Atlantic Grand Circuit Week at Truro Raceway

 Night Race

 Grey Ghost at night

 Racing in the Rain- Trotters

Trotters on Tuesday

Atlantic Grand Circuit week just wrapped up here at the track. With all the recent upheaval it was great to see the event take place. Unfortunately Mother Nature was having a "moment" and it rained so hard on Tuesday I am pretty sure it washed the L'Oreal right out of my hair!

There were large crowds each day I was there and it was good to hear the conversations of the new people who came to the track to watch the best of the best race.

On Tuesday Night  they had a live band singing and I was rather in favour of that until they started to sing "I love a rainy night." No longer a  fan of that particular little ditty!

Photographing racehorses in the rain is a bit challenging at the best of times but add to that the black looming rain clouds that occasionally burst upon the poor humans below and then you are left wondering just how water proof your camera seals are! I got some great shots and hopefully you will see something that inspires you to go to your local track.

The Last Race

 CTV came and experienced the thrill of being in the bike!

 Monster stride on this mare who is motoring those sexy bike wheels!

 The start of the race is always thrilling

I love photographing the horses from the infield

Yes this is at the track between races

My last post was quite somber. My heart was heavy with the fear that the local racetrack was closing. My daughter and I went on Sunday for what was to be the last race.

Then something wonderful happened. A group of local business men, people who are horsemen themselves, stepped up to the plate to help support, organize and manage the track. It is not a guaranteed success story but it lightens the load and the heart. They haven't asked for a government bailout, they are handling it themselves and it is actions such as this that give me hope for my home province. For too long we have allowed others to control our futures and whether it was intentional or not, left matters in complete disrepair. Here's hoping that more people will take a "hand up" vs the "hand out" approach to keeping our community vibrant and alive.

I hope you enjoy the photography from last weeks races. It is not the last day!

Truro Raceway Closure

It is with a heavy heart that I make this post. For years I have been visiting the local Truro Raceway. It has been a great place for me to immerse myself in all things horse. The smells, sounds and touch of these lovely animals allowed me to destress as I clicked away with my camera. The people who worked here humoured me in all sorts of weather and many of them became friends.

It has been announced that Sundays race will be the last one ever. 138 years of tradition gone due to finances and crippling debt. 300 horses will need new homes and 150 people will be out of work. I am glad that I had the chance to capture this glorious sport both with camera and paint brush.

The horsemen are trying to create some sort of workable solution that will save their track but it is still up in the air as to the future. I keep my fingers crossed that they are successful.

This is an unfinished painting, rather like the track.  Perhaps when it is finished there will be horsemen at the track to see it.

Round Pen Antics 6x12 Oil Portrait

A few months back I went to visit my friend Ben at the local Racetrack. It was a bitterly cold brutal day. The -30 temperature had everyone wondering what I was thinking but a few really nice shots were obtained including the photo that was the inspiration for this painting.

It was one of those days that made you realize that hard work has to be achieved before anything of worth can be created.

This painting was finished because I sprained my ankle, again. Usually once a year or every two years I mangle some appendage on my body. Since we as humans only have a finite amount of limbs it only stands to reason that some limbs are repeat recipients of injury. I won't tell you how I hurt myself, instead I will tell you I was fighting Dragons as that sounds so much better than the boring and mundane truth. The silver lining in the whole episode is that I am moving slower and my ever active brain is refocused on other hobbies I can complete. This painting had been in the beginning stages of completion since January and now, limited by my body's lack of mobility, I quite contently plunk myself in front of my easel and paint.

Hope your day yields great results regardless of its inspiration!

Anna's Cowboy

Anna's Cowboy Oil Portrait 6x4

This morning is surperb. Blue skies without the taint of clouds and the surrounding forest is filled with the songs of birds. These are the type of days that makes one happy to be alive!

Todays painting (yes a painting not a photo!!) was inspired by my daughter who wanted to learn about oil painting. She is actually quite an accomplished artist herself but works in mediums I do not. I am not sure if I helped or inspired her as she is now tackling acrylics! 

Regardless, it felt good to get into the studio and paint. Cowboy is a Standardbred who races at my friends stable and he is exceptionally photogenic. There are several canvas' with his figure sketched on it. With small snipets of time allotted to the studio I will eventually get them all done but I may be an old woman by the time the world sees them!!

Enjoy your day. 

Coopers Cows Oil Portrait Commission SOLD

Finally starting to live again. The stress of the school year is behind me and all the lambs are thriving. Bottle babies are still demanding that little bit of extra "lovin'" in terms of a pet or scratch behind the ears. I am enjoying the lushness of spring, I am NOT a winter person. My flower gardens are a common haunt now as I inspect the plants to see who survived the long winter.

I am starting to visit the studio with more regularity but my output is slower due to the size of the pieces I am working on. The above painting is based on a photo I took of a neighbors herd. I used to walk along the Bay and they would always come to the fence to visit me. Unlike my lambs they were never enamoured enough of me to let me pet them!

Mother's Day

LucyLoo and I

Goober and her triplets plus a few others!

It is 8:01 am and I have already done 1 load of laundry, fed the animals and made sure the bottle lambs have had breakfast. No one else is up yet.

Mothers Day is just an acknowledgment that you have a Mom. Without a Mom, human civilization would cease to exist. Mothers come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and species. Goober, one of my BFL x ewes, had triplets this year and although she rejected LucyLoo (above with me) she did not mind being the Couch Momma for all lambs. That maternal instinct is strong.

I have raised alot of lambs but LucyLoo is a special one. I leave all my orphans in with the regular flock. Not a practice most Shepard's agree with but generally the orphans learn to be a sheep by imitating their friends. I go in with the bottle and the hungry/orphans always come for supper/snack and then return to their friends to resume normal lamb activities. LucyLoo however is rather an odd personality. She sticks to me like a burdock and when I sit in the paddock, she will lay down beside me and go to sleep as I scratch her head and back. If I am walking around in the pasture she will stick to my side with a tenacity that most dog trainers would kill for. If I run, she runs, if I turn she turns. In all essence I am her momma. My friend calls me the Sheep Momma and I am not insulted by this.

On this day where Mothers are honoured I think back on the mothers I have known. You do not have to give birth to a being to "mother" it. I have a friend who is looking into adopting a second child. The difference she is making to that child is life altering. That child will know what it is to be loved and be part of a family, and in return that child will repeat the process. We hear stories everyday about the horrors of abuse and neglect but we forget that those are not as common place as the love a Mother (and family) gives her child. I think this is the real reason mankind has not become extinct.

Humans do not have the monopoly on this emotion either. The Internet is full of fascinating stories of moms accepting a child, not of their making, into their lives. Whether it is a human Mother, animal mother or a rescue person, compassion and caring combined with love help make this a better place. I think this is the true essence of Mothers day.

Happy Mothers Day!