Archives for November 2021

Hi Sweetie!
Woke up to the sound of David pounding limestone rock into the wheel divots right under my bedroom, but it was close to 8:00, so I didn’t mind. After chores and breakfast, we hooked up the truck and pushed the trailer back far enough so he could do the same with the trailer tires, which had sunk down enough to make the trailer pretty unlevel, so much so I was rolling to one side of my bed during the night! After he filled them in with more shell rock, we tried putting my leveling boards down, but that ended up being too high, even with one board, so we just pulled in onto the shell rock and it was just about perfect! Looking forward to a level night sleep tonight! Then I went up on the roof to take a look at where I think the leak is coming in around the refrigerator vent, took the cover off (which looked fine), and cleaned around the old seal really well. Because of the cover, I had never really put another layer down, and it does look like it needs replenishing, so that will be my job tomorrow afternoon, assuming my delivery of lap sealant arrives on time. After that, I headed out with a borrowed shovel to hunt down some chaney root. This is an island plant I learned about last year, high in iron and good for just about whatever ails you, native to the Caribbean but now widely spread throughout the South. I started drinking homemade chaney root tea last winter and my cholesterol dropped 30 points in less than 3 months, so I’m doing my best to keep that up! Well, the first few roots I dug up were pretty small, then I started looking for bigger and taller vines (it’s essentially a bramble), and that led me to some bigger roots, until the last one I dug up was HUGE! Well, certainly the biggest I’ve ever seen, but David was saying he dug one up once that literally filled a wheelbarrow. One root! Well, in less than an hour I dug up about 10 pounds of roots, which should be more than I need for my annual supply! A happy harvest today! Then some friends of my hosts came over and we sat on the porch and chatted for awhile, snacking a bit on sandwiches and sides, then after they left, we eventually all got back together for another game of Farkle, well, two games, and I actually won the second game! Considering how poorly I’d been doing in previous games, that was a relief! I have to say, I do better with games that require some skill, this one is 99 percent based on the throw of the dice, so not much skill involved, but it’s nice to have the camaraderie. Had another serving of ice cream and cherry wine, then finally got back to the trailer about 9:00. I’ll soon be heading off to shower and bed again! So good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Well, with the clocks changing last night, I woke up before my 7:30 alarm, and got more chores and breakfast done in plenty of time to get out to pick up my hay at 9:30. It was about a 30 minute drive to McAlpin, but it’s a big hay operation. The bales weren’t as big or as green as what I had before, but they were only $6 and it’s typical coastal, so I’m sure the horses will eat it. Made a quick stop at Walmart for some mineral spirits in case I need to strip all the old sealant off the refrigerator vent, or any other job where I might need it. I ordered some lap sealant today, so I can get the job done later in the week. Sheila arrived earlier than we expected, around 2:00, and she got her mule put away. Then we discovered that Linda’s young horse Sonny had gotten tangled up in the electric rope fence and really made a mess of his back legs, so we had to rinse those off and treat them a couple of times during the day. Then we gathered for a lovely dinner that Debbie had prepared, and afterward they introduced me to a dice game called Farkle, which was interesting and easy to learn. We treated Sonny again, then went our separate ways around the yard. I had decided that I need some kind of wireless fence for Lola, I’m getting tired of her disappearing on me and having to go get her, or having other people trying to adopt her. I met the guy that had her the other day, he claims he called several times, but couldn’t get through, but I checked and the number is working fine. Anyway, I did some research, and discovered an inexpensive system that actually works with a rechargeable battery on the transmitter as well as the receiver, which is a perfect solution. Most of them have to be plugged into power, and that means it would have to run off my trailer batteries whenever I’m not plugged in, and who knows what kind of a draw that would be. With rechargeable batteries, I can charge them every time I have the generator on when I’m boondocking, which means I don’t have to remember to turn on the machine every time I let Lola out. I hope it works as advertised, it’s the perfect solution. I ordered one, it should be here Thursday. Meanwhile she’s mostly going to be on a leash! After a nice quiet evening, it’s time to take my shower and go to bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Took a few hours to fall asleep after I went to bed last night, so I ended up sleeping late this morning. I did indeed wear earplugs because it rained all night, and kept raining most of the morning, though it was starting to slow down by the time I fed the horses, so I changed out their blankets. The lighter ones are supposed to be waterproof, but even they couldn’t keep all the rain out, and it’s been in the 40’s all night and this morning, so I took off the wet ones and put on the heavier winter blankets. After breakfast, I decided to do a really thorough cleaning in the bathroom and utility room, that kept me busy for a couple of hours, then I settled down for the evening. Didn’t ride or even meet with Pistol today, guess they got busy. Was hoping she was going to bring me some hay, I thought that’s what we talked about, but she didn’t, so I had to find another source, which I did, but they’re only available tomorrow morning, so no riding tomorrow, at least not with her. Maybe I’ll go alone later in the day, or maybe with my new neighbor, another guest arrived today with a young Morgan. We’ll see. My hosts have invited us to supper, Sheila from Michigan, the co-owner, is supposed to be arriving in the afternoon tomorrow, so it will be all of us together. Meanwhile, I’m just about ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Had a good night sleep last night, but woke up to the sound of a little rain falling, which turned out to be the theme for the entire day. Glad I put the horses blankets on last night! It was only 48 degrees when I got up, and it never got much higher all day long. Pistol arrived at the Music Park, and we all went into town for a few shopping items, but we all decided we didn’t want to ride in this weather, so she’s going to wait until tomorrow. Chances are, unless it gets sunnier and warmer tomorrow, I’m not going then either! You know me, I’m a fair weather rider, and this is definitely NOT fair weather! I found a puddle on the kitchen floor when I got back and I think I traced it back, there’s a serious leak down the back wall behind the refrigerator. I suspect that it’s not the ice-maker, which was my original concern, but in fact, the roof vent above the refrigerator. It’s either broken or the seal is gone, but it’s definitely bad because of the rain, and probably because I’m on a slight tilt, which must be letting the rainwater drip in. I’ve done some research and see that it’s not too much of a problem to repair or replace it (if it needs it), I’m thinking the seal is probably just gone somewhere, but I can’t check it until it stops raining. Anyway, I hope that’s it! Still doesn’t explain why the water pump keeps going off intermittently, but that’s a problem for another day! Meanwhile, I’ve put a little heater down there to hopefully keep it from pooling too much and ruining the wood. I didn’t feel like doing much of anything else today, so I just binge-watched this series I’ve been watching, Burn Notice. It’s like a spy version of MacGyver, based in Miami, which seems appropriate now that I’m back in Florida, and it’s pretty fun. Anyway, time for my Sleepytime tea, shower and another good night sleep, though I may need earplugs with the rain that’s still coming down! Good night, my darling! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Unbelievable! Since FedEx didn’t call me in the morning, I finally called them, explained the situation, got transferred to dispatch IN ATLANTA, who then gave me the number for dispatch in Jax where my tire was. She researched it and discovered the package was there, but it had been loaded on the same truck as yesterday! Yeah, the WRONG TRUCK AGAIN! Then she said she could get it on the right truck, but it couldn’t get here until between noon and 2:00! The hell with it, I told her to keep in on hold, I’d come pick it up! So I drove 40 minutes to their location, waited ten minutes for them to come out with it, then drove 30 minutes to Terry Tire, where he was able to mount it for me relatively quickly. I managed to get back to the house around 11:00, got the tire put on, got packed up and was heading out right at 1:00, and arrived at my new location, my Michigan friend Sheila’s Florida property, which is almost right next to the Suwanee Music Park, or at least within riding distance. As usual, the horses load right up and the trip, fortunately, was uneventful, though I’m pretty sure if I had tried driving on the old tire it wouldn’t have made it, it was in REALLY bad shape! Sheila’s partner Debbie met me at the location and showed me where to park, though it’s not exactly level (well, it’s Florida, so it’s only off a little), and I couldn’t move it to put a board under it because the ground was a bit too soft and my tires started spinning, so that’s a problem I’ll have to solve when I leave here. Always something! The horses have a nice big shady paddock, no grass, just some weeds, but I gave them a bunch of hay and water, of course, then after I disconnected and got all my stuff set up, I ran into Live Oak, the nearest town, to the Tractor Supply for horse feed and Walmart for a few groceries. Got back, grilled myself a nice thick steak and settled down for the evening, looking forward to relaxing, no more tire stress! Be heading for my shower and bed soon, it’s really quiet here so I’m looking forward to a great night sleep, fingers crossed! So I’ll say good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
What a wasted day! I got a text from FedEx this morning that my package was on the truck, out to be delivered, so I spent the morning looking for the right tire place to get the tire mounted, and had plans to go to Tractor Supply and Walmart all lined up, then packing up and being mostly ready to leave in the morning. All I needed was the tire. I waited, and waited, and waited, nothing. I thought about washing the truck, but didn’t want to be in the middle of that when the tire came, so I waited and waited some more. Finally, at 4:46, I get a text saying that due to “operational reasons” my tire now isn’t coming until tomorrow! Grrrrrr! I don’t know how they stay in business! In thirty years, I don’t think I’ve EVER gotten a package on time! So I call them to try to find out why, when the package is on the truck, it can’t be delivered. Turns out, it was put on the wrong truck, wrong route! Seriously?? It’s bad enough that the package that originated in Memphis went to Mississippi, two stops in Texas, a stop in Kansas, a stop in Gainesville, FL, and finally to Jacksonville, then gets delayed because it was put on the wrong dang truck?? Suffice it to say I am not a happy camper today! I’ve asked them to get it out to me first thing, but have no hope that will actually happen. They’re supposed to call me in the morning to let me know when. I’m still hopeful I can get to my next stop tomorrow, since it’s only 100 miles, but who knows at this point. Well, just to make the day not a complete waste, I came out and helped Travis and Pistol take down the Halloween decorations, not the mention I did laundry all day, but spent the rest of the evening watching TV just trying to get my mind off things. Oh well, into each life some rain must fall, but it seems WHENEVER someone sends something FedEx, it always pours on me! Anyway, enough ranting, I’m taking my shower and going to bed. Love you, sweetie! Good night!