The thermometer is starting to plummet and the snow is forecasted for the end of the week so it’s time to take the last steps of preparing for a winter turnout. Horses are made to withstand cold weather and do quite well in 20F weather. It has been shown that horses are healthiest when they are outside for at least part of the day in comparison to being kept in the padlock all winter long.

There are a few things that do change during the winter season to make allowances for the colder weather.

Make sure that water is always available. When the temperatures dip down ice can form on the water troughs. If this is an ongoing problem where you live then an investment in a water heater or an automatic pasture waterer will do the trick. It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on how much they drink, since although they require water, their thirst drops off in the winter.

A shelter is important on cold windy days. A roof with 3 sides is the best because it covers every angle the wind can come in except the front. It looks like an oversized bus shelter. It’s essential to remember that horses will require more food during the winter months. This is because it requires more energy to stay warm. Increase the amount of hay. Since it takes longer to break down, hay endures longer which in turn provides more long term heat.

Supplements are also a high priority in the cold season. A very effective supplement is TAHITIAN NONI® Equine Essentials. It supports the equine immune system with superior antioxidant activity as well as promotes proper feed digestion and nutrient absorption. The cold winter air tends to dry out hair and skin but the TAHITIAN NONI® Equine Essentials combats this. If you have a horse with joint problems there is a sister product called TAHITIAN NONI® Equine Essentials Flex^TM that has had great results.

Here is a tip for beautiful sunny days when the light is reflecting that it is almost blinding. Use the fly masks. It cuts the glare. They are also handy on really windy days especially if your horse has ever had problems with his eyes.

You have to admit there is something beautiful about horses running in the snow. As indicated at the bottom of all our web pages, these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please visit our website for details.

There exist a variety of things to see and do while touring Kentucky!  Now check out the fun and thrilling Kentucky attractions when you vacation in our vast state!  Whatever you enjoy – cities, mountains, forests, or oceans, the State of Kentucky provides incredible diversity of tourism attractions and events.  Everyone can find the ideal chance to relax and getaway from the hectic pace of daily routine.

Tour Idea #1:  On your next visit to Louisville, Kentucky, spend a day at the Speed Art Museum.  This is a huge art museum with an expansive collection of more than 12,000 pieces of artwork.  The Speed Art Museum displays items from its own collection as well as hosting temporary exhibits featuring art from other museums around the world.

As well as the historical Kentucky tourist attractions, there will be a diversity of many exciting activities to see and do.  Do you enjoy fishing when you were young?  You can camp and have an outdoor fun vacation.  Located within just a short distance, you can experience a variety of attractions and natural beauty. Discover the native wonders of the state and enjoy the outdoors.  Whether it is riding the historical trails or swimming or hiking, there are experiences for every member. These are just a few of the things you will discover, for more ideas, watch this Kentucky attractions video.

Tour Idea #2:  Mammoth Cave National Park in south central Kentucky is a beautiful and fascinating place. The Park preserves the longest cave system in the world, and visitors can explore this spectacular cave in their choice of cave tours.  In addition to touring the cave, visitors can enjoy their favorite outdoors activities in the beautiful Green River valley above ground. 

Balancing the unusual attractions with the more historical attractions will create a memorable family vacation escape.  To create the most of your family vacation time, you may desire to consider one of the many vacation packages or tours.  Many vacation packages include transporation, lodging, and car rentals  or include a entertaining tour.  Some packages include sports or museum tickets, so you can choose packages appropriate for everyone.  If you are fascinated in antiques and education, there are many arts and historical attractions, as well as museums of all kinds of specialties.

Everyone can save money by visiting online travel guides. Most guides will detail the many attractions.  Professional guides will share more information than simply a short paragraph or sentence. Take your adventure and explore excitement about your Kentucky vacation.  Enjoy your vacation escape and enjoy the chance to create family memories that will last a lifetime.

Dong quai, one of the most important of the Chinese tonic herbs, is used as a nourishing blood tonic and to support the menstrual cycle. Dong Quai has been used for centuries by Asian healers to support balance of female hormones and to promote hormonal health during the menopause and peri-menopause. More recently, clinical research has confirmed the effectiveness of this tonic herb.

While conventional medicine works by often treating just the symptoms, natural medicine strives to create holistic balance in the body to support systemic health, relieve ailments, and help prevent future disease. Unlike pharmaceutical drugs, the natural ingredients in our remedies support overall health and functioning (rather than just suppressing symptoms).

Dong quai herb, also known as Angelica sinensis or danggui, is one of the most respected herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. Extensively used also in Korea and Japan, dong quai is considered the “female ginseng” and used extensively to treat a variety of gynecological complaints, from hot flashes to lack of sleep due to hormonal changes. While both men and women can obtain benefits from using dong quai, the herb has long had a reputation for regulating female functions.

It is prescribed by natural doctors to treat menopausal symptoms and hormonal changes, and to induce the relaxation of uterine muscles. Dong quai is often combined with black cohosh to treat PMS, and is sometimes prescribed to women suffering from endometriosis. Because of its intense effect on the reproductive system, dong quai is not recommended during pregnancy.

As a general medicinal aid, dong quai has long been touted to be able to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, lower high blood pressure, and promote blood circulation. New studies suggest this may be true, especially when dong quai is combined with ginseng. Dong quai is also high in vitamins A, E, and B12 and rich in flavonoids (antioxidants), coumarins (anticoagulants), and ferulate, useful in the prevention of thrombosis and cerebrovascular diseases. Dong quai is sometimes recommended as a strengthening treatment for the liver and kidneys, as some of the components of the herb seem to have blood cleansing capabilities.

This natural herb dong quai is available in capsule and tablet form by name brands like Solaray, Natures Plus and Natures Way. Look to your local or internet health food store for name brands such as the ones listed above to ensure quality and purity of the products your purchase.

*Statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Natural dong quai is not intended to diagnose, treat and cure or prevent disease. Always consult with your professional health care provider before changing any medication or adding Vitamins to medications.

Italy has always been at the forefront of style and design. And Tuscany is that part of Italy which is the cultural and artistic epicenter. It has a rich artistic legacy, what with centers like Florence, Pienza and Val d’Orcia …

Tuscany is the birthplace of the Rennaissance movement. Arcitecture, sculpture and painting have flourished in the region for hundreds of years. It’s also the birthplace of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. Great artistic and architectural masterpieces are commonplace here.

Not surprsingly, Tuscan themed kitchens and Tuscan kitchen decor are very popular among many homeowners.

Warm and inviting is just how anyone who sees Tuscan kitchens will most possibly describe them. They are colorful, elegant and “nature friendly”. They favor materials like glass, terra cotta and even  sand and shells over plastic and metal.

While designing a Tuscan themed kitchen, you will want to use colors of nature. Warm, golden hues, moss green, cobalt blues and deep yellows. And the flooring is usually of quarry tiles or stone. You could also use area rugs too.

Using wood liberally might be a good thing to do, too. The idea is to give your kitchen an old-world, nature friendly look - with the theme inspired by Tuscany. Lining up jars of spices, dried pastas and herbs or maybe just earthenware water vessels could make your kitchen look positively gorgeous.

Using aged wood for cabinetry and shelves, earthenware bowls, ropes of dried peppers or garlic and so on. Just let your imagination rule and you could end up with a strikingly beautiful and unique Tuscan themed kitchen soon. So why not just get started right away and design that dream kitchen you always wanted !

From the eighties to the new century, the cellular phone developed from constituting an overpriced token employed by the business sector elite to a pervading, personal communications device for the common population.

Within many nations, cellphones outnumber land-line telephones, with fixed landlines totaling 1.3 billion yet cell subscriptions 3.3 billion at the conclusion of 2007.

In most markets from Japan and South Korea to Scandinavia to Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong, a majority of children aged eight to nine posses cellphones and fresh accounts are currently opened for clients aged six and seven.

While in some regions parents mostly tend to provide used phones to their youngest children, in Japan already new camera phones are on the market whose objective age group is under 10 years old.

The United States lags in this field. In the US so far about half of all children have cellphones. This may be a result of difficulty for individuals in finding the cheapest cell phone plan.

In a lot of young adults’ households the cellphone has replaced the land line phone as the one and only phone. Cellphone utilization is banned in some countries, like North Korea, and limited in a few other countries, such as Myanmar.

Considering the high degrees of social cellphone service penetration, it’s become a fundamental way for individuals to communicate with one another.

The SMS feature spawned the “texting” sub-culture among young users. While the first person-to-person SMS text message was transmitted in Finland in December 1993, texting has now become the world’s most widely used data service. Many phones offer Instant Messenger services for simple, easy texting.

A large amount of mobile cyberspace access has become quite similar to standard computer access, featuring web browsing, alerts, weather, e-mail, search engine access, instant messages along with game and music downloading.

It is no secret that the human body requires exercise. So we go to the gym in an effort to ward off weight gain and make our extra pounds disappear. But for some of us, working out in the gym or indoors in general is pure torture. Some people prefer outdoor exercise over indoor exercise because they love being outdoors, especially in nature. In fact, outdoor exercise has other benefits besides just giving us a chance to run around. Being out in the fresh air and sunshine is great for us. Muskelaufbau

If you think you want to get more outdoor exercise than you do, you should see a doctor before you start anything new. Some things, such as running on hard asphalt or concrete, can hurt your joints. If you already have joint problems, for example, you will need your doctor’s okay before you go outside and hit the pavement. Running can cause all sorts of problems in your legs, knees, hips, and feet. But for those who can withstand the impact, it is a great exercise.

Walking is a relatively gentle form of outdoor exercise. If you speed walk you can burn a lot of calories and it does not hurt your joints in the same way that running does. And, everyone knows how to walk because we’ve been doing it all our lives. In order to walk effectively, make sure you walk fast enough to elevate your heart rate. The problem with walking for outdoor exercise is that it is too easy to fall into the trap where you are walking at a strolling pace, which is way too slow. Gesundheit

Outdoor exercise can be fun, too. Downhill and cross country skiing are both forms of outdoor exercise and things you can do in the winter. The thing is, some people find them so fun they do not even realize they are even doing any outdoor exercise. A lot of people end up at least slightly depressed in the winter. By getting some outdoor exercise, it helps elevate your mood. Too many people spend their winter cooped up inside. Uebungen

So, if you want to get some exercise, consider outdoor exercise. It is fun and for the most part safe. But with any form of physical activity, you should consult your doctor first.

Disclaimer: For serious depression issues, please consult a physician.

Depression is on the increase as people struggle with the economy’s woes. Worry about kids, jobs, illnesses, insurance benefits, and budget stressors can make the day gloomy.

What do we do about depression? For certain, today you probably won’t be able to fix the economy, and maybe many other problems you’re experiencing don’t have quick solutions. Even though today may not bring permanent answers to your day’s trouble spots, there are some things you can do about feeling gloomy.

The use of “self-talk” can be very beneficial. Practice until it becomes a daily habit. Normally, we tell ourselves all kinds of negative things all during the day and into the night. Your mental voice often says things like: “I’m stupid. Why did I do that? What’s wrong with me? I keep screwing up. No one accepts me. I look fat. I’m ugly. My hair’s a mess. I need a makeover. I’m not doing enough. My kids hate me. I’m not a good parent.” I don’t do my job right.”

We’ve got criticizing ourselves down quite well. What we need to do more of, is positive self talk that will energize us and change our mood. Not empty compliments, but really good advice. You CAN be your own best friend!

Saying things like: 

“I am good enough, today; I do many things well; I may not be able to solve all the problems I am thinking about, but I can make some improvements on one or two. (Be specific in your head.); I can break complicated tasks or problems down into many smaller steps; I can clean one room tonight. I can get the laundry done, today; I will spend 1 hour with my child tonight; I am well-groomed; I look good; I can smile; I can focus on my job today; I can help someone else; I will sleep in a dark, cool room, I will listen to soft music that fades gradually into silence.”

The more specific we can be with our self-talk, the more we will feel in control of our lives, and the more control we feel, an increased feeling of joy will come over us.  The list goes on. In fact, what we say to ourselves is endless.

Vow today, to: Lift yourself up!; Pay attention to your children!; Eat more nutritiously!; Take part in the community!; Join a club or organization!; Make time for yourself every single day; Clean the house. (A clean, organized home really does make you feel joyous!); Walk daily, just 15 minutes, in fact, start out with 10; Think of 3 new habits to develop, and begin small but begin! (i.e. do the dishes nightly; clean the tub nightly; read a chapter in an uplifting book, daily, talk to your kids individually, daily, talk to your spouse privately, daily.) 

Practice the art of pretending.  You can pretend to feel good, until you DO feel good. You’re worth it, vow to fight depression, to get that new job, to show your children how to cope with problems!

Do something different, today! I KNOW you can. Keep hope alive.

Introduction

Welcome to Part Two of A Guide to Big Cat Photography. Here we continue to look at equipment and common mistakes encountered when photographing Big Cats.

Lenses

Here you have quite a few choices , these points are discuss below.

Specific Lenses

Macro - a close focusing lens ranging from 50 to around 110mm in focal length - the longer the lens the further away from the subject you can be. The drawback - foreshortened depth of field - you have just a few millimetres to get the focus point correct - so you’ll need a still subject matter. But you can get some amazing close ups of teeth and paws.

Standard Close Focusing - this would apply to a 30mm or 50mm prime lens but one that has the ability to focus down to around 8 to 12 inches. These lenses can give you close dramatic images when on a Big Cats Experience Day.

Standard Zoom - for me this would be a lens similar to an 18 - 70mm or the 17 - 55mm. Similarly there are some longer standard zooms such as the 24 - 70mm or even a 24 - 120mm. The choice is yours and it comes down to which part of the zoom range you want to operate within, remember on a DX body the lens will be multiplied by a factor of 1.4 to 1.6 depending on which brand of camera body you have. So your 17 - 55mm multiplies up to around a 25 - 82mm when compared to a 35mm film camera or an FX digital body. On an FX body - being full frame the focal length is as stated. But remember if you use a DX lens on a FX body you’ll get edge fringing , called vignetting.

Fast Zoom Lens -by this we are discussing how much light the lens can let in at its widest aperture. For example a lens with a minimum aperture of F6.3 will let in far less light than one of F2.8. Remember the smaller the number the bigger the hole in the lens and the more light it lets in. This then gives you faster shutter speeds, which you need with longer focal length lenses, for example those over 200mm. Tip - you should always keep your shutter speed over your focal length - so if you‘re at 200mm, you need 200th of a second, but hang on you’re using a DX body and lens so you need to add in the crop factor multiply by 1.4 to 1.6 so at 200mm you really need 320th or 400th of a second. Even some standard zooms with F2.8 aperture used by the professional photographer can still be expensive, for example the Nikon 17-55 F2.8 is around £900.

Standard Telephoto - this would be something like a 70 - 300mm lens or some of the more all day lenses - like an 18 - 200 or 55 - 200, all day lenses are covered below. You can get a 70 - 200 F2.8 but these are expensive, most standard telephotos range from F4 to F5.6 in terms of speed and are good all round lenses, just watch the light levels. OK you can up the ISO but again remember the noise compromise.

Super Telephoto - this would apply to either a lens over 300mm or one that I feel is a prime lens, fixed focal length, that sits around F4 or F2.8. These are very expensive lenses and entry levels are around £2,000. Personally I like to use the 200 - 400mm VR lens from Nikon, now checking in at a suggested selling price of £5800, but I didn’t pay that for mine, I got in before the 2009 price rise.

All Day Lenses

A Definition - by this we are talking about an all in one lens, a lens that will cover from wide angle to standard telephoto, for instance an 18- 200mm.

The Benefits - it gets you all the shots you need, no changing lenses no down time. Often light and compact they are not much to carry about.

The Compromise - optical quality! You’re asking this lens be a jack of all trades master of none. A prime will always out perform a zoom. And an all day lens has to do a job at all levels through the zoom range, the edges of the image will suffer and so too will the speed of the lens, remember the F number and the amount of light it needs. You don’t find professional lens made at F2.8 or faster that cover that wide a range - and there has to be a reason for that - optical quality - Pros carry 2 or more camera bodies with a shot and a long lens set up using matched equipment.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field (DOF) - if you are fortunate enough to own f2.8 maximum aperture lenses then be mindful as to how short the DOF can be, especially if the subject comes within the zone where the distance to subject is under the focal length - for example, the DOF on a 200mm lens will be further foreshortened if the subject is inside a 2m (2000mm) range in front of the lens. Some 200mm lenses will focus as close as 1.5 - 1.8m so the impact of this is that you may focus on the nose of say a tiger only to find the eyes are blurred, or out of focus.

Shutter Speed

As a commercial photographer - remember this rule as we mentioned earlier - keep your shutter speed above the focal length of your lens, e.g. 200mm shoot at 250th sec or more, allowing for the crop factor I’d suggest at least 320th sec on a 200mm lens.

RAW or Jpeg

This is probably as much discussed on the camera forums as brand names, each has its advantages and disadvantages. Personally I shoot RAW as it gives you a safety zone if the shot is slightly out. Added to that I personally think it gives you more post production options. The choice as they is yours. I do shoot Jpeg for press work but only because you don’t have the time for post production.

Image Composition

Detail - this is great option, stripes, spots, eyes, ear noses and tails - there is so much choice.

Action - running, jumping, pawing for food on the ground or in the air, lost of options. And when it all kicks off with the three male lions make sure you’re ready.

Portraits - sitting, lying down with a full belly and a low sun in the sky and the lions look great. Contrast that with an angelic Tiger that just can’t be bothered. All of these give you great options for images.

Close Up - teeth, paws and claws, similar to the details shot but much closer, using macro photography.

Use of flash - this is an option , watch out for green or yellow eye, this is the same as red eye in humans and it’s a lot easier to get and harder to get rid of due to the size of the cats eyes. Also watch out for the bars , make sure the flash gun is a fill to the available light and close to the wire else you get wire stripes.

Common Errors

Wire - while the gauge of wire will have an effect on what can be done, I still see many shots with the wire right through the middle of the shot. It’s best to get the centre of the lens lined up with the square of the wire - i.e. the hole. Ensure you don’t have a vertical or horizontal wire passing in front of your lens or worst still a join, giving a big cross in the shot.

Background - try to get the background as natural as possible use close up shots or a short depth of field to bur the background. Also use any landscaping in the enclosure to mask the cage behind or above. Remember to get down low, take the cats perspective.

Machine gunning! - is the photographer that holds down the shutter button for extended periods of time, shooting continuously without checking the shots back. This will fill up your memory cards very quickly and give so many similar images to edit, when all you really need are short bursts of 3 to 6 shots. Take your time.

Metering - Try and avoid average metering and use spot or centre weighted, remember to metre off the subject. Matrix metering is too general for Big Cats.

Accessories

Tripods - these are not really suitable around the Big Cats enclosures as they are cumbersome and you don’t have the flexibility to move.

Monopods - these are handy on longer lenses and have the ability to be more manoeuvrable.

Laptops - if you have one it’s a good idea to download your shots half way through the day. Alternatively use the laptop to check shots back, say at lunchtime, and see how you are getting on. Also remember to back up your cards - the last thing you want is a card failure and no images.

Extra cards - a very good idea, keep them smaller, now-a-days around 4GB. 16GB cards are all well and good but if it fails, that’s a lot of lost data. 1GB used to be considered large, a while back, now using this card in a modern DSLR and it more resembles the number of shots you’d get on a roll of film.

Clothing - Check the weather before you go. Take a few options to allow for a change in the weather or for getting down on the ground.

Author : Peter Davey MA DipM

Here is good news for photographers, semi-pro or enthusiasts: Pentax is launching the latest K-7 DSLR camera in July. Here are some of the Pentax K-7 accessories. The Pentax K-7 price is worth it, you can have the camera for $1,299.95.

Lenses

The ideal lens for the Pentax K-7 is the Pentax smc P-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL. It has an improved optical design with better resolution and reduced lens elements to suit the newest high-resolution image sensors. This lens perfectly complements a Pentax DSLR camera.

Lithium-ion battery

A rechargeable, large-capacity lithium-ion battery powers the Pentax K-7. With this battery, you can shoot around 980 images when it is fully charged.

Memory card

The SanDisk 4GB Ultra II SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) Memory Card has at least 9 MB per second write speed and a 10MB per second read speed. The Ultra II SDHC is perfect for difficult photo shoots like events, sports, fashion, and nature photography.

Flexible flash

For the flash accessory, I suggest you get the Pentax AF-360 FGZ. It works well with the latest MZ-S, 645N, MZ-SD, or Digital *ist series cameras, including even the classic 67-system lenses.

Improved tripod

Building on the accomplishment of the 3001 series, the Bogen/Manfrotto 190XB with 484RC2 Mini Ballhead is one excellent tripod for your Pentax DSLR. The tripod has been improved to provide better leg angle release mechanism as well as enhanced quick-action leg locks.

Handy remote control

One of the basic Pentax K-7 accessories is the Pentax Remote Control F infrared remote control. The Remote Control F is ideal for shooting self-portraits, for taking pictures of hard-to-capture subjects, or for reducing vibration for close-ups and time exposure.

Camera bag

The Pentax DSLR Gadget Bag (black) is a good storage bag for the Pentax K-7. This bag is a nylon bag tailored to carry the camera body, as well as selection of flash, memory cards, lenses, and many other Pentax DSLR camera accessories. It sports a foam padding on the major compartment and interior adjustable dividers for case customization.

Due to the personal computer, the everyday person can figure out how to play this distinguished game by competing against a computer at the level that suits the amateur player. No need for chess sets in today’s world. There are also virtual clubs and internet tournaments that a a player can join to pick up a game of chess with another player anytime from anywhere around the globe.

Beautiful sets are composed of everything from wood, metal, polished glass and dear jewels, bone and ivory. Many workmen excel in the craft of making delightful chess sets. These sets can sell for many thousands of bucks. The game of chess became so favored The game of chess has become so popular that the play could go on for days with challengers playing winners in order to decide an ultimate chess champion. It wasn’t until 1851 that the 1st international chess London.

Each player has 16 chess pieces composed from the members of the members of a royal court. They are composed of a king, a queen, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each piece has set rules that govern the direction of their movement. The object of the game is to capture the opponent’s pieces and to eventually force the other player’s king into submission. Chessboards and the pieces can and have been created from many materials.

While it isn’t conclusive not conclusive which culture invented the game, many nations attribute this great game’s beginnings to the land of India. Explanation has been discovered that both Persian and Arabic cultures played a version of the game of chess. It was very popular among royal courts. Since then chess has spread to each corner of the globe. The game of chess is played by 2 players on a board of 64 squares — 8 rows of 8 squares per row.

I love Marble Chess Sets, they provide timeless good looks and the subtle and smooth feel that a marble chess set exudes are perfect elements for a great chess set. I am very much a fan of stone chess pieces as they are generally heavier and simply feel good in your hands.

There are a selection of different sorts of marble a chess set can be made from. Traditional marble also comes in a number of colours including black and tan, green and white, brown and black, and black and white.

Totally Awesome