Another hot one today, humidity especially bad because of possible thunderstorms later in the day (or vice versa), though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we left for our ride. Decided to take both trails together, just in reverse today, which still only amounts to about 5 miles or so, so it was pretty short, relatively speaking. Not surprisingly, horses were a bit reluctant, they hate taking the same trail twice, especially when it means having to pass the campground (and hay) along the way. Nevertheless, they were brilliant, and we had some great canters on the long, straight stretches, of which there are several. Once we got back, we spent a while putting everything away in preparation of our departure tomorrow. Looking forward to getting out of this heat! Storms started coming in around 4:00, we got the awning up while it was still dry, and everything else in by then. Started to cool down a bit after the rain, thank goodness, but still too hot here! Looking forward to heading north, real summer is out there waiting for us!!Archives for 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012 – Final Ride Day at FL Caverns
May 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Another hot one today, humidity especially bad because of possible thunderstorms later in the day (or vice versa), though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we left for our ride. Decided to take both trails together, just in reverse today, which still only amounts to about 5 miles or so, so it was pretty short, relatively speaking. Not surprisingly, horses were a bit reluctant, they hate taking the same trail twice, especially when it means having to pass the campground (and hay) along the way. Nevertheless, they were brilliant, and we had some great canters on the long, straight stretches, of which there are several. Once we got back, we spent a while putting everything away in preparation of our departure tomorrow. Looking forward to getting out of this heat! Storms started coming in around 4:00, we got the awning up while it was still dry, and everything else in by then. Started to cool down a bit after the rain, thank goodness, but still too hot here! Looking forward to heading north, real summer is out there waiting for us!!Saturday, May 5, 2012 – Another Ride Day at FL Caverns
May 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Temps forecast to be in the low to mid-90’s today, got out by 10:30 to take a ride, just after a bit of fog burned off. Fortunately, the trail is shady so it was very pleasant. Only stayed out a little over an hour, beautiful trails here, just too darn short! Not to mentioned we did a LOT of cantering, Hubby’s just crazy about the canter these days. The horses are loving it too, and they are really starting to get redefined in the hindquarters because of it. We’ve managed to plan ahead for the next few weeks, hopefully all will go well and we’ll be able to make it happen as planned! No work scheduled until the end of June in New York State, so we’re just going to mosey along and hit as many states as we can, with a quick stop at home for annual doctors’ appointments for all.Thursday and Friday, May 3-4, 2012 – Catch up on Work Day
May 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Spent the day finally clearing out all the paperwork that had piled up over the months. Big bag of trash to go out, and done!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – Ride Day at FL Caverns
May 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Set the alarm so that we could get a ride in before it got too hot today, still took us until nearly 10:00 before we managed to get out. Set out on the Blue Hole Trail, along the road then down the River Trail, looping back on the Sinkhole Trail. Beautiful trails here, good footing except for the occasional root, it’s great to be back in old cypress forests instead of straight, managed pines. Lots of gnarly old trees, green leaves, magnolias, it was gorgeous! The only problem here is that the trails are too short! We only went about three miles, but we took our time and enjoyed the woods, the shade kept it cooler that we thought. Got a nice little canter in across the final field to the campsite, let a couple of kids picnicking with their parents say hello to the horses before hooking them back up to their anchor so they graze on the nice green grass and clover next to the corrals for a while. After lunch, we headed out to the town of Marianna so that Hubby could get his blood test in (as suggested by the hospital in Orlando), then did some shopping at the new Tractor Supply in town, as well as the liquor store and a hardware store. Settled in for the evening, hoping for a good night’s sleep.Tuesday, May 1, 2012 – May Day and Unexpected Travel Day to FL Caverns
May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Got up early again with the ambition to ride before the heat of the day, but received an early email from our local client that his schedule had changed and he wouldn’t be able to meet with us later this week, so we started planning our departure for tomorrow. Then it occurred to us that it was early, and we could be packed in less than an hour, and we would have plenty of time to get out today if we wanted to move on, so that’s what we decided to do. On the road before 11:00, one stop at the Walmart in Marianna for fuel and food supplies, then into the park shortly after three, having gained an hour by moving into Central Time. As we’d been here before, setup was easier, and since they have corrals here, we didn’t even have to put up a highline. In fact, I put the horses out on their boat anchor for a while, as the clearing here was full of nice green grass and even some clover, which the horses devoured voraciously. Got them settled into their stall at dusk, and then settled ourselves for the night, not sure how long we’re going to be here, but enjoying the freedom and the moment that such quick decisions allow!Monday, April 30, 2012 – Another Ride at Cary State Forest
May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Set the alarm to get up early, since the forecast is calling for record highs (what else is new? It’s seems like it’s always a record something whereever we are!), so we decided to ride early before it got too hot. Had another great ride here at Cary, truly an underrated horse camp, though there are a lot of dayriders that come. I saw two large trailers yesterday, though we had the place to ourselves again today. The horses have been great, we cantered them a lot again today, and they’re starting to realize that things have changed, but I think they’re just glad to have us around again. They can see us from their highline, and I think they like it like that (I know we do!). Spent the afternoon doing paperwork and working on logistics, still have made any decisions about where we’re going next, except that it looks like Florida Caverns near Marianna, FL, which will be a good jumpoff point to get home to TN via Alabama, which, despite it’s proximity to home, we’ve never actually ridden in yet. Had a relaxing evening, though the one drawback to this place is that it’s near to the railroad (a constant problem in most parts of Florida), so I’ve been having to use earplugs here, like in so many places. Looking forward to when we can get into a place so remote and quiet I’ll be able to sleep without them! Shouldn’t be too long now!
Sunday, April 29, 2012 – Catch up on Blog and Rest Day
April 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Too hot to ride today, so we took the day off (more or less), and I finally got caught up on this blog (sorry for the delay, but we have been a bit preoccupied lately…). I promise to do better in the future.
Saturday, April 28, 2012 – Another Ride at Cary State Forest
April 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Headed out for a longer ride after breakfast today, taking some trails we’d never actually done before, and looping around in new configurations, which is really easy to do here, with so many combinations of trails and fire road (which are mostly grass and sand). We were out less than two hours, mostly because it got really hot earlier than we had hoped, and got out later than we had hoped, but we still did a lot more cantering than usual. Our average miles per hour has increased more than 2 miles per hour from our usual previous rides, so we’re happy about that. By the fifth or sixth canter, though, the horses were showing their tiredness, so we cut it short and headed back to the RV, where we settled in again, doing more to update the blog and other computer work. Enjoyed a movie, then off to bed. Fortunately, it’s still cooling off enough at night to have good sleeping weather, but that’s likely to change soon. Looking forward to heading north, though we still have no idea which we way we’re headed yet :-)!
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| Odd flower on the trail |
Friday, April 27, 2012 – Shopping Day
April 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Slept late, though woke up early and tossed and turned for a few hours. Did some shopping, and got back too late and tired to go riding. Did some computer work the rest of the afternoon, relaxed for the evening.
Thursday, April 26, 2012 – Ride Day at Cary State Forest
April 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Couldn’t wait to get back on horseback today, so we saddled up and headed out for a short ride before it got too hot. Once the horses were warmed up, we started jogging, then cantering like crazy! They were so glad to stretch their legs, and we were so glad to be running, it was fabulous! We cantered for a longer time than I think we ever have, and we repeated it more times than ever in a short, hour ride. What a blast! Hubby is so comfortable with it now, and his seat is really improving. It’s true what Winston Churchill and Ronal Reagan both said, “No hour on the back of a horse is ever wasted.” Can’t wait to keep this going! Spent the rest of the day doing computer work, including starting to get caught up on this blog (which I’m embarrassed to say, was almost a month behind!)