I'll start at the beginning of the day (minus all the dishes and such like). I buried my nose in the computer screen this morning building AfterEffects compositions like a pro. (Heh!)

I had half a dozen done before lunch. More importantly, I learned how to use Photoshop a little better! I cropped two flags out of the pictures from Ocklawaha and shrunk them up and a made a lower third out of them. (If you don't know, a lower third is the title bar thingy you see in documentaries, for instance. You know, the bar that says "So-in-so, author of such-in-such". :D) I had to go back and add that into the compositions I had already made. I plowed through and I think I have all the ones I want. I figured out that I'm going to have to mess with the color of the text...but I'll take care of that tomorrow. I also have to do quite a bit of work with the audio. I have to raise the volume level on the main audio track--I'll have to go back into Soundbooth to do that. I'm going to see about removing some wind noise from another audio track (Commander G's speech) in Premiere Pro. One of my contacts on Google+ gave me some tips on how to do that...Google+ is kind of cool like that. Need help? Just post that you do and someone might just show up and help you! :)

At some point after lunch, while I was busy working on AE compositions with WCPE playing in my ears, the two ladies from Granddaddy's church who stop by fairly regularly, dropped in. The one asked if we'd play a bit for them so Savannah played a couple things on the piano, I hauled out the cello, and then gave a piece on my guitar (one of my new favorites--Riding a Raid). That was all the more musical I was today. (Not counting the singing I did while doing dishes and riding Snip.)

Moving on, around 3:30ish, I went out to ride Snip. As usual, it took a few minutes to land the bit between Snip's roving lips and between his teeth. Once that was done, the rascal was calm as a cucumber. I brushed him and combed the mass of goat-heads and other stickery things out of his mane. While working on his forelock, he started nibbling on the front of my shirt. I think he was eating the goat-heads stuck on it, but all the same I shoved him off several times--I didn't really want to get nipped.

I saddled him up and hopped on. Then off we went! At a walk. ;) I did trot him and even slow loped him later on after we'd been going for a bit. I didn't get any hint of a buck out of him today, for which I was glad. He did get rather impatient to get moving while I sat on his back and peeled myself an orange I picked off one of the old trees in the pasture. It wasn't 100% 'ready' but it sure tasted good anyway! I ate it on the move. I was tired of having to get on to Snip about his pawing.

Other intersting things of the afternoon...he spooked a little bit as we sat next to the hanger. This very tall weed was rubbing against the hanger making noise and that startled him. I made him walk back that way a bit--training thing, you know. (The same reason I whirl

For some strange reason (providence), I decided to go up the trap to the pens. I am SO glad I did. There was a cow shut in there! How she got shut up I don't know. I had left that east gate open after working cows last time...with the chain hanging on the north fence (where it gets closed). Anyway, that gate was chained shut. There is no possible way, even had the wind been honking, for that chain to wrap itself around the gate and hook itself. Someone had to have shut that cow in there. I know it wasn't me or Savannah, and it certainly wasn't Granddaddy! I dismounted from Snip, rather worried about this cow. She poked her nose out to me and I briefly scratched her nose. It was damp and she didn't seem to be in distress (fortunately). Her eyes were normal (this is one of the more docile/friendly of Granddaddy's herd) and the only thing I noticed negative about her was that she seemed rather sunken about the hips. (Could partially have been the angle she was standing at.) Anyway, I got the gate open and chained it that way. The cow went out and immediately started eating not to far away from Snip (who by the way I had tied to the fence--as soon as I started to turn away he went to start nibbling at the reins...stinker.) She stayed in the run until after we'd left then went to join her 'people' on the south side of the pasture. I don't know if she got anything to drink or not, but I do know that she hadn't had any water in the pens. So....if I find another cow closed into the pens, I'm going to be one furious girl. I was pretty irritated as it was--I wonder, was this some brat kid's idea of a practical joke? Just think, if I hadn't decided to go riding today and on a wild hair go all the way up the run to the pens, that poor cow might have died from thirst!

I finished my ride...nobody got hurt and Snip behaved himself like a gentleman almost the whole time. When we came in it was time for supper--for both of us. As I was coming in, I looked back and that crazy animal had his foot in the sink that serves as his feed bowl....

Minus the myserious cow episode, I had a really good, fairly productive day. How was yours?

        Racheal




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