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!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had another good night sleep, but a chilly morning, and despite have a 12.1V reading on the inverter, the generator wouldn't start, so I had to go jumpstart it to get the heat going. Had my usual morning routine, got Flash saddled up around 10:30, then finally met up with Patsy and Julie around 11:00. We headed out cross country so we could check out a spot on the trail that one of the riders got lost on, only to see that it was marked about as good as it could be, so we'll call that rider error. Had a nice ride, Flash behaved himself for the first five miles or so, but then he got frustrated because we were only walking, so I eventually had to excuse myself and take him for a run, as the other horses were feeding off his energy and starting to misbehave. We did a nice long gallop for maybe half a mile, then back again twice until the others caught up. Of course, by this time we were heading toward camp, and he got even more excited, so when we were about a mile out, we turned off and took a "long cut", where he galloped for about another two miles in an extra loop that brought us back around to the day parking area. Ended up doing about 12 miles. The three of us then chatted for a bit before they headed out and I went back to camp. After rinsing off Flash, I decided to drive down to HQ to get a bit of water (just a half a tank, I didn't need much), so that I could call my friend Nancy in Rochester where I had a decent signal, and we talked about potential vacation plans for next year. I also met Roosevelt, a ranger that Patsy had told me about, and we chatted for a bit as well, who's retiring next March. Finally settled down for the evening, running the generator so I could use my electric fireplace to warm it up, so it will undoubtedly be another chilly morning, though it will be another lovely flannel night! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin' ,
Had a nice and quiet night sleep out here in the middle of nowhere! It was a chilly morning, and I'm having problems getting my furnace to stay on, probably just needs a little cleaning, so that's on my list of things to do. Had a fabulous ride on Flash, checking the red trail and refreshing some markers, mostly turn arrows and the occasional splash of red paint. He was just about perfect today, climbing up berms, standing quietly beside trees while I use my marker, moving along at an excellent pace, and even doing a flying gallop the last couple of miles as we headed back to camp. I love this horse! I couldn't ask for a better critter, he's just the best! All these long, hard-packed sand trails and roads are just perfect for him, and me! Got back to camp just after 3:00, washed him down, then let him and Apollo just wander the grounds for the rest of the day, though often as not, I would discover them either inside or just outside the paddock eating out of the hay bags! Silly boys! Settled down for a quiet afternoon, was delighted when I managed to get a good enough signal to do a little work on my computer and live stream some TV. My usual evening routine, and soon to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, so I ended up sleeping late in the morning. After chores and breakfast, I saddled up Apollo, wanting to keep him moving and to give Lola some exercise. He was even slower than usual, making me wish I had given him some bute this morning, but I hate to do that before a ride, in case he tries to do too much. I did give him one when I got back though. Lola stayed way in front of us again, just too slow for her, even with her limp! We only went about 2.7 miles, and I even walked some of it, just to get him moving a bit faster. Yes, my walking was faster than his! He used to be such a fast walker, it's sad to see him slow down so much. Anyway, once we got back to camp and I put him away, I did some mending on the old sheepskin (I noticed one of the straps had torn off), and also the saddlebags, which are a constant repair job. I also tried to fix the leg on the solar panel. I've done it before and it's broken again, and I finally got tired of messing with it, so I've done it again, hopefully a better job this time. Did some research on the keto diet, as I've kind of hit a plateau on the lowfat, high carb diet I've been on, so I thought I would go in the opposite direction for a few days, see if it helps my downward trend get moving again. What can I say, I feel the need for meat! Relaxed in the evening, days are getting shorter in a hurry, nights will be getting cooler, too. Winter is on the way! But it's perfect weather at the moment, 70's during the day, 50's at night, my perfect balance! Love it here, but rules say I must move on Monday, so tomorrow is packing, and also is forecast to be rainy, so a good day to stay inside. No laundry likely tomorrow! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin'!
Well, my new horse neighbors are running their generator 24/7, so I had to put my earplugs in around midnight last night. They also have a pack of dogs, and one of them never stops barking, so whatever peace I've been enjoying here has taken flight! Oh, well! Had a quiet morning, waiting for it to warm up (it was in the 40's last night, so I even put on Flash's blanket!), which it finally did around noon, so we saddled up and headed out for another fantastic ride. The trails here are truly wonderful, and even with a crowded campground, I never came across another rider. Today, we went up the yellow to the west fork, hitting blue, then turning east to pick up red, which is the second to last trail I haven't done yet this trip, taking that to orange and doing that back to camp, opposite what we did the other day. Of course, every trail looks completely different going in the opposite direction, doesn't it? It was a lovely nine+ miles, and while he was a bit more subdued in the beginning, not having another horse to compete with, he picked up his pace pretty well on the last few miles. Such a gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky and in the los 70's, in the shade of the woods, it was just perfect! Exactly the kind of days I live for, and cherish! So grateful for this life! We got back around 3:00, put him away, then go on with my usual afternoon and evening routine, though I added a chore, swapping out my pretty worn out ivory sheepskin saddle cover with your barely used black one, making sure to secure the latest black cushion I bought for my Yellowstone ride, so now the saddle looks like new! Watched a few more episodes of MOTG, heading to shower and bed shortly. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Had a decent night sleep, my usual morning, then saddled up Apollo for a short ride so that both he and Lola could get some exercise. He was a slug again today, averaging about 2.2 mph, so slow that Lola got way out in front of us despite her own mobility issues, but considering he's 29, I'm not going to push him. I'm just happy he's moving at all! It's probably my fault for not riding him for such a long time, he's out of shape (and getting fat standing around eating hay all day!), so I really need to try to remedy that. It was another gorgeous day here, we're having a wonderful week of weather, so no complaints there! Settled down as usual, for another routine evening! Good night, darlin'! Love you!