oh, September

How is it possible that it's already September? The summer went by in an instant since I was drowning in a project about Thoroughbred breeding in Massachusetts and the way in which this benefits the economy. (I didn't go swimming, not even once, though I actually found my bathing suit in all this mess...)

I did, I think, teach printing black and white photographs well, though I skipped over the camera because it's fairly easy to figure out, I must have decided...while printing involves a lot of fine details and nagging. I am not, I admit, all that technically inclined, except for that one area. And I've been making a mess of video issues and digital picture taking for the last few months (I mean ALL of the summer) which is painfully obvious to me as I'm about to turn the final editing over....  Usually I have two women do this for my work and they are quite used to my problems...but this will be harder for the person who has to tweak this 11 minutes into a handsome form. So I am experiencing guilt, about which there is nothing I can do....  oh, well..

And I am not teaching this semester since the class didn't fill. That's just as well because my particular skills, nagging tactfully and cleverly and teaching printing, are not needed. And so I am really retired, having eased into this state with years of part-time teaching. I do wish I hadn't retired, but, as my grandmother would have said, if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride and, I'll add, my pension would have been a lot higher.

One of the two summer outings, brief as they were, included the Marshfield Fair...where I discovered that chickens could look like this. I want chickens!!!!!!! No, I want chickens which look like this.... Can't you imagine how fantastic video taping them would be? The face is much more forlorn, and a little bit fierce, than is obvious on this photograph.

And there were prizes for vegetable growing. I particularly liked these onions, though I also photographed the carrots. K. was fascinated by the screened-in enclosure where two people stood next to a bee hive. The bees buzzed around the woman while the fellow, also older but with quite a bit of a stomach, had covered his hand with them. "Just grab them," he told me. I'd assumed that he'd put something attractive on his thick fingers, but no. Just inside that bee building was an elderly couple who had sold out almost all of their products which included small jars of mustard made with beer which is particularly delicious. I must like it because it's sweet....

 This is Lee and Branaugh (sp), which means something like lovely raven haired beauty...If you look closely you'll see her eye and Shamus (sp?) is in the background. He is the size of a mini-horse, while she's slightly smaller. Both are leaners so it would be easy to be knocked over as they nudge against a leg...    This is actually one of my favorite photographs of the last few months...and sometime my printer and my computer will connect themselves adequately so that I can make a print. There is hope that Branaugh and Shamus connected via artificial insemination and that there will be puppies...

The Thoroughbred is bred by live cover, while the standard horse often has the sperm mailed in. Stallions are prized for their lineage. I've learned a lot and can't wait until I have the time to write.

The owner (or handler) of these Clydesdales backed them around to demonstrate their intelligence and how deliveries were made to stores which fronted right on the street so that the supplies could be off-loaded from the cart with ease. It swings nicely on an axle and the horses ease forward and back, an efficient team of four. Much larger, heavier, than Thoroughbreds.

They jingle with equipment, their legs are sturdy and their hooves are hidden by feathery hair...