Hey Babe,
Woke up to an early alarm, with a busy day in front of me. Had a quick breakfast and was just getting ready to saddle Flash when Ranger Rick stopped by. I hadn't seen him all week, surprisingly, but it seems he's working the south end of the forest these days. We chatted a little while I saddled Flash, as I was on a tight schedule. Managed to hit the trail by 8:45, and we did the entire revised red/white trail, over 11.5 miles, and got back by about 11:20. I needed to get back in time for lunch at Willards, so I was kind of pushing Flash, which I felt bad for doing because he seemed to be limping. Hate to see that, that could really mess me up for next week if he's gimpy on me! Hopefully it will resolve like it did at Biltmore earlier this year, I'll have to keep an eye on it. I did manage to just make lunch, picking up Helen, then meeting Jo, Chelle and Art for lunch. It was part meeting, part social event, so we got a lot accomplished. Afterward, Chelle picked me up at camp and brought me to her house, where I picked up the tractor so that I could do some mowing tomorrow on the trails that need work. That all took until nearly 3:00, so I settled down for the rest of the day. Heading to bed early, got another busy day tomorrow! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
A much nicer day today, though it took awhile for the sun to come out. Eventually saddled up Flash and headed out on what will be the short orange trail for the upcoming ride, at 13.9 miles, though I didn't do the final bit to and from Helen's house, so it was only 13.5. A great ride, though! Flash was his usual brilliant self, insisting on doing his fast 4+ mph walk today, along with some great gaiting and cantering, taking less than three hours to complete. It was great to be back on our "home" turf! It is incredibly dry, though, with less water than I've ever seen out here. That may change with the forecast of much rain this weekend, particularly on Sunday, but we'll see. The forecasters have been known to be wrong once or twice before! There are only a couple of places that need trail work, but those places need A LOT of trailwork. I'm hoping they'll let me bring my tractor out to do the necessary mowing, it would be really helpful. Got back just after 2:00, got Flash put away, then finally managed to make a reservation at a place in January where I can go after Tidewater, though not before the 5th. Tough to find someplace over the holiday weekend! Hopefully, the forest will let me stay longer under a special permit. We'll see! Settled into my usual afternoon and evening routine. Love you, Babe! Good night!

Hey Babe!
What a great day! It started out with a much better night sleep, confirming my supposition that it was the overdose of aspertame that was preventing me from sleeping well. I had none of the previous afflictions after resuming a mostly water beverage diet today. After breakfast I had to fill up the water in my truck tank and refill the camper, then I finally saddled up Flash and headed out on the trail. We took the long perimeter trail, crossing 441 and riding all the way up to O'Leno State Park. I'd forgotten how beautiful it was on this side of the forest! Flash was brilliant once again, averaging nearly six mph for the day. We did over 14 miles in just under three hours, and got a tremendous amount of galloping, cantering and gaiting in. It was wonderful! About halfway around we went by a cattle or dairy farm, and we were sorry to see a dead cow in a copse of trees, and another cow, still alive, but laying down and not looking very well. So sad! Not far out from camp, there was a long rattlesnake crossing the trail in front of us, and when I stopped to take a picture, it started to rattle and curl up, so we moved along quickly to get past it. What a truly gorgeous ride! The weather is due to turn colder, so I wanted to get a good ride in before that happened, and I couldn't have asked for a better day, or a better horse. Flash truly is a wonder! Gave him a good rinse off with a brush before putting him away, and was happy that he didn't immediately roll in the dust, as he is wont to do. Settled down for the rest of the day to reading and bingeing on TV, and am looking forward to a quiet day for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Woke up pretty early this morning, not sleeping as well lately and I attribute that to my drinking more diet drinks with aspartame, which I've experienced before, so today I'm back to mostly water to see if that helps tonight. Apollo really needed some exercise, so I saddled him up and was on the trail by just after 9:00, wanting to get out before it got too hot, with temps in the low 80's today. It was a lovely ride, a little more than two and a half miles, essentially the nicest part of the red trail, though he was quite sluggish, as usual these days. Was spoiled a bit by a woman in the parking lot threatening to have her mule kill Lola because she wasn't on a leash (Lola was a long way away from her and heading straight back to the trailer, not even looking at her or the mule). Interesting that my dog is better trained than her mule, if it kicks at every dog it sees. Oh, well. Got back to camp and quickly headed down to the nearest Walmart north of Gainesville to do my Thanksgiving shopping. Got back around 2:00 and spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing, then bingeing on Bones. I noted that no one has moved into my old spot, even though I was told they would be arriving today. Anyway, it was a beautiful day, always a great day when I can get a ride in, no matter how slow! Off to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Up at the crack of dawn, got everyone fed, then met up with Ray, albeit 15 minutes after the appointed time, to head off onto the trails and put up the "markers," which were just paper plates with arrows and Dealer #'s on them. It took just about an hour, so gratefully, we were done well in advance of when the riders were released at 10:00, which I ended up doing because there was some confusion about who was supposed to do that. I hung around the pavilion with the other volunteers until the riders started coming back, though there was again some confusion about who was supposed to man the dealer post in camp at the end, which got sorted out just in time. Once a good portion of the riders were back in camp, I decided to saddle up Flash and take the signs down, which we managed to do in a short 45 minutes, working up a nice sweat along the way, as he gaited and cantered almost the entire way, which was slightly less than five miles. The raffle was still going on by the time we got back! I rinsed him down and put him away, helped clean up the pavilion, chatted with the ladies for a bit, then settled down for the night. I binged on some Bones, and my usual routine. It was a beautiful day, glad to feel productive and appreciated! Sorry I had to listen to the generator next door all day, but am grateful they turned it off before 9:00 this evening. Whew! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Sorry to report that there's a motorhome here that runs it's generator all day and all night, though it was quiet enough (or I was tired enough) to be able to sleep through it. Not quite sure why people need to make so much noise in such a peaceful and quiet environment, and ruin it for the rest of us without any thought of wrongdoing. Sigh... Anyway, did manage a decent night sleep despite that, and had another wonderful ride on Flash, though he wasn't exactly a speed demon today. I think he may have strained himself a bit more than he realized with all the deep sand here, it's definitely tougher to get through than what we've been dealing with this summer. While yesterday he was moving very quickly as we did the perimeter trails, today we focussed on doing the interior trails, and he was much more reserved. It was only about eight miles anyway, so it didn't matter that we were going slower, it was still a lovely ride. We saw deer and squirrels, and at one point an armadillo crossed the trail right in front of us, and Flash completely ignored it! He's such a good boy! Another gorgeous day, though I'm glad it's shady here, because the temps are reaching the 80's now, and sunshine would definitely make it more uncomfortable. Settled down to my usual evening! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Slept well, woke up to another beautiful, sunny morning, did all my chores and breakfast, then saddled up Flash for our first recon ride here at River Rise. We took the red trail first, which is the prettiest one here, in my opinion, then continued along the perimeter on the green and white trails. It was only just over nine miles, and it went quickly, since after the first couple of miles of warmup, he wanted to take off again, as usual. We gaited and galloped and cantered, and gaited some more, it was another great ride on this fantastic animal! We saw lots of deer, a flock of turkeys, and a bunch of squirrels that may have been fox squirrels. We had a black race snake parallel with us, almost like he WAS actually racing us, when we were gaiting at seven mph, and it was neck in neck! A gorgeous day! I rinsed him off and put him back on the highline, where he rolled immediately, of course! Settled down for the rest of the day, chatted with my neighbor Karen (not the same Karen that's running the Poker Run this weekend), then had a visit from the camp host, Ray, and learned his dog had almost the same exact experience as Lola did when she was victim to a surprise attack, and his dog's response has been almost the same, getting more aggressive with other dogs that show him aggression. He is also widowed, a veteran, and travels a lot, camphosting when he can, and like me, doesn't have a house. Had a nice supper, my usual evening routine, just waiting for the water to heat up for my shower, then off to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Was up earlier than usual, so I got a lot of little things done, some housework, did a good clean of my leather recliner and throughout the day, did a lot of laundry. Not knowing the next time I'll have access to both water and electric, I did all my "occasional" laundry, like blankets and jackets and blaze orange vests, and recliner cover etc., just to get ahead of it. Around midday, I saddled up Apollo and Lola and I took him for a ride, doing about 3.5 miles, including a stop at the obstacle course they have here. He had no trouble with the tunnel, the little log steps, or the various strips of plastic, but it took some time to get him onto the teeter totter, but he eventually did it once, but wouldn't do it again. No worries, I was proud of him for engaging his brain, which I think isn't being done enough. Got back to camp by 2:00, rinsed him off and put him away, and went back to doing more laundry. They must have been doing some plumbing work, because they shut the water off for awhile, but luckily I had plenty in my tank, so I carried on with the wash. Eventually settled down to my usual evening routine. Another lovely day in the Sunshine State, warm enough now not to have to put blankets on the horses. Almost thought I'd need to put the A/C on today! Weird, since I had the fireplace on this morning. Love it when the seasons are changing! Anyway, won't be long out of bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Another beautiful day in here, cool in the morning, mid-70's in the middle of the day. Was out on the trail by just after 9:00 with the same team, marking the orange trail, which was a lot easier because it hadn't been marked before, so we were able to pick and choose our trees. We also didn't make as many marks, we felt there were too many on the other trails, so I measured .15 miles between markers, and that seems to work out just fine. We were actually done just after 11:00, so we headed back to camp, where I promptly saddled up Flash and headed off for our first and overdue ride here. He was ready! We headed out on the blue trail, which I knew would turn out to be the trail along the river, probably the nicest trail out here, and after a nice mile or so of warm up walking, he decided he was in a seven mph mood today, and started gaiting. We went for miles doing that, with occasional canters and walks to balance it off. He was perfect! What a fantastic ride! We ended up doing about 12 miles, and he worked up a lovely sweat. I rinsed him off and put him back in the paddock, where, unsurprisingly, he immediately rolled and covered himself with dirt and sand. Fortunately, it all comes off him pretty quickly, and by the time I fed them their dinner hay and put their blankets on (it's going down to 39 degrees tonight), he was relatively clean again. Settled down for the evening to supper and TV, won't be long out of bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Woke up to a lovely 72 degrees in my bedroom this morning, despite outside temps in the upper 30's. So glad I have electric! My job for the day was to ride Flash on the Red/White trail and GPS it for mileage, as they apparently made a few changes to make it the correct length for the FEI officials. What a joy that was! Flash, once again, was raring to go, and with all the exercise he's been getting lately, he's more that fit enough to handle it! We were barely out of camp at a good four mph walk when he started picking up speed, and before I knew it, we were barreling along, gaiting and cantering, with each mile faster than the last! I think the last three miles were all over nine mph! Very brisk! And so much fun! Love this little guy! We had a couple of stop/starts, once because I misread a marker, another because I stopped to talk to Becky for a minute because their UTV had stalled out and they were waiting for some kind of special oil to get it going again, and I trimmed a couple of places, but the trails are in fantastic shape, so there was very little to do on that front. Flash had worked up a good sweat, even though it was only in the mid 60's, but by the time I took off his tack and gave him a quick rinse, his heart rate was down to nearly 60, so it's clear he's in really good shape. Once I put him away, I worked on the map for the ride manager, and as soon as that was done, I spent a few minutes getting the worst of the oil off the front of the RV. What a mess! I took out my propane tanks that needed refilling, and about 4:45, headed into town, Hampton, to the Tractor Supply. I filled all three tanks and bought some degreaser, since the back of the truck is still a mess! If I'm not too busy tomorrow, I'll get my pressure washer down and try to get it cleaned up. Then we went to a nice little Mexican restaurant, Becky and John and another volunteer, very nice, but the waitress got our entrees mixed up so I didn't get exactly what I ordered, but it was okay. WAY OFF my diet, but I figured I would be this week anyway, and besides, I burned a lot of calories today! Stopped to fuel up at a gas station on the way back to camp, threw the blankets on the horses and settled down for the evening. A nice, satisfying day. I have the fireplace on again tonight as the outside temps drop, tonight will be the coldest yet, supposedly down to 38 degrees. I need to be farther south! But the forecast is warmer the rest of the week, thank goodness, and nice and dry, no rain at all for the foreseeable future, with temps in the upper 70's and low's in the 50's. Now that's more like it! I'll keep chasing those temps for awhile! Anyway, time to get ready for bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!