Caskey Studios

Merry Christmas!

2008-05-02T19:35:00.003-05:00

Today I took down the Christmas tree. Well, not really down. I put a huge garbage bag over the entire thing, decorations and all, and wrestled it up the stairs to storage.
The middle part of the building where we celebrated Christmas last year has been pretty much shut off to help save on heating this huge barn of a building. We pass through to do other things and get to the garage, and walk past the Christmas tree. Like ignoring the elephant in the room. "What Christmas tree?"
The stairs in this building were constructed when people were smaller and not expected to live as long. One of the reasons they did not live as long was from climbing stairs at that pitch. Alternatively, if the stairs do not kill you going up, they have an even better chance to take you out going down. I can attribute some of my reluctance to store the Christmas tree to a survival instinct to see another Christmas.
There is something about a Christmas tree in May, that even with all the decorations still intact, looses a huge part of looking festive or even attractive. Hard to explain.
I left a yuletide Hansel and Gretel trail of ornaments as the tree, garbage bag and I battled the stairs.
A handy tip for anyone taking their tree upstairs: Unplug the extension cord before you head up the stairway.

The Last Couple of Days

2008-05-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

"White Horse in Sunlight" 4 x 6" oil painting

I took Dulci out of the round corral while Jim and "Hope" had an in depth discussion about whether or not she was going to be caught that night. "Hope" kept up her end of the conversation quite well and brought several new and unusual topics to the table.

While they discussed, Dulci and I went for a short walk and little stops for grazing in the green grass along the lane. I got out my mixture of gentle iodine and baby oil and treated the skinned places and dandruffy areas again. The first treatment last week did wonders and the hair is quickly returning and the scales from her tail have disappeared. She seems to appreciate the attention and leans into the rubbing.

The tarp that had been covering the hay had blown nearly off, so I rearranged it and laid it out flat on the ground and let Dulci graze around it. She worked her way up to investigate the tarp on the ground and after she lost interest, I walked forward and over the tarp and asked her to follow. She never hesitated but stepped right onto the tarp. Her knees went up to her breast bone with each step as she tested the crackly ground, but she never faltered and never got scared. We hung out together then and she grazed and watched Hope and Jim.

The good ending was that Jim won the debate and Hope got caught and rewarded and turned loose again.

I have been busy with the last of the redraws for the Storey Publications book on Draft Horses and Mules coming out this fall. I will need those all done and sent back in a couple of weeks. Once I could see the final form of the book, there were a couple of drawings I pulled and decided to redo that I felt could be better.

My "boys", the Arabian half brothers have become real horses this year. They will need lots of riding and driving. No more little babies, this winter they shot up (and out) and look magnificent. When they shed the last of the winter belly fur, I will take some photos. Their black hides look like mirrors. I will have to start getting up before daylight soon and start playing with them. It's the only way to make sure my day starts out right.

12 Step Program

2008-04-30T13:41:00.000-05:00

It may be broadly stated that, with the single exception of goldfish, of all animals kept for the recreation of mankind the horse is alone capable of exciting a passion that shall be absolutely hopeless.
-Bret Harte

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem

My name is Bethany Caskey and I’m a Horseaholic.

Pat Parelli divides the human race into two groups. There are the people that love horses…and “the other kind”.
If you have the affliction of horse love, you understand the condescending nods, the bewildered sighs, and head shaking of the “other kind”. You are viewed as otherwise sane and but for this eccentricity, a pleasant companion. You may or may not remember the exact moment the horse bug bit.
For some of us it was a genetic wildcard that came as easily as our first smile. There was never a conscious effort. It was just always there.
Popular for quite some time have been the twelve step programs. I would suggest a similar program for horse-a-holics. There is no hope for a cure as with the other programs, mostly because we don’t really want or need one. We can use these steps to help explain our linear passion and to understand just how hopeless we are. The majority of our society has been trained to understand and tolerate an addiction.
The Twelve Step tradition is a time tested method used for various obsessive-compulsive behaviors. These simple tools for living have been used by millions of people to successfully change their lives and recover from certain behaviors. Sharing and support in groups with like-minded individuals and ongoing fellowship is a major ingredient in the success of this program.

The Twelve Steps of Horse Addiction

1. We admit we are powerless under the rule of our horses - that our lives have become periods of servitude interspersed with occasional chances to purchase new play things for the horses that “own” us.

2. We have come to believe that there is no power greater than our horses that will keep us sane and happy.

3. We have made a conscious decision that we have turned our will and our lives over to the care and entertainment of our horses.

4. We have made a searching and fearless moral inventory of our barn, and still think we might have room for just one more horse.

5. We have admitted to God, ourselves and our friends that our shoes will always be muddy and there will be horsehair and horse snot on our clothes.

6. We were entirely ready to remove all these defects of character, but decided against it when our horse nickered and nuzzled us.

7. We humbly asked for removal of our shortcomings - so we could have more time to spend with our horses.

8. We made a list of all persons we had slighted when we were late because of chores or a long trail ride, and became willing to make amends to them all – even though they still didn’t want to hear about our horses.

9. We have made direct amends to these people wherever possible, except when they didn’t want to help us unload the feed bags.

10. We have continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it to our horse... who knew it from the start and had been telling us all along.

11. We have sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with our horses as we understood them, praying only for knowledge of their will for us and the power to carry that will out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we will carry this message to those faced with Horse Addiction and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

(This parody is based on the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, which can be found at the Alcoholics Anonymous website. In no way should this be looked on as an insult against those with a drinking problem. Warning! Actually following these steps will only make you more popular with the horses around you, and should not be attempted by those who wish to be anything other than horse people for the rest of their lives.)

...

2008-04-29T17:02:00.002-05:00

All horse things progressing well. Dulci now comes to the gate when I arrive and says "Catch me, please." In a few days they will get pasture privileges. It was super cold last night so did not do much with any of them, the wind cut right through everything. I can pick up all four of her feet and hold them and tap on them. She has been extremely good about her feet. I have four others in need of a spring hoof trimming. Oh joy.

I have been using the bicycle to tool around town, doing errands and getting the mail and such when I don't need the truck or car. I have a shoulder bag that works well for carrying small things.

I have noticed a change in my take offs and landings. I used to be able to slow down, stand on the near side pedal and step off the bike and walk it to a stop. I tried that the first day and not only did my knees scream obscenities at me, the walk to a stop was more of a stumble forward several running steps. I have resorted to doing a full stop and putting my feet down and even that has lost any sign of grace, since I usually forget the proper brake or which foot I want to put down first. I used to be able to step on the off side pedal, push it forward in one fluid movement and be in flight as the bicycle seat gracefully met my bottom side. No more. Now it is one, okay two, hops, the bike wobbles forwards (if I'm lucky) and then the seat smacks rudely into my hind side. I can't imagine that my bottom has dropped one to two inches in only twenty years. It has to be that new padded seat the bike shop put on.

Success!

2008-04-26T19:55:00.004-05:00

I thought it was time to post an updated photo of the new rescues:

Oh, wait, wrong photo. This is the neighbor's bison. So easy to get confused. It is the same color as Jim's rescue :^P

Tonight all the patience paid off. I went into the round corral and the chestnut filly let me walk up to her and touch her, but walked away. She let me walk up and touch again and walked away. I went to the corral panel and snapped the rope onto the vertical post and laid the rope out. The filly watched. I walked up to her and caught her. She knew once the rope was up, she was caught. Figuring out she needed to be in the corner was beyond her figuring. Thank goodness they are smart and understand what happens next so quickly. I used that to an advantage. I love it when things work out like I think they should! She even let me lead her by her mane up and to where I wanted to play with her. I put the rope around her neck, went and got oat toasties for the two of them and then took the rope off while she ate and I gave her a good grooming with a curry and picked up all four feet. So here is a photo of her tonight. It will be worthwhile to see how she fills out in the coming months.

She has a name now. Dulcinea. Dulci for short.

"Dulcinea is a fictional character who is referred to (but does not appear) in Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote. She is also known as Dulcinea del Toboso, Aldonza Lorenzo, and Aldonza de Toboso.

Seeking after the traditions of the knights-errant of old, Don Quixote finds a true love whom he calls Dulcinea. She is a simple peasant in his home town, but Quixote imagines her to be the most beautiful of all women. At times, Quixote goes into detail about her appearance, though he freely admits that he has never seen her.

Don Quixote describes her appearance in the following terms: "… her name is Dulcinea, her country El Toboso, a village of La Mancha, her rank must be at least that of a princess, since she is my queen and lady, and her beauty superhuman, since all the impossible and fanciful attributes of beauty which the poets apply to their ladies are verified in her; for her hairs are gold, her forehead Elysian fields, her eyebrows rainbows, her eyes suns, her cheeks roses, her lips coral, her teeth pearls, her neck alabaster, her bosom marble, her hands ivory, her fairness snow, and what modesty conceals from sight such, I think and imagine, as rational reflection can only extol, not compare." [Volume 1/Chapter XIII]

In the Spanish of the time, Dulcinea means something akin to an overly elegant "sweetness". In this way, Dulcinea is an entirely fictional person for whom Quixote relentlessly fights. To this day, a reference to someone as your "Dulcinea" implies hopeless devotion and love for her.

She does appear in stage and film adaptations of the book. In cinema and on stage, she has been played by (among others) Sophia Loren, Joan Diener, Hollis Resnik, and Vanessa Williams. In the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha, she is a self-described whore. Her given name is (Aldonza), and a prominent arc of the musical follows her distrust and then fervent belief in Don Quixote's quest. She begins as someone who has no self-worth, Aldonza, and through Quixote's belief in her, she begins to believe in herself as someone of great worth and takes on the name Dulcinea. Also in the musical, a priest sings a song called "To Each His Dulcinea", in which he reflects that although Dulcinea does not exist, the idea of her is what keeps Don Quixote alive and on his quest."

I think it fits her. Only the delusional see the potential beauty there.

Meet Dulcinea

Raleigh DL-1

2008-04-25T20:54:00.003-05:00

My sister is as devoted to riding bicycles as I am to riding horses. Maybe more so. We both get to wear spandex when going on long rides and are not embarrassed to be in public in our "garb" so it could be some bizarre quirk in the DNA. I have been talking for the last couple of years about fixing up my bike and starting to ride again but had the excellent excuse that tires and tubes for my vintage bike are almost impossible to find.

For Christmas, my sister appears with two new 28" tires and tubes. End of excuses.

My memory puts hanging the bike in the attic sometime right after buying the building I work in now. That would put it at almost 20 years since I have ridden that bike. The only thing wrong with it when it went into storage was a loose rear fender. So 20 years in dry storage. I found out from the bike store owner when I picked it up after its tune up, new tire placement and new seat, that the hub shows the manufacturer date as 1964. I bought the bike for $99 in the early 70s, rode it to work every day I could, biked with my daughter on the back until she was too big to ride there and put it away around 1988. I still have the original manual.

My last visit to my daughter's she showed me a web site she found amusing: "Stuff White People Like" and I was amused as well until she brought up the article http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/02/10/61-bicycles/

and I saw a photo of MY bike. Don't worry, there is probably a photo or a description of your bike there as well.

My bike looks a lot like this one, but I am in search of the basket and the rack which seem to be only available from "Retro" bike places if at all.

Things like the head lamp that was powered by a generator that rubbed on the wheel and the saddle bag were long gone. The original leather seat needed replacing with a new modern cushy seat with a built in safety light. A new chain and gear link and it was ready to hit the road again.

I polished it up a bit after getting it home and took it out for a short spin. I had forgotten how much fun and how fast these things can tool around town! I took another loop for good measure.

Let's see. Fast, efficient, fun. I can load it into the back of my truck or car and it doesn't need its own trailer if I want to ride it somewhere new. I hung it upstairs for 20 years without any care and $138 brought it back to life. No vet. No feed. No need to keep fence fixed so it doesn't go to visit the neighbor's bikes. Hum. My sister might just be on to something here. Wonder if I can get it to nicker when it sees me?

The Two Minute Catch

2008-04-25T20:24:00.001-05:00

Yesterday when I went to feed the rescue ponies, it took me a longer time than usual to catch the saddlebred. I had not caught her the day before because of time constraints and now I was having to make up the lost time. I finally resorted to playing the old trick i had learned as a kid with a horse that was so hard to catch it made me inventive and patient at the same time. I tied a long rope to a section of the round corral and eased her up to the triangular corner made by the rope and fence. She will let me rub her butt here, but not get close enough to actually catch her. With two in the round pen, playing the run around a look at me until "join up" or whatever you want to call it happens, is beyond my talents. Once she is eased up with the rope against her neck, I let her walk forward and take the rope through my hands and with her. She is making her own rope loop this way and I just have to close it around. Technique is everything and has to be learned, I guess, since the horse can bog their head down and back up and slip the loop. You just have to handle the horse and the rope in a way that does not happen. Then you can just stop the "getting away." This does not work with a frightened horse that is running through the ropes in a panic, just the ones not quite ready to give in and be caught.

While I had her last night, she got her oat toasties, got rubbed and brushed and then we spent the next hour or better getting caught. I would walk away and come back, throw the rope over her, take it off, walk away come back - until she was bored. I then did some flooding, which is a nicer way of doing the old "sacking out." Rubbing all over with exaggerated movements (with just hands) until she could stand still. She is touchy about her head, so I really concentrated on that and flipped the rope up and over her muzzle and head until she was anticipating it and catching it so it would rub her better.

Tonight it paid off. I went into the corral and just started to walk up to her like we had done the night before. At the last moment, she decided to walk off. I walked up again. She walked off again. I tied the rope to the corral panel and walked her into the triangle. She walked right in, pulled the rope forward, turned just right to make a loop on her own and was caught. Less than two minutes. We will keep going back to where she is comfortable until she doesn't need the entire routine to be caught. Since she did so well, it was time to just sit with her while she ate and not ask anything more. For the first time, the last two days, she has offered to sniff me and be curious. The fear is subsiding. I hope to have new photos tomorrow.

Drafting Film

2008-04-24T19:50:00.003-05:00

for sale on ebay

Thanks to Maggie on the Greywaren Art blog, (her link is to the right)I ordered some Durafilm drafting film in the double sided matte. I was familiar with drafting film for technical pens and that "old'fashioned" way of doing some layouts, but I had never tried the matte or using it with colored pencils. It was great! Very buttery. It did not take many layers, but Maggie warned about this drawback. You can color on both sides though which can make some funky effects. I started small with an ACEO sized piece and had a wonderful time. I will be playing some more with this film and seeing what a bit more planning can do to increase the detail and the effectiveness.

I sloughed around in more mud today- it rained yet again. Yesterday I fixed fence for the coyote pen. The ground is so soft, posts are just falling over on their own. My dogs were incredibly happy and incredibly muddy. It was a two shower day for them. Tonight they stayed home while I played with the new pony and fed the rest their oat toasties.

New ponies are settling in well. I got their vaccines at the vet and received a 20% discount for the shots. A good citizen discount for "rescuing" the little horses. I never knew there was such a thing. It makes you have the same sort of dubious pride as being able to park in a handicapped spot.

I love mud

2008-04-22T16:28:00.001-05:00

I just drove home barefoot.

This morning, the famous and fabulous MeToo (son Johnny's horse) had gotten into the small pasture surrounding the round pen and the new fillies. The idea had been to keep the newbies quarantined for a couple of weeks until we could see what cooties they might have. MeToo had other ideas and being a girl, wanted to hang out with the new girls and gossip.

I went out this afternoon to check on everyone, and thinking I knew where MeToo had slipped under the wire, took some extra wire down to splice into the fence line.

I drove home barefoot because I lost my shoes in the mud at the bottom of the hill trying to fix the fence at the gap. It is the muddiest place I could have tried to walk. Of course it did not look muddy until it was up to my knees. I walked out of one shoe and had to go back and find it. The next thing I knew, both feet were stuck and I was sinking fast. As I tried to lift a leg to get out, I tipped over into the mud. You know I grabbed the hot wire on the way down. (Feeling much better now. Everything is so clear) I dug my shoes out, walked up the hill in my socks and got in the small horse tank to wash off enough to be able to sit in the truck. My jeans and socks are in the washer and my shoes drying outside. I am done fixing fence! Done. Done! blech! That mud and water was incredibly stinky. Of course, before I could leave, MeToo had slipped under the fence again (from the look of her legs, she had crawled on her knees) and was right back where she wanted to be. She is welcome to all the cooties she can stand.

Horsaholic Part Two

2008-04-22T16:27:00.003-05:00

The weather, work, and other things kept us from going back until yesterday to try and bring the rescues home. For once, the weather cooperated with a planned event and we trucked south again to see if we could capture our wild horses.

This time we backed the trailer into the pasture and we were ready to stay until finished.

I walked out and caught the remaining Haflinger mare, DeeDee, and tied her up. Jim herded the wild bunch up the hill while I put some grain into the corrals. When they did come up, they all decided five in one corral would be more fun and cozy. Work with what you get, I always say. I had Jim hold the rope that formed the gate and sorted out the three we did not want to catch and let them slip out.

Jim went first and using the stick, started where he had left off with success before. It only took about 20 minutes this time to get the halter on. He lead the bay out and left me to work with catching the chestnut. I had to find a place she was comfortable again and work up from the back to the front. It only took fifteen minutes, but it seemed like forever. I had to really work on keeping my intent from showing - it takes so little for a person to focus on the goal (catching) instead of what the horse needs. They are still flinchy, but not over reactive and scared out of their gourds this time.

After the halters are on, things move along pretty quickly. We repeat the going up to the trailer. You work out here, you rest near here. Some hay and spilled grain on the trailer floor adds to the pleasant time they are having when by the trailer. We wait and let them explore and then walk away.

When they are becoming bored by this, we ask for more, until they try to get into the trailer... and then walk away again. Finally, with some rump tapping, my filly jumps into the trailer. We walk around in there. Have some good scratches and come out again and go for another walk while Jim tries it. When his filly decided to jump in, she did so with drama. She was airborne, looking like a Pegasus, when she realized what goes up must come down and decided at the last moment to put her feet down and land in the trailer. Same deal and out again. My next time at the trailer, a couple taps and she jumps in. This time I take her up front and tie her and close the stall gate. Jim's filly decides she has had enough for a day and tries to convince him that it would be much more fun to drag him around in the muddy places instead of going anywhere near the trailer. She changes her mind quickly. These gals are so poorly, they don't have the stamina to put up much of a fight for very long. She decided the trailer is a better deal and jumped in.

We stopped in the little town of Exline for an ice cream to celebrate and then brought them to to the pasture with nothing note worthy to report. We bedded them down in the round corral. Shared a tube of ivermetic paste wormer between them and called it a night. All in a day's addiction for a horsaholic.

I have found I have another addiction. I decided to clean up my paper files to see what I had in stock for drawing. I found I have been hording bristol paper. Like a lot. I had not been using it lately because I did not think I had any. Of course, I had just ordered some more the day before. So, now I really have a lot. I need to make some art on it now and use it for the book I want to try and finish! More on that later!!

Horsaholic

2008-04-22T16:26:00.004-05:00

I apologize for being MIA the last couple of weeks. Lots of things going on. Spring they claim, is here, although we had a tornado one night and two days later it was snowing and the next thing you know there was an earthquake.

It is time I made my confession. I am a horseaholic. I wrote a piece a couple of years ago about being a horseaholic, but my latest relapse has made the totality of my addiction public.

While cruising the local craigslist out of curiosity I found two large rabbit pens for sale for $50 each. Our house rabbit has been in the same pen for four years now (he lost house privileges not for being un-housebroken, but for a penchant for chewing computer wires in places unseen and unnoticed until way too late). I called the number and left a message that I was interested in the cages. As I went down the page, a listing caught my eye for five rescue "ponies" needing a home. They were within 25 miles it seemed, so I emailed the listing and asked for photos and information. I know I am addicted, but I still do these things when I have a spare moment and my meds have not kicked in. I receive an email back. Not only does the gal have photos, but she is the same person I had called about the rabbit cages. Hum. I figured I was meant to see these "ponies". We planned a Sunday afternoon to pick up a cage and look at the horses. The photos she sent did not tell us much about the ponies, except that they were thin and all had four legs each.

When we arrived, we could walk close to the horses, but not touch them. We looked. Took photos. Watched them move. They had come from an auction lot where the younger animals were stock piling. No market for slaughter for small animals, so it seems these were slowly starving to death. Some had shaved places on their necks. They had been used by some sort of vaccine lab in the Dakotas and their blood was used for the antibodies. A couple had been shaved on the top of the mane and that was where a microchip was supposed to have been placed for record keeping. Our hostess, Kate, had picked these five from the lots to try and upgrade and salvage. She had them for six weeks and had been feeding them well and getting some weight on them, but had only been able to catch one and halter her in that time. There was potential in the raw here. Very raw. Before we decided to do anything, we loaded our rabbit cage and drove home to look at the photos and talk.

Jim decided he would like to work with a two year old filly that has application papers to the APHA and had been a part of the "lab" herd. I choose an unpapered yearling Saddlebred filly. For a grand total of $100, we had two new horses to rehab. The trick was going to be catching them.

As a kid, I was always told I could catch a bird or a rabbit by putting salt on its tail. I totally believed that. I still do, since if the critter will let you get close enough to salt the tail, you are probably in a good place to actually make contact. Getting these fillies caught was exactly like that. The only containment we had to work with besides the big pasture were some 12 x 12 roped off corrals against the fence. We would be very happy to have that much.

We started after work in the evening a week ago. Kate tied up her Haflinger mares so they would not help in the process and it was fairly easy to get the fillies into the corrals since Kate had been feeding them in there. Since too much pressure would cause the fillies to blast out or over the rope, it was a study in patience and perseverance. Kate and her family went to have supper and left us to our devices. At first my filly could not look at me from her left eye, so we played with see me here, now here, now here, until she could stand still on either side. I was able to get a hand on mine and slowly follow her around and rub her itchy spots... for an hour. The first itchy spots where on her rump and I started with what she gave me and worked my way up. If I would advance to far, she would jump away and we would start over. Twice I was too pushy - I would raise a hand too quickly or the wind would flap my jacket, (of course the wind was only 30 mph that day) and she jumped the fence. I was able to walk her around and back into the enclosure each time... and start over. While we are doing this, Jim is still asking his filly to tolerate a touch. She can't stand a human hand on her yet and he does not want to replicate my jumping bean horse.

Slowly, slowly. I have managed to rub my filly with the lead rope and she allows it to dangle near her withers. She has finally given me permission to touch the front of her neck and that was a huge break through for her and you could feel her relax. I keep rubbling and scratching and snag the off side lead with a finger and bring it around. I fasten the quick release snap on the rope and I at last have a handle. I keep rubbing and getting closer to her head. It takes another 20 minutes to get her to let me scratch her head, but it feels good and she decides I am all right. I work the loop of the rope up with my scratching and make a loop around her muzzle and fashion an "indian" halter. I have some more control now and I play with her face and muzzle. No way the halter is going on there until she allows it. I rub with my hand and scratch with my fingers, then add the rope halter to the rubbing. Before long, it is rubbed up and in place and tied. I rub and move the rope halter off and clip it to the halter. We practice inside the pen leading. She does very well at first and then, as is typical, she has to try something different and she rears up, but catches in the ropes and topples through. I release everything and kick away all the ropes and ask her to be still. She is. She waits for me to get her untangled and then gets up. Since we have graduated suddenly to a bigger area, I switch to a longer lead and we head out for a walk. A few times she decides to test the rope and go away, so I let her drift and then ask her back. By the time it was dark, she was leading like a pro.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jim decides to try and touch his filly with a fiberglass stick. That works. He can be far enough away for her comfort level and still get some scratching in. Within five minutes she is accepting him close enough to rub with his hands. His patience pays off and within a very short time, he has the halter on.

Chestnut filly and I walk and go out to the horse trailer and walk by that a few times. We stop and look inside. I sit on the deck and let her stand for a while and then walk off again while Jim and the bay filly have a one on one discussion about leading. By the time we decided we had enough for one day, I was sitting on the trailer deck and my filly was standing next to me with her head and neck in the trailer. Good enough.

I was so wiped that night, I had deep charlie horses that would not walk out. My eyes were crusted shut from all the dust and dirt the wind had blown into them. I could barely move and I couldn't wait to go do it again.

An Interview with Cathy Choyce

2008-04-08T09:31:00.005-05:00

RURAL HERITAGE magazine has given the go sign on a new series of articles about artists that excel in creating draft animal artworks. The magazine will publish a one to two page spread on a living, contemporary artist. I have used the Equine Art Guild as my hunting ground to find the best artists out there to feature in each issue of the magazine from now until...?
RURAL HERITAGE is published every other month, or six times a year for you math scholars. I can't give away the articles here on the blog, you will need to find the magazine and read them (available at all Tractor Supply Stores) of course.
I would like to share that my first interview and choice for a draft artist is Cathy Choyce, http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Cathy was a delight to interview and was free with tips and techniques that as a wannabe sculpturer, I was delighted to discover. My choice was Choyce. That was NOT intentional!
Cathy was a horse trainer for 35 years and knows the look and attitude of horses, and it shows in her work. She has been drawn to the large breeds especially as a subject for her sculptures. Cathy also works in oil paint on canvas.
While you wait for the article to be published, either in the Spring or Summer issue, (no control over the editor) please stop by Cathy's site and take a look at her work.
For all you other drafty artists out there: I will be calling more artists and trying to get a good selection gathered for the upcoming issues. Given all the weird emails and requests we sometimes get as equine artists, I wanted you all to know this is a legitimate effort.

2000 Miles Later

2008-04-03T08:14:00.001-05:00

I am back at home base after a trip to Nashville and from there to Fletcher, North Carolina to attend the Parelli weekend there. The Parelli weekend was the bait that daughter Echo used to get me to come down for another visit. We had a blast, but all too short. I was able to play with the new camera (a Nikon D80) that I had been saving and trading older cameras to acquire. The low light, inside, and lots of action made getting a nice shot interesting. Boosting the ISO to the max helped and by day two, I was getting some acceptable shots. Next I will read the manual and fine tune what I found out by experimenting. The 75 -300mm lens really could reach out and touch someone as well. More later today on drawing and horses, but first I have some actual “job” chores to catch up on.

The Unofficial "AARP" Guide to Easter Egg Hunting

2008-03-23T09:03:00.000-05:00

For those who would like to know how the game is played, here you go:

First, the concept is pretty simple, it is just like the game daily played here called “where did I put the car keys/purse/coat?” with some variations.

1. You are purposely hiding the objects.

2. You will try to remember where you placed the objects and recover ALL of them.

My first year in school, my first school Easter celebration, the teacher hid all the eggs we had colored in class. Then the class had an Easter egg hunt. Everyone located their eggs but mine. It was at that time I knew the universe had a sense of humor and had singled me out to be a part of the punchline. I was special and singled out in the kindergarten class in a way I did not choose to be. Plus, my finely crafted food colored egg was gone. I was grief stricken. The days wore on. Talk of the missing egg faded.

I remember it was a nice warm day. Most days in southern California are warm in the spring of the year. The class sat down on mats around the piano to sing songs with the teacher. She opened the piano bench to retrieve the new music for the day. Inside the bench sat my egg.

Even hardboiled eggs can reach a certain bomb like state when left in the heat for too long a time. This egg was showing signs of transmorphing into something much more memorable than an Easter egg. It had gained a few interesting colors I did not remember adding to it at the time of decorating. With the skill of a trained squad agent, the teacher gingerly took hold of the egg and placed it into a large bed of facial tissues. Lifting the tissues by the corners, she then placed the egg into a box left over from Valentine’s Day. I don’t remember if I took that box home. Since I don’t remember, I am pretty sure I did not.

3. Traditionally, as in the story above, colored hardboiled eggs are used for the hidden object. Since we now need incentive to hunt, I suggest using only chocolate eggs and good chocolate eggs at that to insure that all will be retrieved in a timely fashion.

4. It helps to make a map of your hiding places. This should not be a casual activity like laying your keys down just anywhere, but needs to be thought through.

5. Count the number of chocolate eggs before you hide them. You can make a tally of the empty wrappers as you complete the search.

Have fun!

Fencing 101

2008-03-20T17:46:00.002-05:00

The two three-year-old colts met me at the gate again. The problem was it was the gate to the large pasture, not the gate to the horse pasture. I had just fixed the fence two days before, I thought. Not good enough to impress these two it seems.

I call Jim. “MeToo and Cirrus are out again.” “Where did they get out?” “The west side.” He sighs, “Can you be more specific?” “Okay, the southwest side.”

That’s the best I can do. The first half of the fence to the west is a thing of beauty. Wood fence posts alternated with steel. Wire strung tight enough to play a tune; it rolls gently down the hill to a small creek where a small culvert lets the water flow east into the pond.
From there south is “The Hill” and what passes for a fence, when visible, is not a well planned or secure construction. Scattered steel posts and electric wire and sometimes a quarter inch rope for visible effect make up the southwestern boundary of “The Hill.” It is one of those fences you hope you don’t’ have to fix because the animals probably won’t go there.

I put the colts back into the pasture and go for the white fiberglass electric fence posts and some tape and insulators. I know there is no way to carry steel posts and a post driver up there. I decide to start at the furthest corner away, since odds are that is where the problem will be.

I take the long walk up the east side of the pasture to the top of the hill and across the ridge to the southwest corner of the pasture. Sure enough, there is enough slack wire for some enterprising youngsters to slip under by the gate at the top. Easy fix. I make a few patches as I work my way down. Very soon I am at the edge of “The Hill.” For a brief moment I am smug that the colts are athletic enough to have figured out how to get through this fence at these extreme angles. Then my feet start to slip out from under me and I realize I am not athletic enough to fix fence at these angles.

I hook a loop of the electric tape over a sturdy looking steel fence post and use it to rappel down the side of “The Hill” to the next patch spot. The tape works well and I make my way from spot to spot this way – until the tape runs out – and I have to tie it off and climb back up “The Hill” without its help.

The time to try and remember if you turned the juice off the solar charger before you left or if this particular remaining wire is hooked into the real electric charger is not when you start to slide and forget and grab at the nearest hand hold.

I’m not sure where the notion that Iowa is flat originated. I t must have been an ill-fated marketing ploy to entice flat-earth believers to the state at some time. I feel lucky that there are enough deep-rooted weeds to hang on to or at least slow my fall if I should slip.

I finally reach a spot I can stand up straight again and survey my work. I come from a great lineage of fence cobblers. My grandfather used broken farm machinery to patch fence. Cows get out; drag the old hay loader into the broken wire. He never sold or got rid of anything that broke. It was far too valuable as fencing material. I’m not too certain he didn’t go to the neighbor’s farm sales to buy their broken machinery and haul it home.

I never had the wealth of broken and rusty objects to fix fence, but something in the DNA allowed me to see the potential of small trees and branches, metal sheeting and other found materials like coat hangers for fixing fences. Since all I ever had to contain were horses, my theory was if you can make it look really scary, they won’t get close enough to find out if they can get through it.

I am pleased with my work. It looks substantial if not scary. There is only so much you can do with this new modern electric stuff. Just one more thing, and it will be perfect.

I walk back to the pasture gate, again taking the longer, eastern route, to avoid another confrontation with “The Hill.” I start the tractor, stab a large bale and take it into the horse pasture. The way I figure, they should be so busy eating me out of house and home they will forget about the fence on “The Hill” or if they do remember it, they will be too fat to do a Snowy River through my cobbling.

Moving my Blog

2008-03-18T09:44:00.003-05:00

After doing some reading and research, I decided to move my blog to Wordpress. This is effective as of March 16, 2008. I will keep both blogs going for a while. Some of the problems other bloggers reported about blogspot seem to have been fixed or updated, but there are some features on Wordpress that are very helpful. One, I can see just how many people have not visited the blog.
The new link is in the title of this post and here:http://caskeystudios.wordpress.com/

Oxen Book

2008-02-11T16:51:00.000-06:00

I received my complimentary copies of the "Oxen, A Teamster's Guide" today in the mail.
I don't know what I was expecting, since this is an update and republication of a book I illustrated about ten years ago. I guess I thought it would still look like the old book. I was wrong! This is really a handsome book. Everyone should have this on their coffee table. What a conversation starter! "How's that yoke building coming along there, Ted?" "Them calves ever learn to haw?" It has to be right up there with "Making a Living as a Buggy Whip Maker"

All joking aside, it is a beautiful book and I am very proud of how it turned out. I sent in the last batch of drawings for another in this series on Draft Horses this morning. I will post here when it is finished as well.

Here is Storey's link to the book if you need your own copy:
http://www.storey.com/books/book.php/y/1/p/0/order_no/67692

Oxen
A Teamster's Guide

by Drew Conroy

256 pages, 8 1/2 x 10 7/8 trim size, illustrations throughout.

Stalwart and powerful, oxen can plow fields, haul stones, assist in logging, improve roads, and demonstrate traditional farming techniques. And they are stronger, steadier, less expensive, and easier to keep than draft horses. Here is the definitive guide to selecting, training, feeding, and caring for working oxen. With proper care and training, oxen can be a dependable, economical alternative to heavy machinery on small working farms.

paperback - $24.95
ISBN# 1-58017-692-7
ISBN13# 978-1-58017-692-7, Order# 67692

hardcover - $34.95
ISBN# 1-58017-693-4
ISBN13# 978-1-58017-693-4, Order# 67693

Snow Days

2008-02-09T12:39:00.000-06:00

This year in the midwest we have had more ice and snow than I can remember for a long, long time. While it may be true that my memory is failing me, it could just as well be true that I tend to remember trudging through snow and driving everywhere in four wheel drive or nowhere at all with amazing clarity.
One of my February chores each year is to do chores for my neighbors while they attend a fox hunt. (That might sound pretty uppity, but this is not the champagne in the cup before releasing the hounds, and more the sixpack. ok, twelve pack, the night before and chase around on a four wheeler). Each year, it seems, brings a new set of challenges to getting those chores done. The lane to the property starts out steep and from there you have to climb. The first couple of days I could not get up the hill with the truck and got my cardio workout for the year getting up the hill.
I did find a fun way to transport the feed though. In the past I have used the horses, or the tractor, or gotten stuck with the "gator". This year I decided Bella could help and we used a padded dog harness and a kid's toboggan to transport the bags of feed. She caught on amazingly fast and by day two, was an old pro.
If you want to see more of her in action, I posted a short vid on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g-Mzoa02yU

New Year

2008-01-08T09:27:00.000-06:00

Maggie, Greywaren Art, cleaned up her blog for the new year and got rid of the blog listings she does not read or that do not post often. For some reason, I survived the cut and even got put on the "blogs often and well" list. I now have expectations to live up to. Sigh.

Check out the January issue of EQUUS magazine. I had my first article published by them, although I have been illustrating off and on for them for over ten years. I am in hopes that with my foot in the author door, I can submit and have more articles accepted by them. I am currently working on illustrating a book on draft horses for Storey Publications and just finished one on driving oxen. This should be a hot topic if I ever get asked to any cocktail parties.

I am also blogging on a couple of other sites. One is linked to "Equicaching" a GPS horseback game, that I am hoping takes off with trail riders, even though right now I am battling name theft with someone I unfortunately was trusting enough to share the idea with when I first thought of going public.

Several other articles in the works as well as several art related projects. More about those later.

I received this in an email this morning. I have not checked to verify that the Dalai Lama actually wrote or said this for the new year, but I thought it was worth sharing regardless of the source:

Instructions for Life ...from the Dalai Lama:

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs: Respect for self, respect for others and responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go some place you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Pennies on the floor

2007-11-18T08:56:00.000-06:00

We have a new puppy at our place. His appearance involved intrigue, mystery, and a sudden appearance to my possession - for which I am now grateful (thanks, sis), as he is the ultimate charmer. Hard to imagine having a young dog relatively baggage free! Refreshing! His presence is also helping Bella, the Nashville rescue, drop more of her baggage as well and feel free to play.

There is something though about having a new puppy in the house that completely changes your perception about walking barefoot over dropped pennies on the carpet.

Golden Compass Deamon

2007-10-30T12:28:00.000-05:00

Just for fun.

Splitting Hairs

2007-10-12T11:25:00.000-05:00

Today I decided to part my hair differently. Usually, for the past millennium, I have let it part itself basically in the middle. Parting it a tad to either the right or the left is about as far as I will go for a new hairstyle.
Here is what I discovered. There is a definite difference in the amount of gray on the left side compared to the right side. Right side, no gray. Left side, a definite spattering. It has to be that the left side - analytical, organized - of my brain is showing the fatigue from trying to keep up with the right side - creative, emotional. While the grasshopper side is showing no signs of aging, the ant side is gasping for life here.
I should obviously let the right side do more and give the left side a much needed rest. It should take a nap and stop worrying about what the right side is up to. Obviously, the right side has never worried about what it or the left side were up to.
I am thinking of wearing a hat for a while to see if they can come to an agreement and then let them out again when they do.

Scam Information

2007-08-23T18:55:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Boundless Gallery for this link and information!!
For those that use the Google tip: here is the email: kellybeatifullll@yahoo.co.uk

Scams Targeting Artists

We have noticed a rise in the number of scams targeting artists recently so here are some common themes of these scams.

1) The customer never wants to buy your work through the website where it was found.
2) The customer is almost always moving to a different country.
3) The customer almost always insists on paying by check.
4) The customer will have his or her own company handling the shipping.
5) There will be an overpayment, whether the check was accidentally made out for too much or the customer asks you to forward the additional money to the shipping company.
6) The order is always urgent.

If you receive a message that seems a little odd Google can be your best friend. Type in the name of the sender or his or her email address and do a quick search. If it is a scam someone has probably posted the name, email and probably the message text as a warning for other artists.

These scams usually play out like this. The customer will contact you directly and ask for the price of your work without shipping. If the work is found on a site like ours this should seem a little odd because we list the price of the artwork and the shipping cost separately. The customer will mail you a check for the cost of the artwork plus a few hundred dollars extra either as an “accident” or to pay the shipping company to take the artwork. This is usually when you find out how urgent the order is and how the shipping company is waiting for this money. If you go along with the scam from here the check will arrive and you could probably deposit it at your bank then send out the extra money from your account. Because the check is printed from an international bank (most likely on a stolen check or bad account) it will take some time to bounce and this is what the scammer is counting on. You would be held responsible for the money you sent and the full amount of the bounced check would be removed from your account.

Update 8/17/07
Here is the text of the current scam email:
Subject: ARTWORK
Hope this message finds you well ,I came across your web page while searching for good artworks and I will like to buy some of these creative artworks directly from you which i think will be great for my walls

[Piece Title]
[Piece Title]
[Piece Title]
[Piece Title]

I will be happy to have these selected artworks in our new home.What are their prices exclusive of shipping cost? We are travelling from our Alabama home to our new apartment in London, I will appreciate an earlier reply. Thanks.
Best Regards

and the follow-up email:
Subject: Re: ARTWORK

Thanks so much for your response to my query about those creatives works.

I am presently away in London for my twin sister's wedding even though it comes at a time when i was preparing for a big move and also expecting a baby but it means so much to her. I should back in some few days.

Yes,i will like to proceed with the purchase of the all the present avalible artworks. I think they are lovely works that will add alot of colours to our new wall.

Meanwhile,i will like you to forward your mailing address and phone number so i can inform my husband to send you payment by a cashier check asap for the payment for those creative artworks.

And also I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that will be moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange shipping details. They can arrange pick up FedEx pick up of the artworks from your gallery.

I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to proceed. Cheers.

Best Re gards

Long time passing...

2007-08-23T17:24:00.000-05:00

My summer children are gone. Back to the hallways and lines in the schools of Texas. This year it all went too fast. We got to do lots of things and go a lot of places.
Now I can maybe get back into a routine and (fun) artwork again. Plenty to do all summer with advertising art and helping the kids with their horses.
Diamond Reo was found to have an ethmoid hematoma, yeh, I know, I didn't know what it was either. He is on the rapid mend now from a very rare affliction and you will be able to read about it along with my illustrations in an upcoming issue of EQUUS this fall.
On her 86th birthday, my mom tripped and fell. Nothing broken, but she wrecked her muscles in her right leg. My sister convinced her it was time to move into an apartment in town (past time, actually) and she will be moving in September to Knoxville. Mom has been staying with me until she can get into the apartment. She is getting around better everyday and is actually enjoying the cat - she "hates" cats - so I am hoping this new affection is not a sign of her mental facilities decreasing.
A local art show coming up this weekend and I am trying to get enough things together for a booth.
A heads up for all you equine artists that list on the web: I was contacted last week by a couple that wanted to purchase five paintings. They gave an address in England. I received a cashiers check today - for far more than the amount of the paintings and shipping- and thinking it was fishy, took the check to the bank to have it looked at. About 30 minutes of sleuthing later, they came back with the information that it was indeed a phony check. The couple was using the names Kelly and Frank George and claiming to live in London and Alabama but the check was from a bank in Maine. Hey, they had good taste at least.

Last weekend in May

2007-05-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

May is almost history. The days go by so quickly. I had great plans all figured out for all the things the boys and I were going to do over the weekend. Saturday it rained all day and once it did stop, it was so muddy, doing anything but slipping and sliding, was out of the question. Sunday was beautiful. I had promised my Parelli friend Patrice I would help film her Level 1 tasks and Sunday was going to be the best day for both of us. I drove to Fairfield and met Patrice on the square so she could lead me to her new barn. She used her palomino BLM mustang Cali for her tasks and all went very well. She even tried the pushing passenger lesson of riding around at a trot (most of the time) for 21 minutes and the follow the rail. We had a break and checked out the local TSC for tetanus shots and I picked up four feed pans for my crew. I gave Patrice a quick how to on giving shots. Since she does acupuncture on humans, I had to tease her about her apparent reluctance to use needles. When I got home Jim and I went to the pasture, but I hung out and help hand tools and add moral support while Jim trimmed the two little mare's hooves.
Raining again Monday morning, but it cleared by early afternoon. I spent part of the time finishing a sign and picking things up around the shop getting ready for the kids to come next week. When we went to the pasture, Jim caught Legend and after he got started, I went and got Nim and brought him up and saddled him. I played with two barrels with him and practiced figure 8's. He was getting too fast at trying to understand, so we tried a different game where I ask that he stick to me and resist the temptation of the long, yummy grass. He let me get behind him once in Zone 5 and tag his butt and that was the end of that. If I moved, he moved and made sure he stayed with me. I took him for a walk towards the north pond on the 22 foot line and played circle game as we walked along. Coming back he started to really pour on the speed. He looked every inch the dashing Arab surging across the desert. Bella took a dash at him and he spooked off and out of my hands, threw in a couple of sunfishing bucks, but turned immediately around and came back to me. I adjusted his saddle and asked him to circle again, but slowly, and he was fine. When we got back to where Jim was trimming, I traded to the rope hackamore and got on. We walked around for a while and I decided the saddle was too far forward, so got off, adjusted it back and hopped on again. I let him graze and walk around most of the time, but I asked for a few turns and I would guide him over to a new piece of grass. I had him go up and down the fence line a couple of times and squeeze us between the truck and the fence. I asked for and got, some very nice and soft backups. His lateral flexion has improved greatly. At one point Nim was facing the fence and I asked and got a very nice four steps sideways to the right. Later on we did a sidepass to the left again. Sweet! After I had unsaddled him and traded back to the regular halter, I asked for the barrel pattern again, but very softly. Very slowly. He walked and jogged perfectly around them with no emotion. Double sweet!
Not what I had planned for my last long weekend of the summer without kids, but productive regardless. I was glad to help a friend try for her Level 1 and everything I did with my own horses was positive so all in all a great weekend.