Anna Blake

Politics, Typing, and the Right Tool for the Job.

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My computer is up on blocks. Like an old rusted-out Chevy, it’s balanced on top of two eyeglass cases that are resting on top of a computer cooling pad with three fans.  It still overheats, so there’s another fan behind this teetering stack, roaring along and blowing in my face, unless I give in and … Read more

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monochromatic.

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The best barn cats are monochromatic; they blend in. Unobtrusive lurkers, they’re the color of dirt, hay, and shadow. A bright colored calico is an easy target for a hawk, but a tabby…well, rodents beware.

This pair are siblings; it’s hard to tell where one stops and the other starts. Hank stalks coyotes, intimidates dogs for sport, and is very outspoken, while Squirrel prefers killing moths, napping in boxes, and proofreading. Not so monochromatic after all.

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

(WordPress Photo Challenge is a weekly prompt to share a photo- I enjoy twisting these macro prompts to share our micro life here on the Colorado prairie. My photos are taken with my phone, on my farm. No psych, definitely not high tech.)

“Monochromatic.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: Connected.

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Most of us see herd dominance as a line–alpha to the “bottom.” It’s a limited one-dimensional view. When was any life ever that simple?

Too much notice is given to differences. In the barn herd, members are connected, even as individuality blossoms. Opposites attract. Temperaments change over the years. Alliances come and go. And when someone separates, the entire herd feels that loss.

You already know the next part, right?

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

(WordPress Photo Challenge is a weekly prompt to share a photo- I enjoy twisting these macro prompts to share our micro life here on the Colorado prairie. My photos are taken with my phone, on my farm. No psych, definitely not high tech.)

“Connected.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Every Angle

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This pair: from every angle, even their shadows are joined–as close as skin.

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

(WordPress Photo Challenge is a weekly prompt to share a photo- I enjoy twisting these macro prompts to share our micro life here on the Colorado prairie. My photos are taken with my phone, on my farm. No psych, definitely not high tech.)

“From Every Angle.”

Stable Relation, a memoir of one woman’s spirited journey home,

by way of the barn.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Today Was a Good Day.

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Living on the prairie isn’t romantic. You always know the very worst things are just around the corner; there’s always a threat of injury or death for the animals or some impending natural disaster–burning heat, gale-force winds, floods, ground blizzards.

It starts before dawn; you’re behind from yesterday before you begin. There’s too much work to be done and not enough money to pay for it. It isn’t a retirement plan; it’s the hard physical work, but at least the days are long and the environment fights back. Some body part or another is always hurting, some fence or other always needs repair. There’s the eternal struggle between life and death, whether it’s ducklings on the pond or a slow-moving elder horse. Sometimes it’s as quick as a splash, but mostly it’s a long slow arm-wrestle of a fight. In the end, death eventually wins. I try to make friends with the things I can’t change but I still fight.

Then as I’m dragging through evening chores and slowing up to share a breath with the herd, a thought creeps into my brain. It isn’t happiness or relief. It’s more like, “I should be much more depressed than I am.” and then the realization that today was a good day.

Anna Blake, Infinity Farm.

(WordPress Photo Challenge is a weekly prompt to share a photo- I enjoy twisting these macro prompts to share our micro life here on the Colorado prairie. My photos are taken with my phone, on my farm. No psych, definitely not high tech.)

Stable_Relation_3D_Cover[1]Available now: Stable Relation, a memoir of one woman’s spirited journey home, by way of the barn. It’s the story of the farm I grew up on, the farm I have now, and the horse who carried me in between. Available at all online book sellers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. To get updates and the inside story, sign up for my newsletter here: Prairie Moon News. Thank you.

“Today Was a Good Day.”