Archives for May 2021

Hey Babe,
Had to take a run down to a town about 30 miles away, it’s the only place I could find the horse feed for Apollo, then another quick stop at Walmart for just a couple of things, was back before noon. Worked a bit on my taxes, some rain came in, gave up on my taxes and settled down for the evening. Just a regular mundane day! Now it’s time for shower and bed! Love you, Darlin’! Good night!

Hi Darlin’!
Got up right on time and quickly finished packing up, with Apollo once again jumping into the trailer before I was ready for him, I had to back him out to close the partition, silly horse! Said goodbye to my new friends and headed off to Alabama by 8:30. Despite the dire forecast of severe weather, I only hit light rain for about 30 minutes, the rest of the time it was mostly cloudy, then the sun came out right about the time to arrived. Got checked in, then proceeded to the campground and decided to go to the top of the hill again, about where we were last time. It was a little muddy, so I had to be careful turning around (there’s not much room here to do that), and I cut around a couple of sites in order to accomplish that. Just as I was about to clear a water spigot (I was a good foot to a foot and a half away from it, so I was sure I was clear) but when my tire hit the edge of the concrete base, the whole thing sank into the mud and the spigot got jammed into my wheel well. I couldn’t get it loose no matter how hard I tried, so I ended up just dragging the whole darn thing out! Of course, that broke the pipe, so some water was coming out. I called the office and reported it, and within two minutes a whole crew came up to work on it. They had all the right equipment, driving up a big Deere shovel, and they had the whole thing repaired with a new spigot in less than an hour. Incredible! Glad they understood the nature of the accident (you could see my tire marks, it was unmistakable that I had cleared the spigot, just not the concrete, and who knew it would move like that?), so no worries. It didn’t take me too long to get everyone settled in. I put up the electric fence for the horses in the woods so they would have more room instead of a highline like the last time we were here, got out Lola’s GoDogGo machine and filled her swimming pool with water, so she went fetch crazy for a long time. Got the grill out as well so I could have a nice little steak tonight, and was sitting out under the awning in no time, looking like I’d been here a week! A nice couple drove up, Pam and Mal, who live locally but had only day-ridden here, never camped, but wanted to check out the campground for the future. They work at a local stable that has access to 100 miles of trails, but with no campground, would you believe! They loved my trailer (what’s not to love?), and we chatted for quite a while, very nice. After they left I fired up the grill, had my dinner, fed everyone else, and settled down for the evening. Of course, I gained an hour after coming into Central time (which I like much better at this time of the year), but I’m tired from the long day, so I’m heading to bed and shower, seemingly early, but right on time with my body clock. So, I’m off! Goodnight, my sweet! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
What a busy, busy day! It seemed like there was no end to the little jobs that had to be done. I did my best to space them out, but even so, it seemed like I would never get them all done. Of course, I did a load of laundry, had to get the sheets and whites done. The first day I got here, I decided to change the water filter, and was absolutely appalled at the state of it, it seemed like it was full of leaves, but it had to be algae, but very firm. It turns out, the overflow of the fresh water tank was filled with the same stuff! I have no idea how that could have happened, since it’s two totally different systems, but it does explain why I had so much trouble filling up the fresh water tank at St. Sebastian, no air flow in the overflow means the water kicks back from the main water line. Anyway, that must have taken me nearly an hour to completely clear out, I almost had reached the point where I thought I would have to take off the permanent clamp to get it clean, but I managed to squeeze the line enough and put enough water pressure on it to force it all out. Whew! Then I put in a bunch of bleach to sanitize it and all the water lines, then I flushed the black water tank about five or six times to get it completely clean, something I haven’t had the opportunity to do since before I hit the road last year. I packed up all the extraneous stuff and cleaned out the stalls, figuring I’d leave the horses in the paddock tonight so I won’t have stall cleaning in the morning. Did some housework as well, just so I wouldn’t carry old dirt to a new place, though it wasn’t exactly a thorough job today. Did my PT exercises and finally got to the point where I could ice my knee for a bit. I went down to the office to arrange for payment, and several trailers were just coming in, and I ended up spending the evening with these newcomers (everyone else had left this morning), even had a chance to do my Snowy River performance, which was very well-received, they were very appreciative. I may have a slight change in plans based on a recommendation they made, which will take me to a new place rather than an old one, but still keep me in line for Loretta Lynn’s on time. Even sold a few copies of my book to them as well! Everything is as packed as it can be at this point, the truck is lined up for tomorrow, though I’m not level enough to actually hook up at the moment, but I should be able to get out of here on time in the morning. There’s some rain in the forecast, but it seems really scattered, so I’m not going to worry about it. The weather forecast hasn’t exactly been too accurate lately, and a little rain won’t hurt anything. Just have to drive carefully, which I do anyway. Anyway, I’ve had my shower, I’m off the make the bed and then get in it! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hi Babe,
What a nightmare! I spent a good portion of the day trying to work out the problems with my taxes, did a bunch of housekeeping on my bookkeeping program, and am still not much further ahead than I was yesterday. I’m giving it a rest, though, since the two days of “rain” in the forecast lasted about two minutes this morning and the rest of the weekend looks beautiful. More rain forecast next week at my next destination, so I’m going to try it again then. I do need to go shopping tomorrow in the morning, but I’m going to try to ride Apollo in the afternoon, then ride again over the weekend. Did my PT again, like yesterday, trying to get back on a daily schedule if I can, it really makes a difference if I can do it. Been icing down my knee regularly in the evenings, too, hoping to get the last of the inflammation and pain out of there. Getting very tired of having pain in my leg! The owner here let me put the horses in a nice big grassy paddock for the day, they appreciated being out of the stall (they were stuck in there all day yesterday). I tried to dig up some chaney roots, but they’re so thick and deep I can’t seem to even reach them! I may try again later, but I’m beginning to think the easy diggings at Jeff’s was a fluke, I can seem to find any that easy to dig up anywhere else. Oh, well, it was worth a try. Might just need a bigger shovel :-). Anyway, I’ve had it for the day, I’m off for my shower and bed. Good night, hon! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Well, because there was a forecast calling for an abundance of rain today, I made plans to work on my taxes, with the hope that I could finish it today. Unfortunately, neither thing happened. It didn’t rain, and in fact the morning was one of the loveliest you could imagine, not a cloud in the sky and the perfect morning temperature. It did cloud up somewhat later, but not a drop of rain came down. Glad I don’t make my riding decisions based on the weather forecast! I got to work on the taxes, but it is so complicated for last year I was nowhere near finished by day’s end. Between me becoming a widow, selling the house, and the stupid covid stuff, everything just seems impossible. There’s actually a rule that all of the depreciation on the house that we’ve taken since May 6, 1997 has to be recalculated and have taxes paid on it as if it were income, down to the exact number of days from then until now. Can you believe that? Who keeps track of stuff that happened 20+ years ago! What a nightmare! I just hope that I can get it finished tomorrow, I sure don’t want to drag this all out. Grrrrr! Anyway, the horses stayed in all day because I didn’t want to be distracted by making sure they didn’t wander off, so they’re probably as grumpy as I am by now. Put me in the mood for wine, which I haven’t had for weeks, but you know how that goes… Enough of this day, time for shower and bed. Good night, my darling! Love you!

Had a decent night sleep, got up at the usual time, fed everyone, had breakfast, then after awhile I saddled up Flash and off we went along the Withlacoochee River. I’ve ridden here on the property every other time we’ve been here, but this time I wanted to extend out into the Twin Rivers State Forest which borders it on the south and east. I decided to do the south section today, which follows the river for quite a ways, and it truly was lovely! Lola came along, and I was a little worried because on the map it seemed like there was a busy road we had to cross, but it turned out the trail went under the bridge, which was spanning the river, of course! Don’t know why I didn’t realize that before! So we were safe, though there was one section that paralleled the road for a bit, but far enough off of it not to be a concern. We stopped at one spot known as Pot Springs, I guess because there’s a spring that comes up in the river. Hard to see the difference, really, but they had it all decked out with a parking area and a ramp and hitching posts and a deck with benches, so we stopped for a few minutes, and Lola went down and took a swim. There was one point on the trail where the water was really high, high enough for me to pull my feet way up and to touch Flash’s belly! But he did really well, I was very proud of him for carrying on with very little fuss or hesitation! Saw a lot of wildlife today, too. A deer jumped out right in front of us, that startled Flash for a second, but I hung on. Saw a cat running along the trail, lots of big birds from buzzards to an owl, and on top of all that, the trail is COVERED with chaney plants! I’m going to have to come out and try to dig some up after the rain we’re expected over the next two days. On the way back, I took him into that nice little obstacle course, put him through that tunnel, you remember that? Tried him on some of the other ones, too, and he managed most of them. Got back to the farm, gave him a bath (he had rolled in his stall and had manure stains on him!), then let them graze in the yard for the rest of the afternoon. Maggie was generous the other day and gave me a gel pad for my saddle seat, and it really felt good! Last week my bum was kind of aching, but I figured that was because I was out of practice, but I was a little tougher this week. But the gel pad felt very good, too, and I only started to feel uncomfortable during the last half mile or so. Anyway, it was a lovely ride, then I did laundry, rested and read for most of the rest of the day. A bit of TV tonight, now I’m off for my shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Got up at around 7:00, was packed up and moving out before 8:30, then had a straight shot up I-95 to I-10 in Jacksonville, everything seems to be working fine, though on sharp corners the power steering makes a bit of a noise. May be low again, or may be going bad, I’ll check it tomorrow. Stopped for fuel at a Pilot, and after filling up, I started to pull off the pump and the truck stalled out, much like it did before I changed the fuel filter. Popped the hood real quick, pumped the fuel canister, and thank goodness, it started right up, and didn’t have another problem with it again. Arrived at McCulley’s just before 2:00, just about when I figured. This was one of the longer legs of this journey north, but it was mostly freeway so it was fairly easy. They’ve added some sewer sites since we were here last, and I found a nice spot near a tree and close to the barn so I won’t have so far to walk. Sorry to say that they haven’t done any repairs on the barn since we were here last, the wooden planks are mostly chewed or cracked, and many of the gates are rusty and hard to move. Still, there’s good riding here, and having a full hookup will let me get caught up on laundry and cleaning. I let the horses graze in the yard for awhile, there’s only one other camper here, and they look permanent. Got the grill out and grilled a sausage, then settled down for the evening after all the chores were done. Whew! I’ll be glad when I can start staying at places for two weeks instead of one, this is a lot of work to do weekly! Anyway, looking forward to a good night sleep and hopefully a ride tomorrow. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Not a whisper of a breeze last night, so it was pretty hot for awhile. I’m really sorry I didn’t get further north earlier this year, these 90 degree days are a killer! After chores and breakfast, I did my PT exercises, first time in over a week! I thought that with all the riding and walking I’ve been doing that my knee would be fine, but when I did my exercises today, I had really taken a step backward, so I’m going to have to be more diligent in future! Maggie arrived just before noon, but it was so hot by then we decided just to hang out today, and ended up chatting all afternoon, grilling burgers again, and just having a pleasant day. She left around six, then I got busy packing up everything so that I can get out of here early tomorrow, it’s going to be a long day. I had a little trouble with the generator, it started fine, then petered out a few minutes later. I figured it was the propane so I opened another tank and started it again, and the same thing happened. I remember the low oil default, so I checked the oil and it was low, so I ended up putting about half a quart in, started it again, and the same thing STILL happened, though I think it was probably just because it was too hot. When I opened the cover, there was a big nest in there, so I know I still have mice. And last night, Lola had another barking fit in the middle of the night, so that’s another clue. I’m going to have to get brutal next week and really chase them down. Anyway, I still had two bars of fresh water left, and enough power in the batteries from the solar panel to watch a little TV and keep the fan running in the bedroom till I go to bed, so it was a really good experiment in boondocking this week. Had my shower, now I’m off to bed! Good night, darlin’! Love you!