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!

Hey Sweetie!
Another good night sleep, woke up to a beautiful morning, started the day off with a load of laundry so that I would have nice clean sheets tonight. Did my usual morning chores and breakfast, and Patsy arrived just after 10:00, so we saddled up and hit the trail forthwith. Another gorgeous ride! Flash was much more sedate for the first several miles, we took turns on the lead, and he actually didn't pull my arms out too much, at least at first. We started on the Blue Trail which parallels the river, one of my favorite trails up here, then took the big purple loop before taking the speedy yellow back to camp. While Flash was more sedate at the beginning, once we were warmed up and started moving faster, he did his best to make out like it was a race. He was slightly more under control today, though, possibly because I tightened up his snaffle bit a little yesterday, but it was still a thrilling ride! Once we got going, we trotted/gaited for many miles, though I was able to hold him back from his strong desire to canter most of the time. Not that I mind, he has a lovely canter, I just didn't want to leave Patsy and Atlas (her other horse today) in the dust! We did just under ten miles, and enjoyed every minute of it! Rinsed off their well-deserved sweat and put them away, then chatted for a bit with Patsy before she headed out. Another wonderful day on the road! Brought in my laundry, took Apollo and Lola for a walk around the camp, and brought out Lola's pool and filled it, as she's been panting like crazy lately, even though it hasn't really been that hot. It made a difference, though, she's been much more settled this evening. Last night she was very restless, took her an hour to settle down for the night. My usual routine, off to bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!,
Well I did manage to get to bed reasonably early last night, and still slept until just after 8:00, so I guess my body clock is doing it's own thing! Nevertheless, I had to get up right away because my friend Patsy was coming down to ride with me, so I got my chores and breakfast done, and had just pulled Flash out of his paddock when she arrived, so the timing was perfect. We got saddled up, chatted with some neighbors who wanted to say hello to the horses, as well as a volunteer group that was putting in new corrals across from my site, tearing down the old wooden corrals and putting in pipe corrals with an 8' gate, which should be more convenient. I like the wooden ones, but they are rotting, as my repair job the other day proves. We finally got on the trail around 11:30, deciding to do about ten miles (turned out to be about eleven), so we took the orange trail, then a bit on the brown trail, until we picked up the yellow trail back to camp. We did very well for the first mile and a half while the horses were getting warmed up, the Patsy's horse Hero started a nice breezy trot, which Flash took as a challenge, and next thing I know, he's go, go, going again! I ended up having to get in the front or get my arms pulled out, but Patsy didn't seem to mind, she said she needed someone to push her, she's just been moseying all summer. We did a steady gait (with Flash doing a lot of bunched up canters, like a dressage horse!), and when we finally hit the yellow trail going south, I just had to let him run. So much energy! He's definitely ready to go! I'm almost tempted to enter him into the ride at Sandhills, just to give him a good workout. I'm convinced he could lead the pack! There's a lot of nice sandy trails out there, I'll just let him run when we check the trails. Once again, I kept an eye on him when we got back to camp, and he showed no signs of lameness or weakness of any kind. Despite it being a cool cloudy day, only in the mid-sixties, he had worked up quite a sweat, so I rinsed him off, of course, and Patsy did the same with Hero. After putting them away, we sat and chatted for a few minutes before she headed out and I settled down for the evening. This horse, Flash, is so much fun to ride!! What a great day! Love the trails here, loved the company, and love this horse!! Life is SO GOOD!! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Babe!
What a fantastic day! Managed to get to bed reasonably early last night, had an excellent night sleep, read for a short while in the morning, then saddled up Flash to take a longer, faster test ride today, to see how his leg really is. He was so full of energy, he was like a different horse! After the first couple of miles as he got warmed up, he suddenly decided he wanted to go, go, go! I don't know if it was the cooler weather, the long layoff, or just that he was feeling frisky, but he insisted on gaiting and cantering for nearly five miles! Considering the trails here are mostly single track, hilly, windy, curvy and right through the forest, it was all I could do to hang on! I can't remember the last time he wanted to move that fast, but it's definitely been awhile. I didn't want to discourage him, he seemed to be having so much fun, and so was I! To make it even better, when I got him back to camp, I kept a careful eye on his weight distribution, and not once did he favor any of his legs. So happy, and relieved! I've got my old horse back. Whoohoo! Rinsed him off, then left him at the trailer for a few minutes while I fixed the gate on his paddock. The top gate screw had come out this morning because the post is rotten in the center, plus it was too high for the bottom bracket to fit into the lower gate screw, so I drilled a new hole farther down so that it would set on the bottom gate screw properly. Once that was done, I put him away, still keeping an eye on him, but there seemed to be no side effects to all his speediness today, thank goodness. So enjoyed myself! After awhile, I got Apollo out and took him for a walk around the camp loop just for exercise, and did the same later with Lola, who didn't bother to come with us the first time. At least I'm getting some walking in these days! Finally settled down for the evening to a new BBC series, Monarch of the Glen, based in Scotland, which is a lot of fun. I had started another fantasy series, Wheel of Time, but it was so violent and gory, I decided to pass on it. Anyway, planning on another early evening, and hopefully another good night sleep, now that the cold front has come through. Back to the perfect weather I always seek, seventies during the day, fifties at night! Loving it! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Sweetheart!
Had a great night sleep, a slow morning, and then a short, three mile ride on Flash, just to see how his leg did. What a ride! He was fine and normal for the first couple of miles as we started down by the river just to see how it looked after last year's flood (it was fine!), then headed up the yellow trail. I just wanted to do a short ride, so we did yellow, then purple. At the last mile, though, as we were heading back to camp, he suddenly became very excited and started wanting to canter, even though it was woodsy, twisty, windy and hilly! Don't know what got into him, except that he wanted to get back to camp as quick as possible! I had to stop and circle him a few times just to get him to settle down. Guess his leg wasn't bothering him, was it? We got back, I rinsed him off and put him away, keeping an eye on his right rear hind the whole time and didn't see any indication of anything being off. Yay! Next ride, we'll go a lot farther and see how it holds up. Very glad it doesn't seem to be anything too serious, though it's probably too early to tell. Spent the rest of the day in my usual routine, though I took Lola for a couple of walks around the camp loop just for exercise, to keep from doing nothing but sit all day, and to give her a little remedial training. She's hasn't been coming when I call very well, so we did a little work on that today. Settled down for my usual evening, heading to be soon! Good night, babe! Love you!