Sunday Stills Challenge - Red

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge was "Red." OF course, there are lots of shades of red and that is true in the equine industry as well. Those who are into horses know that genetically there are two basic coat colors in horses, black and red, with red being recessive. There are lots of reasons why a true black coat is not often seen and there are lots of other color coats that we do see. That all has to do with modifiers. But for the purpose of this challenge the horse in the picture has what is considered to be a RED coat color.

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Sunday Stills Challenge - Animals of Husbandry

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge was "Animals of Husbandry." First off I read this wrong and instead thought it was Animal Husbandry. That left me thinking how could I do something fun about the process of taking care of my horses. However, scooping poop just is not pretty no matter how hard you try. Mt Manure is never going to be on a list of tourist attractions and grooming and feeding horses is dirty work and really not fun to photograph.



Then on closer inspection I realized my mistake sometime this morning. Getting the horses to co-operate by staying within the field of vision of my camera was definitely not on their minds. While there really is a small herd of horses in that field, I never did manage to capture all of them in one shot. That's what I get for only taking a quick glance at the task in the first place. If I'd have gotten it right the first time around I'd have had days to get this post right......if there really is a right. LOL

Sunday Stills Challenge - Water......and Arabian Horses, of course!

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge was "Water." I knew when I first saw this challenge what I wanted to post but didn't know if my horses would co-operate. Since "water" seems to be one of their favorite things.........there's no telling what will happen when they're turned out near the creek.



Sometimes there's lots of slashing. Other times there are what you'd have to call downright water fights as they throw themselves into the creek to get another horse drenched. When that happens in the winter, it always makes me shudder from the very thought of that cold cold water......

In these pictures we have a band of fillies and mares, my Legs' daughters to be exact. After just being turned out after a few days cooped up inside, I was hoping there'd be lots of "water" play.



The girls first ran around bucking and kicking with even a bit of squealing thrown in. It wasn't until they began to settle a bit that they headed for the creek. I knew then that the "wild water" was going to be out yet I still held out hope for some kind of water games.



With my camera in hand (now when did that ever work with horses?) I stood there hoping for some kind of action shots but the only game these horses wanted to play was "sentinel." An ok game for the horses but not nearly so much fun for the photographer.

But sentinel is what it was. Gypcy and Rhapsody went on point while the others blew in the water. (Drinking out of the creek seems not to be much of a priority, it's mostly about play to this herd.) Until Gypcy and Rhapsody decided it was time to alert the herd and flee.......probably laughing along the way with more bucking and kicking and a little cavorting thrown in for good measure.



This last picture is the same spot in the creek where the fillies had played. If the creek bed could speak I wonder what stories it would tell about these horses and their antics.

Well, that's it for my Sunday Stills Challenge this week. I'd really hoped to get pictures of the major water fights but with camera in hand there probably wasn't much chance of that. I'm sure I'll see those games again when my camera is in the house or my battery is dead.


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Sunday Stills..........Self Portrait.........More or Less

This weeks Sunday Stills Challenge was "Self Portrait." Since Ed admonished us about no cameras in the face I had to come up with another way to photograph myself. No only that but the challenge for me was to take pictures that reflect "me" as well. I didn't want just any old picture of me taken by me, I wanted pictures that tell about what's important to me.



That led to this series of photos that I could take by myself.......of myself......and still tell something about myself instead of just what I look like. My personal image isn't nearly as important to me as who I am as a person. Those who read this blog know that's pretty well tied up here on my Arabian horse breeding farm so I decided I needed pics that showed what I do here.



The first picture is the new puppy, Delilah, and I walking out to the barn. The second is Delilah telling me she'd rather play than do chores. While the third shot is me getting hay from a bale to feed horses.



This fourth picture is my stallion, Scandalous Legacy. The look in his eye tells he's unsure about what I'm up to this time.........he's right to be concerned. You never know what I'll think of next.



This fifth picture is me riding my older gelding, Dandy. He wasn't sure what to think about this either. I only saddled him up "get" this shot. It's not often I mount this horse and then sit there shooting pictures of my leg. This horse is no dummy. He knows I'm up to something............and he really doesn't mind as long as there's a treat at the end.



Oh, and this last pic is what I look like at the end of the day........plum tuckered out from a day on the farm. Who could ask for better than that?

Just for the record, I still owe Dandy that treat........so I guess I'll head to the barn and settle up! Who knows when I'll need his help for another Sunday Stills Challenge and I wouldn't want him to grumble about it, now would I?


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Sunday Stills Challenge - - Motion with a touch of poetry.......

This weeks Sunday Stills Challenge was on motion. Obviously when I think motion the first thing that comes to mind is horses. There's nothing I like better than a pretty moving horse.



I have to admit I cheated on this post. Between the new glasses and the new contact lenses I haven't figured out yet how to change the settings on my also new camera so I pulled this pics from the archives.



They were taken at my annual open house last September. I must admit I am longing for summer again when my horses are slick and shiny again and all that icky winter hair is gone. Thought maybe posting a few of these would cheer me up a bit.



I didn't pull just any pics from the archives, I pulled the ones I'd never use for promotional shots because they're just not "that" kind of shot. However, they're great for this challenge on motion.



You never know quite what to expect when turning Arabian horses loose for an event like this. They are such hams and the somehow know the crowd is there just to see them, they can't help but put on a show.



As you can see from the "content" the horses had their own ideas and added some poetry to the motion in most of these shots. Like I said, there's nothing I like more than a great moving horse.......except maybe one with attitude!



I should probably be doing some kind of contest for captions for a couple of these shots! What do you think? LOL

The horse in the first two pictures is Rhapsody. The next two pictures are Trouble. Then there is Tag followed by Dare.

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Sunday Stills Challenge - - Architecture

This weeks Sunday Stills Challenge was on architecture. Ed jokingly added that he thought about eliminating barns but didn't. Saying it wouldn't be fair. Geez! You bet not fair since many of us who particpate own horses and live in the country. Not only are barns of major interest to us, they're about the only thing we get to see. LOL



The first two pictures of different sides of the same barn. This barn was intented for hay storage but as the size of my herd has expanded that has changed. Little modifications here and there have created stalls for over flow. We hope someday to convert this back to strictly hay storage. With this many horses we really need it.



This last picture is my usual quirky addition to Sunday Stills. While maybe this doesn't really qualify as architecture, it is a dwelling. If you don't think so just ask the birds who live in this little condominium.

Sunday Stills Challenge - - The Moon

This week's Sunday Still Challenge which is all about reflections. was the moon in all her splendor. Or that's how I perceived it anyway. I never should have mentioned the fact that there was the possibility that the moon would not show itself this week here in my part of Washington. Mother Nature just couldn't resist co-operating with my prediction leaving me with one little chance to figure out how to photograph her glorious moon.

I probably should post the other pics I took trying to get to this one. They are littered with streaky lines of light as the camera jiggled.........not my normally quiet (what a laugh) self. These failures are definitely worth a laugh or two.

I guess I'm lucky I got even one picture to post. I never did figure out how to disarm my flash that was pretty darn sure it was needed for this project. But I think I'm getting "closer" to that portion of my camera manual. The problem I am having is I cannot read the symbols in that darn book. But in the search I did find how to change shutter speed.........I've been searching for that for weeks. LOL



Yesterday was a great day working horses. I'll post more about that later. In the meantime, I leave you with a pic of my daughter Lindsay and our new puppy. Isn't she sweet.

This puppy is one of the fourteen puppies Colleen's two Siberian Husky females had a while back. The puppy is 4 weeks old in this pic which was taken last Sunday (I know I should have posted it sooner, my bad).

Our puppy won't be coming to live with us until she is 9 weeks old. By then she will have gone through her complete worming regime and have her puppy shots finished. Then we won't have to worry about anymore of that kind of stuff until she is 6 months old.

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Sunday Stills Challenge.........Reflections of one kind or another.......

After Tracey at Mustang Diaries took a cheap shot at trees reflected in puddles then followed with a great pic of her cat jumping over something clearer than any puddle around here, I'm not sure I even want to post my Sunday Stills entry.........but then, when have you ever known me to be chicken. So here are my submissions on this weeks Sunday Still Challenge which is all about reflections.



As I wandered out to the creek trying to catch some type of reflection, I couldn't help but notice the difference in the creek now than when I last took pictures of it. That flood was something else. I'm going to post a few pics of the then and now as well as my Sunday Still pics just so folks can see the changes our little creek went through during the flooding.





The picture of the sad little bridge (which is 12 feet long) shows the damage the flooding did to that bridge as the creek turned raging river coursed over it and, of course, the 'normal' size of our little creek. The dark picture is that same angle of the bridge with the only trace of it being that straight line of white water in the center of the flooded creek. The next picture is just past the bridge. The creek was nearly 60 feet across at this spot.



Also any of you who have been here for a while will know the picture of the horse is indeed Scandalous Reflection, my 7 year old Arabian stallion. He is indeed the reflection of his famous great-grandsire Khemosabi. I couldn't possibly post anything about reflections without thinking of him..........That counts doesn't it? Well at least it does in my book! Since it's my blog anything that counts in my book MUST surely be appropriate. LOL

I'm looking forward to next week's challenge which happens to be the moon. Only looking at the weather forecast I'm not sure I'll be getting much chance of seeing anything through the cloud layer, much less getting an opportunity to shoot pictures of the moon.

With no archive photos of the moon to my credit, I may have to be even more creative........who knows what rogue idea I could come up with.........well, Tracey would probably guess but then Tracey might even do it herself since we are stuck with the same kinds of weather most of the time and an equally odd sense of humor. Oh, I forgot, Tracey has archive photos of the moon that she can use. LOL Sorry, Tracey, I couldn't resist.

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baby boomer Arabian horse Khemosabi Sunday Stills

Sunday Stills: Go High...Go Low

Here are my pics for Sunday Stills for this week. These are not the angles I normally take horse pictures from and my equine subjects were NOT impressed with me shooting something new either. I got all kinds of flack. Dare didn't want to hold still and Legs was just plain bored with my presence in his stall.

The top pic is from my archives. These are my twin foals, Trouble and Surprise. As you might have guessed Trouble is the one chewing on my shoe, Surprise is soaking up all the adoration she believes she deserves.



Dares says "No, mom, I'm not going to hold my head anywhere you can photograph it. I've more important things on my mind. So let go, cause it's not gonna work!"



It was not the time of day that caused this gray sky through the tree.....it's good old Washington weather.



Legs says, "Boring! If you can't come up with something more exciting like girls, maybe, don't expect me to look your direction."



"Come on, now, you're interferring with my breakfast........and yes, the best hay is right up next to the wall."



This last picture is the same pond that I pictured last week. It's funny how between the weather and the angle you wouldn't even know it was the same location.

I will post later in the day with the blog carnival. So if you're looking for that post, check back this evening. I got some submission sent to me directly and some through the carnival so I'll want be sure I didn't miss anyone as I format the carnival. I'm a bit slow with that kind of stuff......so it's just not ready yet.

Thanks to all who submitted posts to the carnival.




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Sunday Stills........New Snow on the Arabian Horse Farm

I learned about Sunday Stills from Gizzards and Calf Fries and Life at the Rough String I thought it would be something fun to try. The way it works is each week an assignment is posted for the following Sunday. Once you have posted your assignment you leave a comment on the Sunday Stills site that it has been done so others participating can see what you've done.

I thought a project like this would be fun on a couple of different levels. It would be a way to meet more bloggers with similar interests (No, horses are NOT my only interest.....though pretty darn close.....you can bet I'll be looking for horsey ways to interpret my assignments! LOL) Since I have this new camera and can't seem to get myself in gear to learn about the thing, I thought that committing to a project such as this might actually get me motivated.

This week's assignment was potluck which is probably a perfect place for me to start. It is simple but it puts me out there on the limb so I'll have to keep hanging in and working this camera issue out!

Mother Nature provided me the perfect subject with a light dusting of new snow over night. I was out there in my jammies shooting the pond before the weather warmed up and the snow was all gone.........that's more motivated than I've been about pics in a long time so maybe this project will do what I hope.

I already have next week's assignment. It is highs and lows so I'm already thinking about new angles to take horse pics from. Well have to see what the week brings.

And just for the record, that snow I was so sure was going to melt off is melting all right but it's still falling at the same time. I'm not sure which process is making the most progress but for now it's cold and soggy wet out there.



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