Polar Vortex

 

This is yet another FB post gone blogspot, because despite my best efforts to keep things short, it's too tempting to babble about everything in these 3 pictures.  Whatever's easiest, whatever's simplest:  That's what gets blogged about, not the long-promised stuff, not the carefully researched history ones nor the memorial ones, deserving though they be, and as fun as it is to blog.  Those take time and work and right now the time is nearly all going into the next book.  Soon I'll be making tack again and that is a pleasure too long denied, as well ---!!

So Vail finally arrived.  I'd received a delivery notice on Friday the 17th, went downtown on Monday the 20th fully expecting him to be there, and picked up instead -- a boxful of puzzles from Bits & Pieces.  "That's all I have for you," begged the clerk.  Unhorsed, I went home.  The next convenient opportunity for going downtown was today, Friday the 24th.  Lo, not only was Vail there, but so was a huge box that turned out to be from Germany.  "Vuca!" cried the wargamer in the house -- and I learned this was a company he'd least expected to deliver the goods, not after the war in Ukraine!  (It was a Ukrainian war game, with phenomenally bad timing in its release -- unintentional of course.)  Well, good things come to those who wait.

Yes, that's a copy of Driving Digest magazine.  Since it's Black Friday, there should be some package-opening to counterbalance all the purchasing (even though none of these was bought today).

Now, I already had a Totilas.  Back in 2017, I'd taken the time to make a special base for this horse, thanks to guidance from N. Hertzog.  

I detest horses on stands, and as a rule, there are few in my herd.   However, for this delicious palomino, an unusual effort was made.  I made a permanent stand from Masonite and Fimo and embedded a nail and a screw, one for each hoof.  One can disassemble it with a screwdriver, if required;  but why?  I painted it brown and thought I'd never need another Totilas.

Well, I was wrong.

The names of these three reflect the sky in some form or fashion.  The Huckleberry Bey Technicolor is my darkest modern Copenhagen, an incredible royal blue color-shift, and (how many times are you going to hear this) very hard to photograph.  I named him Orion after the constellation, a celestial name.  The Clock Saddlebred I named Cirrus Floccus.  (C'mon, my husband is a meteorology professor ---!!)  Note from the future:  I remembered his name.  Polar Low was close, but now (as of Dec 8) it's Polar Vortex.

I have always loved the Copenhagens.  I shall always be grateful that I have a couple of the original vintage ones, collected in the 1980s.  These three contemporary Decos are fantastic, incredible horses:  Dreams come true.