Hey Sweetie,
Been sleeping pretty well, and laying in pretty long, but feeling rested and physically well. Took Flash for a short ride to explore the "Beginner's Loop", thought it would be a good one for Lola since it was only about three miles or so, but she didn't have any interest in coming along. Maybe she had enough the other day. This was a lot less steep, but I didn't want to force her, so Flash and I just followed her around the campground until she had had enough, then I left her at the trailer while we went off on our ride. It wasn't a bad trail, though I came across some downed trees again, but the trails were pretty slick from all the rain over the weekend, so I ended coming back on the road, just for the sake of better footing. When I got back, I ponied Apollo around the campground a bit for exercise, then spent a little time rasping the horses' feet, all eight of them, so I guess all this rest is doing me good! I noticed a map of the trails for next week's ride tucked by my chair, so obviously Connie had stopped by and dropped that off, so I called her and we chatted for a bit. Did a few minor repairs on the trailer, then settled down for the afternoon and evening. It started raining around 8:00 pm and is still coming down hard now, at 9:30. It seems to be training in place, so I guess it will be going on for awhile. Lola is not liking the lightning and thunder, so I ended up giving her an allergy pill, which I trust will make her sleepy eventually. Won't be long out of bed, will likely have to wear earplugs if the rain is still pounding like it is! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Another good night sleep, chores, breakfast, some computer work, then I finally saddled up Flash just to take a short ride with Lola for exercise. I had planned on doing something called the Beginners Loop, but made a misstep along the way, not crossing the paved road, so I ended up climbing a big hill, then promptly descending on that hill, and making it back to camp in less than three miles. Good exercise for Lola, though, which was the point of the ride. Once I got back to camp, I ponied Apollo around the campground a few times just to stretch his legs, then finally put them on the anchor for some grazing. Eventually, I moved their paddock to new grass, since they had just about worn down their previous one, and I didn't want to overgraze. Had a couple of campers come in during the afternoon and evening, but haven't met them yet. Took Lola for another walk, then settled down for the evening. Another lovely day on the road! Love my life! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
A decent night sleep except a bad dream just before I woke up, doesn't happen often, but it was pretty stressful! After breakfast and chores, I planned a route to ride one of the few trails I hadn't done yet, the Wildlife Trail, then saddled up Flash with the new saddle, now fully equipped with breast collar, saddle bags and a solution to the "lack of horn" issue, and also put his boots on, and off we went! After the first mile, we came through an area that looked like it had been ravaged in a storm, and I heard a chainsaw going on one side of the trail and a piece of heavy equipment on the other (I had also heard that some logging may be going on somewhere), but eventually left that behind. I followed the blue loop for awhile until it was time to cross the road onto the green loop, where it was much quieter and more natural and old growth. I had honestly forgotten just how hilly and steep this forest was, almost mountainous in it's switchbacks and steep drops, but as always, Flash was his usual brilliant self! It finally flattened out a bit on the Wildlife trail, which almost paralleled the interstate, so it was a lot noisier there, and there was a pair of trees down at one point that looked like they had fallen quite recently, since the leaves were hardly wilted, but I managed to get around them. The return loop wasn't quite as steep most of the way, not until the end, but it was a great workout for Flash! These hills made the ones at Biltmore seem tiny! Good for him to build up his strength, though, he's been a flatlander too long! As you know, we go through this every year, so nothing new, just another year older. Ended up reaching camp right at 12 miles, so a very good ride. Got him rinsed down and put away, rested for a bit, then took Lola for about a half mile walk. Not far, I know, but I'll make it up to her tomorrow. Settled down for the evening, satisfied with another gorgeous day out in nature! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Another good night sleep, followed by a busy day! After chores and breakfast, I arranged for a hay pickup, and learned that my tires had arrived at Discount, so worked that all into the afternoon schedule. Meanwhile in the morning, I outfitted my new saddle, which took some imagination since it doesn't have a horn, which meant my horn bag and both saddle covers, which had horn straps on them, had to be figured out. It feels a bit smaller, but I think that might be a good thing, since the saddle I've been using was the bigger of the saddles we had. After I thought I had my configuration, Flash and I headed out on a short ride just to see how it went. I made a few adjustments, but was surprised by how steep the trails right out of camp were, and I didn't bother to put on his breast collar, which I soon regretted. Fortunately, we went less than three miles, but part of that was on a trail that was apparently closed, and we had to work a bit to get around some downed trees, but managed just fine. We only went less than three miles, but it was enough for my purpose. Got back to camp, got him put away, then went about removing the two tires I had planned to changed today. Getting the spare off was no problem, but once I jacked up the right rear and started to get off that old tire, I ran into some problems. The first couple of lug nuts came off easy, then got a little harder, until I had all the nuts off except for one. One bloody nut that just refused to come off. I tried everything I could with the tools I had, but I needed either an air wrench or a breaker bar, neither of which I had. In desperation, I headed down to the other campground, where I asked the hosts if they had either of those things, and unfortunately the answer was no, so I headed to the office to pay for my stay, and also to ask for those things. Sorry to say, the girl at the counter was quite unwilling to help, even told me they wouldn't help folks even if they did have the tools to help! Sad commentary on the stewards of "public" lands. Anyway, at that point I called my insurance company, since I have road service coverage and was desperate, then headed back to camp so I could meet them there. After playing robo-round with their phone service (very disappointed in you, Progressive!), I was told the service provider would call me, but they never did. Not long after that, however, the campground hosts from the other campground came around, having discovered something that would serve as a breaker bar, and before long, we had that final lug nut loose! Yay! I managed to make my appointment to pick up hay (which I was in danger of missing due to the delay), and then headed down to Discount tire to get my two wheels changed out. That took longer than previous stores, but I wasn't in any hurry, and they got it done. He also added a warranty to the tires, so apparently if any of the fail during the next ten years, they'll be repaired or replaced for free! Sweet! I hope I remember that next time one fails! Got back to camp and started to put the first tire on, when the campground hosts swung by again to see how I was doing, and came to help, which was much appreciated! We got the two new tires on in short order, though once again, there was ONE lug nut that wouldn't come off, but with the breaker bar, we managed it pretty quickly. The biggest problem was with the spare, we couldn't get it on the spare rack without deflating it down to about 30 lbs., so I'm going to have to fill it back up at some point. At least that job is done! All four tires are new and manufactured within a few month from each other, so hopefully I won't have any more tire problems for four or five years! The hosts left with my thanks, then I unloaded the six bales of hay and put them away under the gooseneck. I only bought six because the haymaker said he'd be baling new hay starting tomorrow, so I'm more than happy to wait for that! Turns out he's a friend of one of the managers at the ride I'm working in a couple of weeks! Small world! Anyway, finally finished off the day, settled down for the evening, ready for bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Well, today turned out better than I had planned! Got up with the early alarm and was ready for an 8:00 volunteers meeting, which never actually happened, but I had been assigned as a vet scribe, so that's what I spent the majority of my day doing. That's a job that gets busy all at once, is chaotic for awhile, then settles down to nothing in between. The day started out rainy and rather cold, with a chilly breeze, but by the afternoon it had finally rained itself out, the clouds started to disperse, and once the sun came out, it was a gorgeous day. I was chilled until the sun finally arrived, so thankful for that! Around 4:00, I happen to overhear a conversation about one of the four-wheelers not working, and I inquired as to whether that meant trail markers would have to come down by horseback, but then I was told they were talking about Shaker Village's UTV's, not the private one that would be used. Well, after a couple of minutes of clarification, I managed to get them to agree to let me go out on Flash and pick up some ribbons, and to my surprise, they agreed! Yay! I quickly had him saddled up and was out on the pink 11 mile trail by 4:30, ready to do our usual trail un-marking, only to be rather stunned at the realization that here, they don't use the usual clothespins that everyone else uses, but instead, they tie the ribbon directly to a branch! I couldn't believe it! That really slowed things down. I either had to stop and try to untie them, or, when the branch was small enough, to break the branch and strip the ribbons off that way. Flash couldn't understand what was taking me so long, he's so used to the amount of time it takes me to just grab a clothespin, and in most cases, this was much longer, which tried his patience a bit. Nevertheless, after a few stops, he figured it out and let me take more time at each stop. Crazy slow compared to what we're used to! But we did manage to get the 11-mile trail done and were back to camp right at 7:00, so we made pretty good time despite the challenge. Flash was great, he really understands this trail marking/unmarking job, and even with boots on, he moved out very nicely. Handed over the markers and was rewarded with a long-sleeved T-shirt, but the only size they had was XL, but that will be handy when I need lots of layers in colder weather. Gave Flash some extra feed, got all my stuff put away, but I'm not going to hook up until tomorrow. I only have a two hour drive to Clark Forest, and I never heard from Taylorsville State Park, plus I've arranged to hopefully buy a lightweight Aussie saddle on the way. Managed to watch an hour of TV, but will be off to shower and bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a good night sleep, though I'm trying to stay on Eastern Time as much as possible, so ignoring the clock and just going with the circadian rhythm of day and night. Got my usual chores done, then saddled up Flash for what may be the only ride we get here, since the forecast is indicating 100% chance of rain tomorrow, though how long that rain will last is anybody's guess. I decided to take advantage of some advice from a Facebook friend and headed out on a trail designated "the trails less traveled," which took me to Deer Gap, a Waterfall, Owen's Home Place, Owen's Overlook, the Stone House, and Fairyland, all in one go. It was about fourteen and a half miles of pretty, well-marked trails, with obvious sight-seeing points along the way. I had been told in the office the footing was good here, and I didn't put Flash's boots on at first, but by the time I was halfway across the camp on the way to the trailhead, I realized we were definitely going to need them so I stopped and put them on (I had packed them in the saddlebag.) Glad I did, too, because there were a lot of areas with rocks and gravel. Overall, the trails were lovely, offering a lot of elevation changes, much more so than at Biltmore, so Flash got quite a workout. He was brilliant and willing as always, my great horse! What a fabulous trail horse he has turned out to be. The only issue was one trail that was blocked by a very large tree, and I had to go cross country downhill to another trail below it to get back on track. No big deal, but I reported it to the office later in the day. I took so many pictures! Lots to see out here. I can see why it's such a popular place, especially considering there are about 100 miles of trail, and I only rode 14.5 today! Could be an option for a longer stay at some time in the future. We were out for less than four hours in all. After rinsing him off and putting him back on the highline, Lola and I drove into town to get two propane tanks filled at Tractor Supply, as well as pick up a bag of Senior feed for Apollo, then headed over to Walmart to pick up a few things before getting back to camp. Settled down for the evening routine, ready for my shower as soon as I finish my tea. Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Didn't sleep as well last night, not sure why, but was up and around getting on with my chores when Art showed up, having arrived from Canada last night. He went on to a meeting after a few minutes, and I finished up my chores and breakfast, giving Flash a bute with breakfast so he wouldn't have any pain on this final ride. I also put boots on him when I saddled him up later, and between the two things, he was much more comfortable today. As I was leaving camp, I ran into several people I knew and had to chat with, so it was a later departure than I had planned, but nevertheless, we did the full 18 miles in slightly less time than yesterday, so our pace was much better. He was slow for about the first mile or so, until he figured out that he wasn't hurting, then he picked up speed and was his normal self for the rest of the ride, and even finishing up with some nice speed runs on the way back to camp. Some of the trail was a repeat of the other trails we had already done, but some of it I hadn't done since last year, and hadn't been affected by the hurricane, so it was really pretty and nice. Was very glad Flash was back to his old self, and also that he will have several days off, though it's forecast to get quite a lot cooler, so it'll be back to blankets at night in a few days! Art was at the tent next to my trailer with Steve and some other folks chatting, so I joined them once I put Flash away. One of our neighbors had fallen off her horse when it moved while she was on the mounting block, and was dizzy and vomiting, so it was decided to call the paramedics, since she hit her head and it sounded like a concussion. Steve and Art stayed behind to look after her animals while I went ahead to the volunteer meeting to learn what my jobs for the next few days were to be, then ended up following around a van full of volunteers (they couldn't fit us all in) to show us where our respective job sites were. When I got back, Art had collected some dinner from the vet/meeting tent, though it was cold, so I offered to heat them up in the microwave and to eat together. Of course, my generator decided not to start, even though it had enough battery juice for a change. Opened up a new propane tank, that didn't help, so I knew it had to be low oil, so I opened that up, and though it didn't look too bad, it took nearly half a quart of oil. Then it finally started, so I closed up that new propane tank (since the other tank wasn't really empty), and heated up dinner for us. We chatted until about 8:30 when he left, now I have to finish my evening routine (no time for TV!), take my shower and get to bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Last night I had some Sleepytime tea for the first time in a long time, and I slept like a baby! Of course, that might have had something to do with the 22 miles Flash and I rode yesterday! After chores, I got him saddled up for our assignment of the day, the 15 mile red trail. No surprisingly, he was a lot slower today. I got the impression it wasn't muscular, but rather his feet were sore, and I'm pretty sure that was my fault for not putting on his boots. There's a lot more gravel roads being used for trails on the other side, and though I didn't find any visible stone bruising this morning, I'm pretty sure that is was his feet that were the issue. I didn't figure it out until we were well out of camp, so we carried on, just taking our time, which ended up being over five hours. I also went slower because I did quite a bit more trimming and trail clearing, which also slowed us down, but it was a beautiful day, partly cloudy, upper 60's, just perfect! We had no reason to be in a hurry. My pictures today focussed on all the spring flowering trees and brambles, the perfume in the woods at the moment is absolutely gorgeous! Blackberry vines, mountain laurel, and much more all contributed to the heady scent in the woods today. Heavenly! Got back to camp before 4:00, and I was just getting Flash untacked when Louis showed up. We got him backed in and in sync with the neighbors, then I took Flash over to the washrack and got him cleaned up and put away. We chatted for a bit, filled his water tanks, topped off mine while we were at it, and settled down for the night. He offered me dinner but I had already thawed out some chicken, and starting tomorrow, they'll be feeding us volunteers, and I didn't want it to go to waste. Couldn't quite get a good enough signal for TV tonight for some reason, so I just read a bit, and once I'm finished posting and drinking my Sleepytime tea, I'll be off to bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
Slept pretty well, though woke up around 4:00 when it started raining heavily. That lasted until almost 9:00, which is when I finally got up and did my morning chores. After breakfast, I put on my rainsuit and saddled up Flash, and we headed out to do our assigned trail for today, the Lime trail. Thankfully it didn't rain, though there was still of a lot dampness around, and I had no trouble clearing out some of the branches and limbs that were in the way. When I got back to the arena area, they were putting up the vet tents, and the organizers were there. I let them know the condition of the trail, and Flash wouldn't sit still, so Stagg asked me if I wanted to help with something else, and I asked, "What do you have in mind?" Turns out they hadn't fully checked the blue trail over on the west side, the side that's NEVER open except on ride day, and he wanted to know if I would do it. OF COURSE!! Flash had been doing well all day, the weather had turned sunny, he seemed to have plenty of energy, and I would never turn down the chance to see the other side, which is where the vineyards and cattle and the rest of the working farm is. I met them at the bridge, which they opened for me, then staged themselves along the route to help me in some of the areas where the trail wasn't open yet. What an honor! I feel like I really earned my stripes today! In the end, we did over about 22 miles, which was more than I had bargained for on the first day, and I hope it doesn't take away from the two more days of riding we have left to do, but we'll see. Saw lots of wildlife today: deer, turkey, Canadian geese with lots of baby goslings. Not like the Serengeti, of course, but still, nice viewing today! Got back to find that one camper that had come in earlier had spread her paddock in such a way as to take up about three spaces, and her friends had come in and were about to park in the space I had hoped to have my friend Louis across from me, so there was a bit of awkwardness as we tried to straighten that out. They really cut back on our camping sites this year for volunteers, so it's definitely going to be crowded in this little space. I put out a couple of orange cones next to me, I'm hoping they'll still be there when Louis arrives. Anyway, it was a lovely day of riding, I just LOVE MY HORSE SO MUCH! Flash was brilliant, we cantered and gaited for miles, and had the best time! Hope he'll be as enthusiastic tomorrow! Finally settled down for the evening, looking forward to an early nice and another lovely ride tomorrow. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe,
A terrible night sleep, which often happens after a day of too much rest! It was after 3:00 before I nodded off, but got up at 8:30 to get the day started. Started doing a little packing, then after chores and breakfast decided to take Flash for a short ride with Lola. I wanted to make sure I didn't have any more pain as a result of my fall in Africa (thankfully, I didn't!) and to reassure myself that I could, indeed, ride a canter without fear, which, thankfully, I did! We galloped around the entire perimeter of two of Linda's back fields, which, of course, wasn't 10 minutes, but at least I felt very comfortable for the duration. First, though, we went down some other trails, and ended up doing about 3.65 miles out and back, which was just about right, since Lola was along and I didn't want to wear her out. She doesn't often get to come along when I'm riding Flash, so it was a really nice adventure for you. Felt so good to be back in the saddle of a horse I know and trust! Once we got back and he was back out in the pasture, I did a bunch of little chores that have been staring me in the face. I riveted the wheel well that got pulled off with my flat tire the other day, re-hung some pictures that have pulled off the walls, did three loads of laundry, got the truck lined up and the four extra bales of hay moved into it, packed up my lawn chair and table, and generally just got ready for our departure tomorrow. Once that was all done, I sat in my recliner and ended up falling asleep! Finished my evening with the last of the leftovers and a few more episodes of Damages, heading to bed early, need to make up for all the hours lost last night! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!