Friday, July 17, 2020 – Computer Work and Noisy New Neighbors

Hi Babe,
Didn’t get a very good night sleep for some reason, though it was cooler. Thought about going riding with Jonella and her two friends, but since I sent an emailer out yesterday, I’ve been getting a lot of responses and a lot of bouncebacks, and because I want Flash to rest his ankle one more day, I decided to stay in camp. I moved my fence around so the horses could get some new grass, but then I had neighbors show up behind me, and evidently I was blocking their access to the hitching rail that one of their group was going to use, so I took my fence down and moved my highline over to give them the space. I was hoping they would have a fence and work with me a bit so I wouldn’t have to do all that, but they didn’t. Later, the trailer that was supposed to be in that spot moved all the way across the road, but left their horse behind, alone at the hitching rail. Not sure what that’s about, but my is not to reason why. They had a dog that is never on a leash, so Lola’s been going kinda nuts because I’ve been keeping her cooped up, and they weren’t here 20 minutes when they pulled out a huge generator and cranked it up, one of those really loud kind, and ran the dang thing all day long. I don’t know what they were trying to power, because I didn’t hear the A/C on (then again, it’s so noisy I probably couldn’t anyway), but it was so bad when my friends came back from the ride they spoke to the ranger about it, and he went and talked to them, and they insisted they were going to keep it on all day until quiet time at 11:00. Great. Chances are they’ll crank it right up at 7:00 in the morning tomorrow, too, so I guess I’m wearing earplugs tonight! Anyway, I made myself a lovely salmon on the grill dinner, with onions and homegrown green peppers that one of the Rosebud ladies brought me last week, and grilled some summer squash along with steamed brussel sprouts, hmm, hmm, good! Mostly I’ve been having sandwiches and other easy stuff, but I was in the mood for something nicer tonight. After the gals came back from their ride, I wandered over and chatted with them for a while. They’re going up to the Forest tomorrow, but they’re leaving really early, so I decided if Flash was up to it, we’d take a long ride all the way up to the farther north point (which is just across the street from the state forest anyway) and back again, should be a little under 20 miles. It would be a nice finish to our stay here, because, of course, Sunday will be housekeeping and packing day, preparing for our departure on Monday. So today was a mixed bag, quiet in the morning, noisy the rest of the day, but I didn’t do much exertion, just a lot of computer work. And now it’s time for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Thursday, July 16, 2020 – New Webpage Up, Propane Run

Hiya Darlin’!
Another good night sleep, though it took me a while to nod off, but I managed to do some computer work and finally get my new business website up and running, yay! I took a quick trip into town to fill up three propane tanks, don’t want to run out before my next stop and this should do it. I’m headed to Potato Creek after this, and they have electric, as does the stable where I’m staying during my workshop, so this should hold me for a few weeks at least, depending on where I go after that. I also detoured over to the Salamonie River State Forest, they also have a horse camp, it’s about 10 miles north of here, and I wanted to check it out. I’m thinking of stopping there on the way back, and indeed, it’s a lot smaller, but it’s still has enough room for me. There’s a whole ‘nother set of trails over the explore. After I got back and put the final touches on the website (thankfully they used a system I’m familiar with, so it should be fairly easy to keep it updated now), and started sending out a mailer, though I’m not sure how many people on the list are still active. Then I went to visit a woman who I met down at Loretta Lynn’s, she told me she’d be here for a couple of days, so I walked over and we chatted for awhile. I recited my Snowy River poem to them, which they seemed to enjoy, then they walked back to tour the trailer. By this time it was after 9:00 (and still daylight!), and after they left I settled down for a short evening. They’re going riding in the morning, I may join them if one of my horses isn’t limping tomorrow. Hopefully most of my emails will be delivered, then it will just be a matter of revising the list, which could take awhile. Supposed to get down into the low 60’s tonight, so it should be great sleeping weather!. So now I’m off to shower and bed. Good night, my love!

Wednesday, July 15, 2020 – Short Ride on Gimpy Apollo

Hey Sweetie,
Another good night sleep, thank goodness! I spent most of the morning working on the computer, submitted my Equity Proposal, though they emailed back that I would have to develop a Covid 19 safety plan before it would be considered. This is getting truly nuts. I'm hoping I can convince them of my plan, but we'll see. I took a short ride on Apollo just to map out a couple of short sections of trail near camp that I'd missed before, but he got gimpy in a hurry, so we came back before we even did three miles, though that did cover all the trails I wanted to cover. Great, now I have two limpy horses! I looked at his feed, but it seems his left hind ankle is a bit swollen, not sure what caused it, but I'll have to let it rest and keep an eye on it. Flash is better, his burn is healing, not sure when he'll be fit enough to ride, but it shouldn't be too long. When we got back from the ride, I fixed the screen door, Miss Lola had scratched a good hole in the last one. I got a different type this time, we'll see if that holds up any better. Grilled a nice little pork chop outside along with some more of that nice summer squash and some apple sauce, and later tried a new flavor if ice cream, pistachio almond. For some reason this Walmart doesn't have any of the nutty flavors I usually like, so the last one was banana pudding, which was okay but not my favorite, and now this new one, which was pretty good. At least it had nuts! Settled down for the evening, but it's hot and humid tonight, there's a front coming through overnight and I guess this is being pushed in front of it. Expecting a lot of rain! Also, a few of the ladies I met down at Loretta Lynn's in June are coming in for the weekend, and I'm hoping we can trailer up to the State Forest on the north side of the lake, I'm pretty bored with the trails down on the south end. Besides, I want to see if the camp is suitable for this rig, because I'm thinking I might stay there on the way back south. Since I had to pay for an annual Indiana State Horse Pass, I figured I might as well get my money's worth and stay at every Indiana camp I can! Once my job is done in Michigan in a few weeks, I still have no idea where I'm headed, I'm thinking I'll let the weather dictate that, but we'll see. Anyway, shower and bed time! Goodnight, babe! Love you!

Tuesday, July 14, 2020 – Hay and Shopping

Hi Babe,
Had another great night sleep, this time I didn’t even use my earplugs! I did hear the birds early, but that didn’t prevent me from falling back to sleep until a reasonable hour. Did some computer work, working on a new Equity contract which I hope they’ll accept, then found some hay, well, actually, the nearest stuff was 100% alfalfa, which I usually don’t want to use, but for $6.50 for heavy, wire-bound bales, I couldn’t turn it down. I’m going to mix it a bit with the stuff they’ve got now, which they don’t really like for some reason (smells fresh, just doesn’t have that nice fermented smell to it), but I’ve only got 4 bales of that left, and I bought 10 bales of the alfalfa. It looks really good, almost as good as the stuff we used to get in New Mexico, so I know it won’t go to waste, and I won’t need to feed as much. After I picked that up, I went to a feed store called Stock and Feed, right across from the Tractor Supply, because I needed horse feed and they had a better selection there. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the propane tanks with me, so that’s another trip I’ll probably have to make before I leave the area. Then Walmart for a few things, then back to camp, where I promptly fell asleep in my chair shortly after I sat in it. It was a lot hotter today and I think that may have been the cause, plus all the activity over the weekend may finally have caught up with me. Anyway, I relaxed for the evening, now I’m ready for shower and bed, so good night, darlin’! Love you!

Monday, July 13, 2020 – Beautiful, Productive Day!

Hey Sweetie!
What a beautiful day today! Despite all the activity over the weekend, I had a great night sleep and woke up energized, mostly because it was an absolutely gorgeous morning. Temps in the 60’s overnight, low 80’s in the afternoon. I got so much done today, it feels great. After feeding the horses I put up the electric fence in a nice large area so they have lots of room, something I should have done days ago, they’re loving the space without having to drag the anchors. I did a couple of loads of laundry and hung them out to dry on a line, then I changed the oil in the truck, then I sewed a ring back on the saddlebags that had ripped off, then I fixed your old helmet by putting the brim back on so now it’s a hel-hat again. It comes in handy when I take someone riding, like Callie, it was a perfect fit for her. I read for a while, just finished a three-part series, now I’m onto a new book. I cooked a nice steak on the grill and also grilled some slices of summer squash one of the Rosebud ladies gave me, which was a lovely change. Watched a movie for a change, since yesterday I binged on DS9 right till the end of the series, same with Grimm, so now I’m back to Voyager, but I don’t know how long I’m going to able to stick with that. So I watched a nice Ashley Judd movie filmed in the mountains, set in Virginia, a nice little chick flick, it would have made you cry in the end, you old softie! Took one shower already today after the oil change, but am going to do it again before going to bed since I have fresh sun-dried sheets. And that time is drawing near right now! I love a productive day! Good night, darling. Love you!

Sunday, July 12, 2020 – Second Endurance Ride!

Hi Babe!
Well, I finally ran my second endurance ride! Twenty-five miles (though my GPS said it was really only 22.4 but who am I to argue?), and I came in 5th, though there were lot less riders today than yesterday or my previous race. Tried a couple of different strategies, got a lot of advice from the organizers and other participants, and let Flash run his little heart out! The first 15 miles we ran with several other women, and Flash not only kept the pace, he was setting the pace for some entire sections! The gravel bothered him a bit, but most of the ride he was fine, and we averaged about 6 mph the whole way. The second 10 miles we were one our own, and he didn’t see the need to keep running as fast, but he still kept going well for the most part. My pit stop was a bit better, though I came in hot and it took awhile to cool him down and get his 112 heartbeat down to 60, and on my final 10 miles I walked him about the last quarter mile, and he heartbeat was at 60 when we arrived in camp, so I guess that worked. The time was a bit longer than the Florida race, though, but it’s hilly and wooded and the footing wasn’t as nice as the flat sand in Florida, so I wasn’t too surprise. Had a good time, though! I wasn’t thrille about getting up at 5:00 in the morning, but at least it was getting light by the time I saddled him, unlike in Florida where I rode a mile in the dark to the starting point. On another topic, I had an epiphany last night, I got one of those, “Why the heck didn’t I think of that sooner?” moments. There were some fireworks nearby late into the night last night (just what everyone here in the camp needed considering the time everyone had to get up!), which of course made Lola antsy and scratching at the bedroom door to get in. That’s been such a problem, and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to solve it for awhile. I put the garbage can at the bottom of the stairs a few times, but then she knocks it over and get garbage everywhere, so that didn’t work. Then last night I suddenly realized that if I open the pantry door and pull the panty slider out, she won’t be able to climb past it! Duh!!! There’s nothing she can really hurt in there even if she tried, and as afar as I know, she didn’t try, because she didn’t bother me all night and there was no mess in the morning, so maybe I’ve actually licked the problem, fingers crossed! I’ll keep doing that to see how it works, but at the moment it seems like it is. Anyway, I was so tired when I got back from the ride, once I put Flash away I crashed in my chair and mostly just watched TV all day. I was hoping it would rain to cool things off, and cool air has come in, but we only had a few minutes of rain. So now it’s late and I’m ready for shower and bed. Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Saturday, July 11, 2020 – Ride with Trish, Registered for Endurance Ride Tomorrow!

Hey Sweetheart!
FINALLY had a great night sleep, obviously the cooler weather makes a big difference! Got up around 7:30 because Trish wanted to come up and ride with me today, (which meant I couldn't volunteer, oh well!) so I set the alarm, had breakfast, and was just getting ready to saddle both guys when she arrived. We were out by shortly after 9:00 and had a lovely 12 ½ mile ride. The only problem with this place is there are really only two trails, with a couple of connectors, and part of the time they merge together, so there's not a lot of variation, but they do have some great views of the lake along the way! I have to say, they are really laid-back here, everyone's got up electric fences, and not ONE PERSON has their horses tied to these silly hitching posts. I REST MY CASE!! The campground is just about full, but by the time I got up the rides had already started, so it was pretty empty. Some horses were already finished with their first leg by the time we got on the trail. The first time a couple of riders passed us, Flash went crazy! He was so quiet and subdued until that happened, then he turned into a different horse, prancing and jumping, wanting to go after them. Trish saw a real Jekyll and Hyde episode right there! I decided then and there that I would do the 25 mile ride tomorrow, just because Flash seems so keen on doing it. Gotta keep my horses happy, right? Anyway, we got back to camp at about 1:30, had some lunch, chatted for awhile, and then she left for home. She might decide to come up to Potato Creek to meet me when I'm there as well. You'd like her, she's a nice lady with some brains and education, just like all the rest of the great gals she introduced me to yesterday. Anyway, after she left, I went and registered, got Flash's vet check done, and he even ran along beside me, thank goodness, it was something I thought I was going to have to train him better to do, but he seems to have managed it okay. I only hope he does that after our 15 mile leg tomorrow at the vet check! Fingers crossed! Anyway, I'm settling down early tonight, not really hungry after lunch, I've already fed the horses and put together their breakfast as well so I don't have to worry about doing that in the morning. I talked to one of my neighbors to get advice on the pit stop, since that was my weak link last time, and I think I've got a better handle on it this time, we'll see. So I'm having an early night, won't be long out of bed, so I'll just, I love you! And good night!

Friday, July 10, 2020 – Visitors Day

Hiya Darlin'!
What a fun day today! It was so hot last night I actually had to put two fans in the bedroom to try to cool it down, but thankfully, a cool front came through (with almost no rain here, yay!,) and there was a cool breeze this morning that made it SO pleasant here today! In fact, the forecast is saying it will be cooler and with lower humidity for several more days, so I should be able to get all my outdoor chores done, like changing the oil in the truck, among other things. Meanwhile, my new friend Trish whom I met down at Brown County brought her club of women to visit with me, and I got to do my Snowy River rendition to an actual audience, and it went great! They seemed to enjoy it a lot. They all brought healthy salads, so we had a great lunch, and they gave me lots of healthy leftovers and some fresh from the garden yellow squash and green peppers, and some homemade honey and jam! So I'm full of healthy food, which I could really use, I've been eating everything out of a can lately. I also made some deviled eggs, I haven't done that in a long time, it was nice to have those around. There's an endurance ride scheduled here over the weekend, coincidentally, so we took a walk around and saw all the horses and rigs that have been piling in all day. After they left, I walked over to see if they could use a volunteer, and I got a maybe, mostly because of these stupid covid virus restrictions. They said to check in the morning to see who shows up. I've thought about entering the race, but I'm not sure I want to get up early enough to make a 6:30 start time! It's a gorgeous evening here in the screen room, it's been so hot it's been unbearably most of the day, but the breeze is keeping everything cool and I'm really looking forward to a comfortable sleep tonight! Won't be long before I head that way. Good night, baby! Love you!

Thursday, July 9, 2020 – First Ride at Salamonie and Laundry

Hey Sweetie!
Flash and I finally got our first ride in today here, a bit more than 12 miles, and we only got lost two or three times. In fairness, I somehow lost my trail map, so I was only going by the GPS trail I had set for myself, which of course, doesn't show me the alternatives, but we made it back. The trails here aren't terribly interesting, with some that go through woods, others that skirt around the edges of fields, very few hills, and most are marked "steep" which must be for the benefit of the snowmobilers that share the trails in winter, because they certainly weren't all that steep for a horse. Flash had a lot more energy today than he's had in awhile, I guess a few days off have made a difference, or maybe he was just glad to be on trails that only had a few patches of gravel. We had a couple of lovely long canters, and our average speed was better than it has been. After we got back to camp and I rinsed him down and put him and Apollo on their anchors, I did a load of laundry and hung it out to dry. A few trailers came in, and from a girl across the way, I learned there's an endurance ride here this weekend, would you believe! I'm wondering if that's a sign that I should participate. It certainly explains why there were only four sites to choose from when I was booking my reservation last month! I'd never seen a horse camp that busy, glad to know there is a reason. The start time is 6:30 in the morning, so that alone my deter me! We'll see how I feel. Anyway, settled down for the evening, very hot today, still waiting for it to cool down inside the trailer, though outside is getting better. It's like this every night here, because I get the last rays of the sun, it takes longer to cool down inside. I ran the AC for awhile, but unless I run it for a long time, it doesn't help that much. I almost bought a filter for the AC the other day, but I hadn't measured for it, so I didn't bother. Today I took down that wood box, which I thought was where the filter would go, and made a fascinating discovery: underneath it was an ordinary AC vent just like in our previous Rvs! And to make matters worse, the vent was actually closed! I took it all apart, cleaned out the little washable filter, put it all back together again and left the vent open before putting the wooden box back on, and it blew out great! I still didn't leave it on long enough to blow out the hot air (well, maybe I did but it was still hot out when I turned it off), so I spent the evening with a small fan blowing on me, which helps a lot. Anyway, time for a cold shower and off to bed. Good night, baby! Love you!

Wednesday, July 8, 2020 – Shopping Day

Hi Babe,
I don’t know what the heck is going on with my sleep patterns, but it just keeps taking hours to fall asleep after I go to bed. Then I wake up tired and stay tired all day, grrrr! To make matters worse, I had a horrible nightmare and I literally woke myself up screaming, and not a little scream either. I hope that doesn’t happen when I have neighbors this weekend, especially considering all the windows are open! Then I woke up early, and started working on some stuff that needs resolving. The friend I was going to stay with in Michigan has decided to stay in Florida the whole summer, so I had to start looking for someplace else near Lansing to stay where I could board the horses. I don’t have anything confirmed yet. I also had to find another campground in between, and decided on Potato Creek, which is near enough to Elkhart for me to run in and have them fix the exterior paneling issue before going into camp. I’ve heard it’s pretty nice there, and all the sites have electric, albeit only 30 amp, but it would be nice to be able to run some AC, I’m getting tired of sweating! Once I put out some feelers for a boarding place, I headed into town, mostly to get propane but also some horse feed and a few grocery items. Plus I stopped at a mechanic shop to see if they would run a quick diagnostic to see if any engine codes have come up that might account for my slow starting (though it’s been better the last few times I started the truck, so it may be nothing). Would you believe they wanted $90 just to check the codes?! I went to Autozone and they did it for free. Granted, it wasn’t an in-depth scan, but the only thing that came up is the same one that’s been coming up for a year, about the glow plugs. I don’t see how that could be the problem, but I’ll keep checking. Meanwhile, I bought supplies for an oil change, so I have to put that on the schedule sometime while I’m here, as well as a few other chores I’ve let pile up, like replacing the screen on the door, Lola’s managed to claw her way through it again, and some sealant for around the sinks. Nothing major, just regular maintenance. It was hot again, but we finally had a storm come through and it’s cooled it down wonderfully, but, of course, with no sun, I had to run the generator a bit more to charge the batteries to get through the evening. I had a little soup for dinner, watched a couple of DS9’s, and now it’s time for my shower and bed. I’m hoping I can finally get a decent night sleep, and maybe get back my rhythm again, can’t figure out what’s going on! Planning on taking my first ride here tomorrow, if all goes well and the weather holds out. Good night, darlin’! Love you!