First day of the Races

Perfect picture to describe the mood I am in. Finished what was probably the worst semester in my life and survived. The exams made me question my sanity and wonder if the effort was worth the reward but once one walks away from a  situation, the pros outweigh the cons.

The season opening for the Truro Raceway was a cold grey day but it did not lessen the passion of everyone involved. I love how every horse here is walking on air. Spring brings with it the promise of a brighter future. My classes are done, my ewes are lambing and summer jobs have begun. Here's hoping the excitement I feel now is still prevalent in the fall when I start the final 3 courses I need to graduate!

This is beginning to be a bad habit, grabbing my camera as I stroll of to my favorite haunt for a walk in the futile hope to clear my mind ....so I can cram it full of data that would be purged during the latest bout of exams.

My avoidance this time is the dreaded biochem. Photographing my "neighborhood" is infinitely more pleasing that trying to permanently recall the Citrus Cycle. Noticing that certain sections of my fav path resemble LOTR Middle earth is much more fascinating than B oxidation. Considering the last lambing factored heavily in a negative manner on my last midterm I should buckle down.


Maybe I should have gone to art school......

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Might well slog my way through the internal cyclic nature of biochemistry seeing as I already paid for the course and failing is such a reprehensible way to waste money. I promise to treat myself to some uninterrupted me time in the studio. In 26 hours I will be free!!

Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture Fine Art and Fine Craft Show

 Pottery and Wool Sculptures

 Clay Sculpture, oil portrait and wool rug hooking ( from Wales!)

 Handmade Bagpipes and Chanters

 Pottery

 Forge Iron Great Blue Heron and Oil Painting

 

One of the great joys of this year for me has to be the creation of the Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture's Fine Art and Fine Craft Show.

I dare you to say that 10x really fast!!

When I decided to return to school to get my BSc in Environmental Science alot of my friends were more than slightly confused. They had known my love for art and I had always said I would go to Art school if given the chance. Many felt that a creative mind could not coexist with a scientific mind. I began to meet fellow classmates and teachers and talk with them (I am a gabber!) I learned of the hidden depth of creative talent lurking within the schools population. I wanted to show off that talent to prove to my friends that scientific minds are very creative ones. I thought having an art show would be a really great idea and approached the head librarian almost 2 years ago.

It has taken that long to make this kernel of an idea sprout into a lovely show. 

It was set up for students, staff, alumni and faculty. I learned alot of things during an incredibly steep learning curve but I would do it all over again. I learned that the general public is scared to go to an art show. They fear that it will cost them money, that someone will judge them harshly and that they will not have the mental capability of understanding the emotional angst an artist felt during the creation of their piece.

Mental angst? Really? Is that what art has become? If so, then we as artists have a lot to answer for. Like it or love it our motto was "No drama, come enjoy and  participate". For many of the artists it was the first time they ever showed their work in a public forum. For many more it was a chance to come and enjoy an adult version of show and tell. Opening night was a wonderful experience full of excited participants and pleasantly surprised spectators. Whether they were admirers or artists, after our show closed up, the interest in repeating the event was piqued. Those who missed out on the first show are now interested in participating in the next show.

And that's what it really is all about isn't it? 

Feeling like you are part of something. Here is hoping the next one is even more successful.

 Muffin and her two ewe lambs only hours old

 Muffin and Wonder

  The Quads- Sweetie Belle, Jose, Jewel and Jack

Sometimes I wonder if I have bitten off more than I should chew. I do try to schedule things so that they should happen in a logical and orderly fashion, unfortunately the best laid plans are usually a figment of an over active imagination!

My daughter is in 4H and likes to show sheep, so I had my two best ewes "scheduled" to lamb out during my study break. Problem was the ewes had other plans. I had a flowchart posted in the barn showing the girls when it was convenient for me to have them lamb out. I learned the hard way that sheep are not trainable. I commanded, ordered, begged, pleaded and then admitted defeat. In my fantasy world, Wednesday was the great day. In sheep land, Monday, first day AFTER study break, was B day.

Muffin went first, was a sweetie in that she required no assistance from me other than fetching her errant ewe lamb who decided that wondering around the horse paddock was a grand plan for a new born. Chloe proved once again why Appaloosas rule. She stood silently as a white cotton ball of fluff zig zagged through her legs. Muffin was considerably less stressed than I was. The ewe lamb is now called "Wonder".

Precious, my Rideau ewe, decided that more is better. So on Monday morning at 5 am after I had a shower in preparation of a full school day, Prec began lambing. Lamb #1 arrived head first at 5:30 am. Shepard intervention helped realigne the birth and a beautiful ewe lamb hits the ground. My Jasmine bodywash has overtones of afterbirth and Prec makes it clear this is only the start. Lamb 2 arrives on her own, no problems so I set down beside her with my biochem text book and decide to try and cram some last minute info into my brain. I kinda want to pass my exam at noon. I figure Prec is passed the worst of it.

Wrong again. A sort of a foreshadowing for the exam later that day. Lamb 3 is a ram lamb who comes out upsidedown and backwards. Prec is pretty much toast by now. I can add sheep sweat to the increasing list of aromas I now exude.

My Shepard sense is tingling. I watch as momma licks the triplets and I just know there is a fourth in there. It soon becomes apparent that I am right. Damn. I give up all pretence of writing the dreaded biochem test but since it is Monday and I have 45 minutes to welcome the arrival of a new lamb, wash up and drive into school  I admit defeat. Lamb #4 is sideways.  After considerable effort on Prec and my part, Jack arrives. Quads. Great. A sheep only has two teats. Prec has four mouths to feed. My workload just doubled.

I did make it in to write the biochem exam. That weird smell..it was me. I learned I am a better Shepard than biochemist. I remind myself of that when I get the mark back and it is less than spectacular. Then I go out to the barn to bottle feed two lambs and I realize that my home run ratio is much more important to the quads than my GPA.

There is a rumour that there is life out there. I heard there is this body function called sleep. I am beginning it is an urban myth as I myself am not getting any excess amounts of the stuff. School break... study break whatever one calls it now adays had a morning reprieve as I played snookie from the computer and my now loathsome 4th year project to catch something fast and furious!
The last time I went to the track it was a bitter -30 and although I got some nice shots today's excursion was infinitely more enjoyable!
The horseman in me was mortified when I did not notice one particular animal. I loved him and took many shots but did not note anything more interesting than his magnificance. All I thought was "Man that horse has got legs going everywhere. LOVE IT". Later turned out it was the one trotter on the track. My friend Ben who trains there, caught it and lets see if you can see him too! My version of "Where's Waldo" just for you.
I am going back to bed to nourish my mind so I don't make another aux pas!!! Adios!

Oxen

 The Oxen 8x10 Oil Portrait Commission

I feel a real sense of accomplishment having finally completed a piece! Last weekends blizzard really helped as I was bound to the house with little to do other than homework and housework. Two very reprehensible activities to my line of thinking!

I have wanted to paint oxen for a while and was presented with a good photo to work from. A woman commissioned me to paint this for her boyfriend who owns them. These two have been on TV so technically I have just painted my first "Star"! LOL

They originally had harness/yoke on them and were working in the woods but as you can tell I was very inspired by the winter weather at the time and the effect worked out nicely.

Time to hit the books and dedicate some time to an art show I am organizing. This is  a first for our University next month and I am on a steep learning curve. I have a new found respect for people who volunteer their time to make events happen in Public forums. I have already had a few "interesting" things happen and the deadline is still a month away. So next time you partake in a show and event, offer constructive criticism because without the volunteers, nothing would happen.

The Blizzard

Well, we are into day two of our Blizzard. The wheelbarrow has now been buried since this photo was taken and Chloe refuses to leave her shed. Sheep are of a similar mindset. I can not say I blame them. I am hiding out in the studio working on a commission and avoiding my statistics homework.

Actually I am avoiding all things school related at the moment. A small gift to myself for remaining in school while my friends pay off their mortgages and go on luxury trips to locations that are deficient in snow. The evil green monster in me was wishing for a different life this week.

Sad thing is the economy is actually looking worse now than when I convinced myself to return to school several years ago. I have also been to several "Meet the Grads", Career Fairs and the Deans List Reception and hearing the "rah rah, it is a wonderful time to be a new grad". The experience has me wondering if I am looking at the same economy as the speakers. At least I have a few decades of previous work experience to call on to back up my resume but I wonder what will become of the young grads. Maybe things will look better by the time my kids graduate!

Hope springs eternal.