Badger Update

This will probably be the very last update on Badger and his continued battle with COPD or Equine ROA.

Badger got into some toxic mold in the spring of 2009.  It nearly killed him within 24 hours.  Since then, we have tried medications and steroids.

Despite living outside and getting a dust free hay and environment ... well the best that we could provide, he did fairly okay.

The first year I could still ride him.  The second year, it was spotty.  This year.  I rode him one last time, in May.

True to himself, he walked slowly and we enjoyed watching the sun go down together as we often have over the years.

I didn't know then how he would fare in our unusual hot and humid [sometimes hot dry and dusty] weather.

We have found Badger's resting place, it will not be too far from the house.  This is a photo of him this morning out the window 'pre-dawn'.  I haven't taken many photos of him in the last year because his condition has continued to worsen and well, simply put.  He looks pretty tough.
I have finally come to terms with this.  I cannot let him suffer any longer.
He can barely eat because breathing is so difficult for him.
Yet I do not want to lose my friend of 17 years.
I am hoping that today we can send him over the rainbow bridge to the Merry Meadow where he'll join up with Cheyanne [my old mare], and Xena [Badger and my first terrier].
********
 
When I am gone release me, let me go,
I have so many things to see and do.
You musn't tie yourself to me with tears,
Be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you love and you can only guess
How much you gave me of happiness
I thank you for the love you have shown,
But now it's time I travelled on alone.

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust,
It's only for a while that we must part
So bless the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away, for life goes on,
Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near,
And if you listen with your heart you'll hear,
All my love around you soft and clear.

And then when you must come this way alone,
I'll be there to greet you with a smile and a
"Welcome Home"

Berry Pickin'

When I was a child we used to get up at dawn and walk through the woods [well, maybe it wasn't dawn?  But dang it sure was early!!!] to go berry picking.

The first day we went after black berries it was usually pretty fun.  We carried lard buckets with twine string tied to the handles so we could sling them over our shoulders and pick with two hands.

Grandma would lead us to the berry picking patch of wild black caps or berries.  [I'm never sure which to call them.]

That was then.  This is now.

Morris and I went for a 'berry' walk the other day.  We found several areas where we could pick a few berries.

But then we hit the motherload of all berry patches.

The wild yellow raspberries again!

I think I could have stayed there most of the day and just picked and shoved the delicious berries into my mouth.

But being the nice and sweet person I am, I picked enough to fill the large water bottle I'd brought along.

I mixed the yellow berries with the black berries.

I think I need to go back very soon and see how many more I can pick!

When picking them on your own time, it doesn't seem to be a chore, but rather an adventure.  As a child it wasn't quite so fun to find these berries.  Perhaps it was the hot woods, the bugs, the thorns, and the fact that we generally didn't eat most of the berries ourselves but sold them that made it so much less fun to pick.

But then again.

If I have Morris along, it is always fun...he tries to pick and eat his own berries!

Shadowhouse Creations: Someone you should look at!

I've seen a trend lately that is quite creative.  People take their digital photos and 'texturize' them with things like the written word, grungy effects, cracked mud, whorls, canvas, and anything imaginable.

I thought I'd do an internet search on the 'how and why' this has become a 'fad' of sorts.  Surprise!  Nothing!

I'm sure textures and edits have been around since, well, forever.  So it is a pleasant surprise that I've started getting more interested in it.

I see many digital artists using and contributing incredible ways to add interesting effects to your digital photos.

There is Shadowhouse Creations, a blogger and a member of the Flickr community [SkeletalMess] that does some incredible work.

He has tutorials and samples of his textures here at Flickr and here at his website.  Don't forget to visit his tutorial Here.

These are some of my 'attempts' at textures and photos.  Some of the textures are those I created myself.  I photographed items like dirt, the cracks in a cow skull, and other bizarre things.

However, not just any photo will look good with a texture.  It takes a lot of time and experimentation.

 

 and then today's fun edit with Grunge Frames from Skeletal Mess downloaded from his Shadow House Creations site.

This was just a fun experiment.  

Happy Editing!

Ninja Sneaky Dog ~by Teslin

I'm very very sneaky.  I'm the sneakiest dog in the world.

Grandpa doesn't think I should sleep on the bed with him and Grandma Val.

So I'd been waiting for the proper moment.

Like I said.

I'm sneaky.

Morris was sulking in his crate because the Grand's thought I should be able to wander around and be comfortable at night.  Morris usually gets free run of the house but ... after all, I AM the guest of honor!

About 3 AM, I padded quietly into the Grand's room.  The night air was chilly and I just knew knew knew...that it would be snuggly warm on THAT bed.

So in my best ninja dog effort I lept over the end of the bed and landed softly between the old folks.

How nice.

Soft cuddly and warm.

I slept there until the Grand's woke up.  Funny thing is, Gramps laughed about it and pet me.  I stayed on the bed after they got up.

It only took me a few days to start training these old folks.

Easy peasie.

Father's Day ~ Birthday Gift

So I decided that my husband would be surprised if I gave him a gift that he could not get anywhere else at all.

I dragged out the hose and pulled his 2003 Chevy Diesel HD2500 extended cab with a full size box up to the pump.

I proceeded to wash it and wax it.

Then detailed it.

How long did it take?

Hours.

But it was a labor of love and besides that, it looks nice and shiny now.

Was he pleased?

Oh yes.

Pleased as punch.

He is thinking of lining up the skid steer and his Allis Chalmers for me to do next.

Ha ha!

***************************

Siera and me...

Siera.

We are trying a slightly different bit on her...well, I am.  So last night we got saddled up and headed out to a couple of fields and a small pasture.

This way I could have her concentrate on what I was asking her with the reins and my legs.  I put her face to face with a fence and asked her to follow the rein that laid across her neck.

By golly she got it a few times!

Walk.

Stop.

Back up.

Turn right, turn left.

All pretty boring stuff, but until she gets is down pat, I consider her a 'green' mule.  We ended the session by going up on the ridge and walking along the freshly cut and baled hay fields.

She did very well there.  I think she is not a brush busting mule.  She seems to lose confidence when she cannot see through the thick underbrush.

That's okay too.

I'll see what we can work out together.

Last night's ride was very relaxing.

What can I say?  She is young and my times working with her have been sporadic at best.  But she is a quick learner.

On a side note.  Hubby grumbled something about 'not getting' to go for a ride 'whenever' he wanted....this grumbling came while he sat at his laptop I'd given him.

I cocked a brow and gestured towards the laptop.

He didn't get it.

Sigh.

I grab a moment whenever I can.  Mr. Grumpy Pants will have to join me... or grumble.

:)

We ... Siera and I had a great great time!

Teslin ~ another country day in paradise!

Grandma and Morris and I went for a long and wonderful hike yesterday.
It was hot!
So Morris and I stayed mostly in the creek water to stay cooled off.  I bet Grandma wished she could have laid in the creek!

Grandma put this video thingy together, she said it was perfect in a lot of ways...

Teslin~ the first day of my vacation

Mom and Dad which are human people dropped me off at the Grandma and Grandpa farm.  Grandpa and Grandma have many BIG scary animals, but Morris, my buddy lets me know which ones are dangerous and which ones are not.

The first day I was at the Farm, I was bummed.  Mom and Dad LEFT me.  Then I decided to wrestle with Morris and smush him into the carpet.  That helped me feel better.

At first I wouldn't eat at all.  The Grand's got pretty worried about that.

But as soon as I walked past Morris's bowl, [he eats other kinds of dog food]...I dove into his food and gobbled it up.  Grandma Val tried putting some of Morris's food on top of mine.

I carefully sorted out my food, leaving it on the floor, and ate the Morris food.

Morris came along and did the cleanup job.  So we have a routine.  I dribble food on the floor, Morris cleans it up and the Grand's are happy.

Grandma Val took us out to 'The Merry Meadow' so we could have some chasing time on Monday.  Wow, did we ever have fun!

I chased a rabbit and thought it went up a tree.

Then Morris called me a 'dummy' and city slicker, so I decided to chase him.

That was more satisfying!

Yeah, okay..IT looks like Morris is chasing me...I did chase him though!

Later we just ran and ran and ran, for the fun of it.

This country life is pretty good.  I love playing with Morris.

This morning I used him as a 'chew toy' and we rough-housed for a while.  

I missed Grandma Val cuz she went to work yesterday.  But she said something about heading back out to the woods and maybe the creek today.

I can't wait.

Livin' like a country dog is pretty nice.

[Yes Dad and Mom...I sorta kinda miss you guys too...sorta]

Mandelbulb 3d ~ Journey to the Center of the Earth

I really enjoy Mandelbulb 3d as you are probably guessing right now.  Every once in a while I come across some parameters that should be shared with other enthusiasts.

Here is what I started with for my 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' Mandelbulb.

Mandelbulb3Dv17{
Y.....S....9/...ET...2....EDA7vVt.Z/.td3UPfBOZ/ERWd4cYPkWzPQSum/a3rvzOvsWcTseV.E
................................T0uLZnRhg.2........Y./.......U.E........7/2...rE
...........2..../M.0/....6kA/...e4...2E0.....Ig7oco7BFnD/.ElGOnDyHJp1dkpXm1....U
z.....kD12../2EmFtRaNanwzcNaNaNaNarDBnAnAnAnYy9............u1....y1...sD...../..
.w1...sD9xYkh.YU5w1VoOhDLl.Bz607E5hmQEjDSztf8F13owfZV/EZ0Sm/zYqIF9g3dXiD7Ab1gYLr
WvH8TKK7d5Pxy8lX.hUKzEnD.....52x..............kD.2....sD/2kz....................
.............ckpXm1...sD....zU/Ss9.isVj.MZ5y0UTSs9.auVj.sg5y0UxSs9ElGOnDi.....x/
.....MEUZz1.....I.kz..Ak.1Ep..9.E....U4...E6....M0...63...U0....J....UG6..EiJJb1
Md3U.yoPxJHEGdZ9....c.......0c..mN5S.6UkKZMxkayj/YqulQA8Sz1...........k.8.kYjd2.
YA72QifFDz1.H0/bvOonz0...........6U0.YnFP/UpfjrwdvgqzQ6Fbf24LNyD..........E..c..
0RH9.Q6Fbf24LNvjZBL9s6JkUz9..........IF6I..VHx0.AfpnSPCqaz1uk5LfQvXwz8ra5DlJDw.E
JEW0zH09r.EMoIRnIlIqzcnJXNw/X0xjw9zUrWWqG.2..c6Uc/UBkM1.3fUWhl2.Z/aJ.IQ3gK8X.g2I
E/kwT6sQL/kIFV2.D0nW846.ZJKO.sXCvV4E.k/6M..VERsUu/.NZd4./xJX7S6.nAHA.EjO5uLO.UQk
r0Ecs3dUU/UeaW8....y3q/.ee0k.1A.IJJBc6..wy5.....................................
E....M.....6....2....A....EEh3aSdtqNU6oPs/UQ..........................k/9.......
...................wz...........saNaNaNKjz1.....................................
................................................................................
.....................A.....3....7....22JZFbQVNpI.w4S.I4.........................
.Q...MU/46U..................U.E...........GVf53iSIoz...................o.2.....
..UH./.......O3E...................../..........................................
................................m....E/....0..../pKMuZaPb/mIp7bN................
............5.U/4M..0MU/................6.2........wz........Y1E.......Ua/2.....
..EC./..........................................................................
................................................I....k....EHZtqNZ7rGjB4O...IjR5.
..........................U/4MU/4M................62./..................2.2.....
...wz.........................................................................zD
...........................................................3....A....AJOZ75Q6Z4P
WJaQo/kPr/...........................MU/4MU/4.................zD........Mz9.....
...wz..........E................................................................
........6.2...................................................../....E/...U/....
TB5QcJaQZZaPq/EOiRKA..........................E1K6..............................
........................kz1........wz0........zD................................
........kz1.....................s/allthenightlong...........................}

The original can be seen on deviantArt, *allthenightlong's artwork called 'Heaven or Hell'.

My first take on that was the following.

My second take... and embarrassed that I didn't save the exact parameters...but oh well, that is how it goes sometimes!

Was this:

I really like this second version the best.

I have to look into rendering the images better and do a bit more research.  I rendered these files differently than in the past.

Here is a sample of the screen shots:

I used a DE stop of 5.

I really don't know why, but I guess I was experimenting a bit.

The render did take nearly 3 hrs.

A long time, but I considered the final image worth letting my laptop churn away while I did something else.

Happy Fractaling!

A Bad day of Fishin'...

Is better than a good day at work?

Well that is how the saying goes.

It was late afternoon and there was some other things we could be doing around the farm.  I looked at him and said.

'Fishin'?'

He looked at me for a moment.

Then nodded.

'Fishin'!'

We tried Jersey Valley which had just re-opened and found it crowded with teenagers and 'cruisers' with hotrods and music.  We grinned at each other, recalling what it was like when we were teens and the things we did on a beautiful summer night...the last day of school.

We left there and went to Runge Hollow. 

What a beautiful area.  

We fished by the dam and were joined later by some other folks, including some Amish.  We stood on the shore ... I think I was just feeding my nightcrawlers to the fish.  Those little blue gills would bite and nibble, and clean off my hook.

The company was pleasant, my hubby knew the other couple that came down the bank and the two guys chatted while the ladies concentrated on fishing.

The other couple caught a lot of fish.  I caught, well...

nothing.

But it didn't really matter.

It was a pleasant way to spend the evening.  

They do say that a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.

I do agree.

"I love you Badger"

It isn't often that a relationship with a large equine comes along that is 'once in a lifetime'.  I think I was very lucky to have Badger find me so many years ago.  He was a big lanky ugly and gangly barely 3 year old mule that was too tall for me...and an unlikely match for me.

Somewhere in that first 3 months that we were together, he became an equine like no other I'd ever experienced.

The two of us became inseperable.  After riding and working with him for a year, it seemed that he could understand my very thoughts and intentions.

And Badger as always, is very gentle.

He loves children.  He is fine with adults as long as they don't ride him.  [I wonder if he thought I was a child all these years because I'm so small???]

I've had Badger since 1997.  In 2009 he became sick with Equine COPD.  I've been doing periodic updates on him since then.  

This weekend the grand kids visited and since they have grown up with Badger as their buddy, we got Badger out and dressed him up.  My grand daughter thought he would look pretty with ribbons and a necklace of beads.  We took photos [thank you Stephanie for doing so] knowing that this would be the last time that the kids saw Badger alive.

Badger has had life fade from his eyes.  He struggles daily just to stand and breathe.  He has let me know that it is time to move on across the Rainbow Bridge to the Merry Meadow.  One thing I do know about that, I am sad, but know that he will meet up with his once favorite dog, Xena and Cheyanne who eagerly await him on the other side.

Badger has given delight for more people than you can shake a stick at.

I leave this post with the simple words that Ariel uttered as she gave him a hug.

"I love you Badger"

Oh yes we do.

Today's Fabulous Fractal

I went riding today with Siera for all of my mule friends.  We did some training and both of us learned a lot under the careful eye of my hubby and his awesome Fred Mule.

Whilst I was busy in the woods, I rendered this fractal that I call The Sine Wave.

Parameters by DsyneGrafix at deviantArt.