Archives for November 2023

Hey Darlin',
Kept pretty busy today, doing some packing, running out to do some shopping, hooking the truck up, etc. I had a craving for that chicken recipe that my old friend Jennifer gave me forty plus years ago, so I picked up the ingredients, though I couldn't find a whole chicken already cut up (and I had to wait for a truck to arrive to get my usual chicken thighs!), so I ended up doing that myself, which turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought! It was a big roaster chicken with absolutely huge breasts, and the bones were incredibly hard to separate, so it wasn't the prettiest thing, but it didn't matter to me. I had bought a small sheet pan with short sides to cook it in, since I only had a flat one with no sides, and also a roasting bag that I thought I'd try. Turns out the reason I didn't have a baking sheet is because it doesn't fit in the oven properly, and ended up slightly cock-eyed, which of course made a mess in the oven, even with the oven bag. Ended up cleaning the oven three times today, including with oven cleaner at the end (which I'll have to do again before I use it again), so not a great result. Chicken came out okay, and I have tons of leftovers. Anyway, I managed to get most everything packed, so it should be an easy pull-out tomorrow. Looking forward to moving on, as always! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Woke up to a beautiful morning, though I twisted something in my back a couple of days ago, so it was a three ibuprofen morning to get going. After my usual morning chores and breakfast, I saddled up Flash and we headed out on a route that would take us to all the remaining trails I hadn't been on yet here at River Rise. In my planning, the track came out to be about 17.3 miles, but in reality, it turned out to be 18.8 miles, so a very nice ride! After not getting any exercise because of all the rain this week, Flash was raring to go, so we made good time, we were back in camp in less than four hours. Many sections of this place are so wonderfully "old Florida," with old growth trees, sinkholes, ferns, very jungle like in places, while at the same time, almost all of the trails are double tracks with mostly good footing, though occasionally the sand is deep. We took a spur that, according to the map, ended at the Santa Fe River, which it did, but it also seemed to continue on afterward along another trail. I didn't take that, I'll have to research that more for next time, because we still had a long time to go on our original plan. A gorgeous day, blue sky and fluffy clouds, so nice after a week of gray! I only ran into one other rider, and she was on a mammoth donkey, which I had never seen before. Of course, at first I thought it was a mule with the long ears, but it was much too shaggy and hairy for that, but then she told me what it was and it was obviously a big donkey. What fun! Was back in camp by 3:30, gave Flash a nice wash, then settled down for the evening. A fantastic day, just the kind of day I truly relish, and really appreciate after so many rainy days. What can I say, the Sunshine State has kind of spoiled me, and it's not often the sun is hidden for so many days in a row. Anyway, great day, pleasant evening, won't be long out of bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Babe,
More rain during the night, more rain in the afternoon, but in the morning I brought the horses out of the barn and put them back on the highline so they could stretch their legs a bit. Flash is going a bit stir crazy, and Apollo's done something to provoke him, because he was kicking at Apollo as I was tying them up, which I wasn't happy with since his feet were at my head height! Not sure what that was about! They soon settled down, and I left them there until dinnertime, so they got nice and wet, and rolled and got dirty, so I guess they had fun today, at least better than being in the barn all day. Still have another day or two of rain in the forecast, though I'm still hoping to get at least two more rides in while I'm here. I'm not leaving until Tuesday, so I should have time. Had a strange craving for biscuits today, so I got out my Cracker Barrel mix and made a couple, had one with butter and cinnamon, was thinking I might make chicken in gravy to pour over the other one, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow to do that. Two biscuits in one day is a bit too indulgent! So another quiet day while I bide my time until next week, when I expect to start getting quite busy planning a new route for Jo's endurance ride, if I can. Assuming they're getting all this rain, too (it's only an hour away), it might be a bit wet on some of the trails, we'll have to wait and see. Anyway, another pretty dull day around here, though I've been reading an intriguing series, so I've stayed engaged. Guess that's all there is to it! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had to use my earplugs last night with all the rain we had, which was still mostly going on this morning when I got up. Glad the horses have a nice dry barn to hang out in! A slow morning, the rain finally broke around 1:00, and I decided, that since the forecast was more rain for tomorrow, that I better go get some hay while I had the chance. Took a quick trip to Tractor Supply for feed and propane, then to Winn-Dixie for a few grocery essentials, then on to the feed store in High Springs for hay. Unfortunately, they only had six bales of coastal to sell me, though they were expecting a truck any minute, but that will last me for a week, anyway. I might stock up again before I leave, assuming their truck eventually makes it. Back to camp, left a couple bales in the barn, the rest in the trailer, put away the groceries and then just chilled for the rest of the day. Was delighted that for some unknown reason my wifi signal was good today, so I managed to get a delightful, all-star cast movie in, now I'm ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up to another cloudy day. I considered going riding but the forecast was predicting rain by noon, and it wasn't really a very nice day (and you know I'm a fair weather rider for the most part!), so I ended up not going. I did move the horses over to the barn before the rain came in around 1:00, and otherwise had a pretty uneventful day. I did my Egoscue exercises, which do seem to be making a difference. It took several hours of trying before I was actually able to get an internet connection good enough to watch a little TV, I don't know what's going on with that. I didn't have any trouble last week, suddenly it's nearly impossible. It finally popped in about the time I needed to go feed the horses, and stayed in for the most part through the evening. A quiet, rainy day the rest of the time. Once again heading to shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Was up a bit earlier today, finally had a night without earplugs so nature woke me up this morning for a change. It was a cool and cloudy day, and I considered going riding but decided I had enough to do with two loads of laundry and a bunch of housekeeping. Even though I left the laundry on the line all day, some of it didn't get dry so I had to run the dryer off the generator for half an hour to finish it off. I also forgot to open the gray water drain, so I ended up with a flood in the living room before I notice it, had that to clean up. Just the universe telling me I was overdue mopping my floors! I dragged out the carpets and did some spot cleaning on them anyway, so it was all good. Then spent most of the day reading, with a few computer games to fill the time. Suddenly couldn't get a good enough signal to get TV reception for some reason, so read through the evening as well. Now it's tea time before shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Spent another day in camp, not doing too much. It was cloudy and a bit cooler, and I had already decided not to ride today, and didn't feel like doing much else, so I spent the day reading, playing computer games and watching a couple of movies. The only distraction was that someone came in with a trailer and parked right next to me, then went off riding and left their little yapper dog locked in the back of the trailer, and it never stopped yapping the whole time they were gone, for hours and hours! Turned out they were day riders anyway, not sure why they parked right next to me in a camping site, though I can't say I'm sorry when they left, I wasn't looking forward to listening to THAT every day! Folks, if you're going to leave a yapping dog behind, and there are plenty of other places to park, please don't park next to an existing camper! Grrrr! Anyway, other than that, it was a very quiet a relaxing, albeit gloomy day. The campground finally emptied out, so I'm looking forward to a quiet night, perhaps even without earplugs for a change! No one to run a generator all night, which has happened every night since I've been here! Good night, honey! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Couldn't believe how late I slept this morning, maybe because of the earplugs, since yet ANOTHER generator was on all night last night! Had a quiet, lazy day today, did my exercises, read a bit, watched a couple of movies, and generally had a relaxing day. I woke up a little achy this morning, so I figured a day off would be worthwhile. Pretty busy in camp, so I didn't want to ride today anyway. Beautiful weather, lovely day to rest! Not much else going on today. Good night, babe! Love you!