First Day After Day One!

Thank you so much for all your messages of encouragement and support - they are more appreciated than you'll know!

To be honest, I coped better than I thought I would yesterday, my first day of work as stable hand! To be sure, I wasn't as quick as I should be, but that will come with time, practice and fitness!

Yesterday, I helped out with mucking out and refilling bedding, mixing feed, vacuuming the barn's interior passages (the barn vac is almost a meter wide, like operating a large, heavy lawn-mower, which is a work-out on its own - but better than sweeping the whole barn the old-fashioned way!), training on operating the automatic horse-walker, taking horses out to paddocks for a few hours of grazing and sunshine, and bringing them back in (awesome - so quiet out there, such great company, such wonderful scenery!), and I got to groom one horse top-to-toe (which is saying something, because I think he's about 17hh - this was the best part of the day!).

I think my arms and shoulders are conditioned enough from using my camera equipment, to cope with a lot of the lifting, and the grooming which is very upper-body intensive (besides the tippy-toe action when I try to reach the high end of his neck and his face, which he thought was funny to hold up high!). My main pains, today, are from stiffness around my ribs and waist, that is courtesy of mucking out. Got to get it figured out so that I'm not bending and twisting so much, but rather just swinging my arms!

At the end of the day yesterday, before the aching muscles (such as they are) kicked in, my feet were the major source of discomfort. Ok, the soles were on fire! I wore an old, sad pair of hiking boots, and they just didn't cut it for a full day spent on my feet. So a trip to the shop for a pair of Blundstones with gel inserts is in my future! Happily, the feet are none the worse for wear, and are feeling fine this morning!

I went for a walk this morning, and everything loosened up nicely. But after about 5 minutes of sitting down, stiffened up again. Not quite as bad as it was earlier, though. We shall see what tomorrow brings - the second day after exertion is usually the worst!

Oh yes, I do have permission to take photos, so those will be forthcoming in due course! I get an hour's lunch break so, once I'm more settled, I should easily be able to fit in some shooting! No doubt there will be sunrise and sunset sessions at some point, too!  :D

I have four more days in my office job, the last being Friday, and start in earnest at the yard on Sunday. I suppose a three-day series for my first "full week" will be better than four days all at once! My regular schedule will be Saturday through Tuesday.

Until next time ...
Keep your weight in your heels!
Tanya

Exciting : Exiting The Rat Race

I anguished over the title I would use for this piece. As I write, there are already three versions, and will no doubt have more added by the time I finish this blog post today! What am I wanting to convey to you, the reader ... excitement, anticipation, apprehension, disbelief?

A few weeks ago, an opportunity revealed itself to me on Facebook ... and I was surprised to find myself seriously considering it! After a brief deliberation with me and myself, I applied for the position, was invited for an interview, and got offered the job! I could hardly believe it, though I knew I'd have been crushed if I hadn't landed it.

This was rapidly followed by the agonizing over whether I/we could afford for me to make this change, and wondering if I'm up to the physical challenge of it!

Long story short, I'm stepping out from behind a desk and computer, where I've worked for the past 25+ years! I have accepted a post as Stable Hand at a high-end equestrian facility in the Pemberton Meadows. Yes, that means mucking stables, grooming horses, feeding horses, cleaning tack, and a hundred other functions that go into the smooth and efficient running of a horse yard. Sounds like heaven to me!

I'll tell you more about the place itself a bit later ... once I know if I'm permitted to take photographs on the property. For now, suffice to say that for a horse-lover with a passion for dressage, this place is heaven-on-earth!

Since accepting the new position and wrapping up my current commitment (I still have four more office work days), I've asked several questions of myself. Mostly they're of the rhetorical variety like "What were you thinking?!", along with "You're too old for this!", "You're WAY too out-of-shape for this!", etc.

But then I realise that my new employers are quite aware of my age (after all, I pointed it out during my interview, just in case they missed my more-salt-than-pepper hair), and there's definitely no hiding my physical unfitness.

They must be counting on my previous experience, ancient history as it is, in working with horses to carry me through. After all, caring for horses can't have changed all THAT much in the past couple of decades, can it? The concepts are the same, but from what I've seen of this beautiful facility, I'm going to be learning a great deal about new techniques and equipment, too!

For example, the equipment in the last yard I worked at consisted of gloves, wellies, brooms, brushes, rags, sponges, and muscles. The only electric equipment was lighting - if we were lucky! This yard features a vacuum (instead of sweeping), an automatic horse walker (granted, monitored by staff at all times when in use), an atv to carry away the used bedding (no wheelbarrows here!), and keypad security on access gates and storeroom doors, among other things!

Despite all these newfangled gadgets, I am anticipating physical agony for the first couple of weeks, as this sedentary body gets hammered back into shape by the exertion required. Maybe I should have "before" and "after" photos taken!  :P

Now, the last thing to do ... post this article before I start my first day on the job, so that I am not tempted to make adjustments after the fact!

Watch this space to see how I fared on my first orientation/training day - tomorrow!

Keep your weight in your heels!

Tanya

PS: No, there won't be any riding opportunities that I know of. That said, since being involved more closely with horses again since I started taking photos at local competitions, I have started feeling the urge. But that story will have to wait for another day ...

Win A Pet Photo Shoot!

Yes, I know, it's been a while! That's what happens when you start a new job that involves intensive and ongoing training that overwhelms your life for several weeks!

I'm finding more energy to spare in my time off now, though, and best of all, my enthusiasm for my photography is returning!

This is one of my fav photos from a recent Whistler Animals Galore photo shoot:

Kaillie - available for adoption now! See more photos of her by clicking here.

From the same shoot, see photos of mum Olive and her 3 pups by clicking here!

Add to that, my photography Facebook page is now at 400+ fans, and I'm celebrating by offering a Lucky Draw contest!

Entries for the contest will be accepted until the end of May 2015. You may enter once a day - so the sooner you start, the more entries you will get, which increases your chances of winning! In addition, if you share the contest with your friends, you get a bonus entry for that, too! So, get on it now! Here's the link:

ENTER LUCKY DRAW 2015 NOW!

Best of luck to you all! And THANK YOU for your ongoing support!

Whistler Animals Galore - WAG

Yesterday was my first volunteer photography session at Whistler Animals Galore (WAG)! Happily, as it was a weekend, hubby was available to help me - I'm so grateful for that!

We were thrown in the deep end, too - three cats, two dogs, and seven (yes!) eight-week-old puppies! It felt like a bit of a gong show, being at a new location, with new people, and the animals working with people they'd never met, or even got the scent of, before! Happily, I was able to get a handful of decent shots of almost everyone.

Here are a couple of my fav's (as always, click to enlarge):

Akela

Moose

Fischer

Click here to view the dog gallery, and here to see the cats in my smugmug galleries.

At some point, I'll take some photos of the facility at WAG ... talk about comfy ... eg: heated floors in the cattery! Whoa!

Good To Be Back In Pemberton - Home!

We've been back in Pemberton over 3 weeks already ... it feels like just yesterday that we arrived!

In amongst it all, I've been happy to have the opportunity to take my camera out for a couple of getting-to-know-you-again sessions in the valley!

All together now: Click image to enlarge photograph!

First was a drive down the Meadows Road, to the end of the tarmac and several k's down the dirt track:

Then a walk to One Mile Lake, where we discovered new boardwalks and better access:

Mini-hike with family to Nairn Falls - chilly but well worth it:

And a few other miscellaneous scenes ...

It is SO good to be back!

British Columbia Road Trip - From the Heart of the Columbia Valley to the Sea To Sky Corridor

I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last blog post! So much has happened! Here's what I've been up to, with a lot of help on the home front from Mum:

- packed up our house in Invermere,

- resigned from the only job in the world (besides being a full time photographer, of course!) that is PERFECT for me,

- helped find my replacement at Eagle-Eye Tours,

- spent a week or so camping in our empty Castle Rock place while I finished up at work,

- again with a lot of help from Mum, cleaned the unit to within an inch of its life,

- while squeezing in three days to give basic training to my replacement,

- then spent two long days driving from the Columbia Valley through the Thompson-Nicola region to the north end of the Sea To Sky Corridor!

We (Mum and I, in two vehicles) tried to stop as much as we could along the way, but we were thwarted by aggressive tailgaters (Mainroads Highways vehicles on several occasions, especially in the Columbia Valley and between Golden and Kamloops!), and the fact that the speed limit was too high to allow a safe bail off the narrow and often shoulderless highway at a decent viewpoint!

Grab yourself a cuppa - here are some of my fav photos from the trip (as always, click to on the images enlarge view):

Second-Last Photo in the Columbia Valley - Taken from the Castle Rock garbage bins!

Last Photo from the Columbia Valley - a Rare Fellow Baja at Timmie's in Golden! (Mine on the Right)

On the Road through Glacier National Park

Also GNP - Mum's Car

The Mountains Tower above us - Snow Sheds & Vehicles give Perspective!

Frosty & Sunless Down Here, Too!

Roger's Pass - Magnificent - and Darned Cold!

A Blizzard of Ice Crystals!

Leaving Revelstoke

The "Wild West" at Three Valleys

And a Random Antique Fire Engine1

After a night at the Super 8 in Kamloops, we hit the road again ... ever-changing climate zones and landscapes ... reminiscent of the Karoo/Highveld, for those of who familiar with RSA!

At the Kamloops Lake Viewpoint

Yes, That's Steam Rising Off the Lake - It Was Cold!

I thought that was a large bird atop the tree, but it's not - still like the colours in this one!

Love this one, with the Train!

A Few Minutes At Marble Canyon

East of Lillooet

The Lillooet River

Quick Stop (Too Cold & Windy!) at Seton Lake to try to spot Mountain Goats (no luck!)

Then we Climbed the Duffey Lake Road

Stopped for Several Minutes' Rest at the gorgeous Duffey Lake

Stellar Jay - one of my fav birds!

Whiskey Jack - cheeky, and brazen, little squirt!

Rest Stop at the Joffre Lakes Trailhead

About half an hour after leaving Joffre Lakes, we were in Pemberton!

Today, we're comfortably ensconced in our new rental unit in Pemberton. 99% of the boxes are unpacked - the ones that are going to be unpacked, that is. It's a much smaller place, so a lot of non-essentials (eg: pictures) will remain stored in the garage and any other nook/cranny that isn't taken up by something more vital.

More about Pemberton coming soon ...