relax and let Ken hold it for trimming. He's worse with his far front, he keeps pulling it out of Ken's hands. As for his hinds, right now we're just getting him used to being touched on his hips, legs and hooves. He's very sensitive and nervous about anyone doing anything back there, but with time I think he'll get better. I'm really hoping to get some more ground work done with him this Spring so I can take him in some halter/in hand classes this summer. I'm also hoping to introduce him to a saddle before Autumn.

Since it's so cold out, and there's nothing on TV this evening, I think I'm going to update my website for (shameless plug) Duchess Hill Photography, work on a blog to go with it (I know, yet another photo blog...), and maybe I'll finally get at least the home page for the farm site up and running. I should also get some more stuff on my Cafe Press site (another shameless plug!), but I'm going to need to find some more pics suitable for cards and such. Snow shots would be nice, but it's so freaking cold out and I don't have a back up camera if something goes wrong. I've also been thinking about possible quotes, phrases and logos for more marketable t-shirts and such, but I've been having the darnedest case of 'writers block'. If anyone has ideas or suggestions... *S*

Autumn weather

In Wisconsin they say 'if you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it'll change'.

It's true enough, especially lately. We had the expected 40's and 50's gray days for a week or so (we even had some flurries!), then suddenly it's sunny and 74! After a couple of days of bliss, we're back to 50's and rainy, with the possibility of snow this weekend. At least I'm being given a chance to finish up with the outside work before it freezes.

Don't get me wrong, I like Winter, to a point. I like snow and ice, but I like it in small bits on my terms. It looks very pretty from my office window, and through the viewfinder of my camera. I don't spend a lot of time outside in the snow, I go out to feed and water and let everyone in and out and that's about it. If I could, I'd have my groceries and feed delivered and use the money saved on gas to get the movie channels and buy more books.

I’m planning on using the time spent inside this winter to get my photo business plan revamped and ready for next season. The big priority is advertising, I need to do more of it. I need to redesign my business cards, set up brochures or flyers, come up with newspaper and magazine ads, and keep in contact with my customers. I’m thinking of starting a blog specifically for the business.

I also want to make myself known to publishers and magazine editors, so I can get published and get my press credentials for Rolex 2009, and eventually the World Equestrian Games in 2010. I would dearly love to be able to cover the entire 16 days for a publication, maybe get my meals covered, a hotel room would be nice but I can sleep anywhere, really.

Anyway, this will be may third year officially in business, and I hope to break even for a change, or at least upgrade some of my equipment.


In other news, Alex is doing well. He seems pretty level headed for the most part, but he does have a tendency to freak out at times. He gets jumpy if you touch him anywhere that he's not used to (his belly, mostly), but he's still pretty okay about his feet. He needs to learn to stand better while you're holding them, but at least he'll pick them up without kicking. We're going to learn to tie pretty soon, that should be fun.