Hey Darlin',
A good night sleep, woke up to my alarm so that I could get an early start, got chores and breakfast done, saddled up Flash and was out on trail by 10:30, with perfect weather. Trails were pretty wet and muddy, plus there are lots of areas with heavy gravel, so it was a classic case of "to boot or not to boot." I took them with me but didn't put them on. I came across a couple of sections that were all but impassable with downed trees, and a couple of places that were just inconvenient to get around, sent the info all off to ride manager Noelle, as I'm sure she had someone with chainsaw skills available to help out. It was a lovely ride, reaching all the way up to the farthest north loops, though I didn't go around the big fields, figured that was surplus to requirement. Flash was his usual brilliant self, naturally. Got back right around 3:00, gave him a nice rinse, Lola for a walk, and settled down for the rest of the day. Perfect weather, a wonderful ride, couldn't ask for much else! Good day! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
It just doesn't seem possible that it's been 50 years since we celebrated the Bicentennial during the year I graduated from high school! It really drives home the point that life is short! That being said, it's been an amazing 50 years, so much has happened, so much of our life together just flew by, and yet, we filled it with so much. I could not have asked for a more fulfilling life, and to have a better life partner than you, my soulmater, my best friend, my greatest love. These times are amazing! But back to my small life, I slept obscenely late this morning before getting up, because the forecast said it would rain this morning and I didn't want to set the alarm only to wake up to rain, so when I finally did wake up, it wasn't long before I was saddling up Flash for our Independence Day ride. We did the north loop and the west loop, trying to get in as many miles as we could, since this will be our last ride here, and that's a challenge since there isn't a lot of miles of trail here. We did have a storm front come through last night, and it dropped more trees and limbs on the trail, so there were several challenges along the way, but nothing too serious. Flash was, of course, his usual brilliant self. I swear, he knew exactly where the halfway point was, because he immediately started speeding up once we hit it, even though it was an east/west part of the loop and camp was to the south. He's so funny! During the last stretch on the trail on the southwest side of camp, there were some more limbs down, and at that time, I didn't think much of it. We got back to camp and I picked up Apollo and ponied him, just to get him some exercise, going along the #10 loop and back again, which he seems quite happy about. Once we got back to camp, I let them graze in the clover and grass for a bit before putting them away. The storm front dropped the temps a bit, so it was nowhere near as hot as it has been, thank goodness! When I eventually took Lola for a walk, I was astonished to see the amount of damage the storm had caused in the campground! It was mostly localized to the southern section, where there is a wide open field to the south, so I'm thinking some straight line winds must have come up, since I don't think it was a tornado, that would have caused a lot more damage. Good news is, it didn't cause any damage, except one limb down, on the north side of the campground where we are located. Very glad about that! Anyway, settled down for the rest of the day, more rain came in and the temps dropped again, so I didn't have to run the generator and AC as long as I have been. Watched some episodes of House, then a number of the July 4th celebrations, now I'm headed to shower and bed. I'm listening to a lot of booming in the background right now, and I had to sedate Lola awhile ago to keep her calm, but celebrating this great event is worth it! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Lola was restless at 2:00 a.m., panting so hard it woke me up. Took me almost an hour to get her cooled down, putting a fan in front of her, an ice pack on her, taking her out to her pool to wet her down. She finally cooled off enough to minimize her panting, but I finally had to put in earplugs if I was going to get any sleep, which I finally did. Got up with a plan, though! After chores and breakfast, I saddled up Flash for a ride. I decided that I wasn't going to let myself become a weather wuss! So what if it's hot out, it's always cooler in the woods, and it hasn't been that long since this gal spent a summer in south Florida putting in an entire trail system in 95 degree heat with 100 percent humidity, and survived! So Flash and I took a nice ride, about 6.5 miles, during which I stopped at the fire tower and climbed all the way to the top, just to see the view! I'm wondering if I'll be able to see fireworks from here, like I always like to do at Watkins Glen. Considering doing that if it isn't raining. Anyway, it was a lovely ride which didn't phase either of us. Once we got back and I put him away, Lola and I got in the pre-cooled truck and drove up to Tractor Supply to refill three of my propane tanks. It's only about 15 minutes away, so my plan is to simply run my generator as long as necessary to run the AC during the hot spell. Fortunately, it never overheated on me, and ran all day and evening with no problem, and managed to get it comfortable. It's sure to get stuffy overnight, but that's the best I can do for now. I had the horses loose on the grounds, since there is no one here, and yesterday the gal ranger had no problem with it, but today the old guy ranger made me put them away. Sigh... Such nice grass and clover going to waste! Finished off my Being Erica series and started on House, which I had heard was good but never saw, so that will be my latest binge. Time to take my cold shower and go to bed. Fingers crossed Lola lets me sleep through the night! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
First job this morning was the check the oil in the generator to make sure that wasn't the problem, and was happy to see it was fine. Started it up and ran it for a good couple of hours, finally managed to make a dent in recharging the batteries, yay! Did a few other chores and computer searches, and was quite surprised when it started drizzling, as there was not one word about rain in the forecast! When it finally cleared up in early afternoon, I saddled up Apollo for a change. I am starting to see just how detrimental letting him atrophy is becoming, so that's something I need to remedy. I trimmed his front hooves, then rode him for a very short ride down to the Tippecanoe River, then added a bit more by going around the west loop of the campground. Just at two miles when we got back to the campsite, which I thought was a good start, all things considered. By then, most of the camp was empty, there are only a few folks left, typical of a Sunday. Took Lola for a couple of walks today, she is doing so much better! She's been going in and out by herself without injury, so I'm really beginning to think it's not a torn ACL, just some other soft tissue issue. Settled down for some more binge watching, ran the generator again for a bit, happy to see it really charging up the batteries again. Headed to bed shortly! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Lots of folks came into the campground last night, so it was a bit busier than it has been, not unexpected, of course! Did some chores in the morning, picked up my mail at the office and posted a letter as well, chatted with some of my new neighbors while walking Lola around, then finally saddled up Flash for a nice 6+ mile ride. I actually found two short sections of trail that I've never been on, so I incorporated them into today's ride, so now I've officially done every bit of horse trail out here. This is a lovely place, but they really need about ten or fifteen more miles of trail to make it interesting! Only ran into two other riders on the trail, and we chatted a little, but then I stopped off at their trailer later and we had a long chat. They seemed very interested in my Africa trip, so I happily answered all their questions. Finally settled down for the evening, watched a little TV, took Lola for one last walk just before mosquito hour before settling down for the night. Sorry to say that the temps are really warming up in the next few days, so I'm a bit sorry I have no electric. Normally wouldn't bother me too much, but my generator kept kicking off this evening, with an overheating fault, and it's in the shade and not even running that long! I'll look at it in the morning, but I already checked the filter and the oil, and they both seem okay, so I don't know what's causing it to overheat, especially since I left the compartment door open. Hope I can figure it out, this is going to get a bit uncomfortable if I can't run my AC long enough to cool down the inside of the camper during these upcoming warm days! Time to pull out my little portable ice AC unit, for what it's worth! Enough said, time for bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
Despite the rain through the night, with earplugs in, I had an excellent night sleep! By morning it was over, and even Lola didn't get too excited about it, thank goodness! Did my morning chores leisurely, then saddled up Flash for a ride. He's really taken a liking to these trails, he was definitely back into a 6 + mph range! We only did about four miles before we got back to camp, when I put Apollo on a line and ponied him around the camp a bit just for exercise. Once we got back and I put them away, I headed out to do errands, stopping at a couple of hardware stores to see if they had the materials I needed to fix the legs on my solar panel (they didn't), and finally ending up at a welder/fabricator in the little town of Winimac who said he could help, so I left the legs with him and drove off to Rochester, IN, where I got fuel and shopped at Walmart to get a few essentials. Was delighted when I got back to the welder and he was able to fix my legs, though honestly, I'm not sure how long they will last, but it was worth the $20 bucks for even a temporary fix. Took Lola for a couple of walks, she is doing so well these days! Almost like before the torn ACL! Settled down to a couple of hours of binge TV, off to bed soon! Really hating DST, still light at 9:30, yuck! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Darlin'!
Had a busy day today, got a lot done! So nice to have a good night sleep without earplugs! Lovely and quiet out here. Started the day off doing a couple of loads of laundry before saddling up Flash for a beautiful ride. Gorgeous weather today! Low 70's, hardly a cloud in the sky, so nice after all the rain on Sunday. No horse boots required, and I didn't even take my saddlebags, so Flash was very happy! Though the trails were damp, there was very little mud, as most of it is firm sand. Once he got warmed up, Flash decided he was in a 7 mph mood, so we were booking through the forest. We did the northern loop, and ended up doing about 8.7 miles. There are a lot of trails here, just not a lot of long ones, but plenty if you want to meander around. We did a lot of gaiting and cantering, and he was in excellent spirits today! So much fun to ride him! Once we got back, I first stopped at HQ to pick up a package and report two downed trees, then I headed up to Tractor Supply, which is only about 15 minutes away, and got some feed, supplements and propane. When I took out the tanks, I discovered that it seems like my regulator isn't working properly, so I did some research on getting a new one, or trying to repair the old one. Considering it's 16 years old, I'm leaning toward a new one. I decided that I would stay here an additional week, since this is a good spot and I'm tired of moving every week (and in the case of last week, three times in the same place!), and this is a very convenient place. Water is right across the road, manure bin is 50 feet away, I get more than half a day of sun on my solar panel, and the horses are fine on their anchors during the day, so I'm good to stay here. To reach water yesterday, I had to piece together about four different hoses to reach everything, so I ordered a 100' Zero G hose, which arrived today, so when I got back, I put all the together, threw away one old leaky hose, and have another one I'll give away at the earliest opportunity. Much easier! Love my Zero G! After Tractor Supply I stopped at the grocery store next door and picked up a few things, then back to camp. Finally settled down to dinner and TV, took Lola for her second walk of the day, and am luxuriating as the cool air as it filters in. Going to be a perfect night for sleeping! And tomorrow, another perfect weather day! Loving life, as usual! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Got up nice and early and still didn't quite get to the beginning of the riders coming in, just a little miscalculation on my part. There were only about a dozen riders today, and because of the rain in the forecast, it was decided that all rides would start at 6:00 a.m. Once again I was pulse timer, but I also did a little packing up, because we were all worried about me not being able to get out once the rain started falling. Once all the riders were in, I finished packing and attempted to move out of my spot, with the plan of circling around and ending up on the gravel driveway, but couldn't quite make it. I tried it from several angles, with and without boards under my tires, etc., but it was a no go. Robin had already called the DNR guy for help, so rather than try again, I let him pull me up out of the worst of it. Was a bit worried for a minute when HE started slipping, but it all worked out. I managed to swing around and get situated on the gravel before the rain got too bad. It was just a light drizzle for a couple of hours while the camp was breaking down, but by late afternoon, it was pouring for hours! Though I wasn't thrilled at the idea of moving AGAIN, it was the right choice. The field was a lake before long. Put blankets on the horses when I fed them in the evening, and walked Lola while there was sort of a break in the rain. Well, not much of a break, but I put on my full rain suit and managed to keep dry. Started a new binge-series, a Canadian one called Being Erica, which has been nice and entertaining. Headed for shower and bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Rough night. Lola just wouldn't settle down. I was up thrice during the night to let her out. Barking all the time. No idea what was going on with her, but she was inconsolable, even without storms. Finally managed to doze off in between, but not a very restful night. The morning was gray, cloudy, and we had a little rain, so I decided to get out the portable rain barrel that I had bought awhile back and had yet to use. It was for those rare times when water was an issue and there was rain in the forecast, and this week fits that to a T. It didn't take long to put that together, but then the rained stopped, the wind picked up, and the clouds moved out. I had to pull in the awning because of the strong gusts, but I'm grateful I parked with my tail end to the west, so at least the wind isn't hitting me broadside. Once the sun came out and it warmed up, I decided to take a ride. The ladies I spoke to yesterday said the trails were in pretty sad shape, quite overgrown, so I took my trimming equipment with me and headed out on the south loop. I confirmed with the ride manager that there are basically only three loops here, two six mile and on five mile loops, and I managed to do one of the six mile loops. It did need a lot of TLC, there was a lot of growth, so it took some doing, but I was glad to get it done. Flash was his usual brilliant self, patiently letting limbs drop on his head while I did clearing. Such a good horse! It's supposed to rain most of the day tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to get the northern loop done until Thursday, but at least I'll be here to collect rainwater! Took Lola for several long walks, including one all the way down the field and back, which I figure was nearly half a mile each way, and the more she moved, the faster she got, so evidently we're working on strengthening her bad leg. Finally settled down for the evening, and was delighted when I had no problem getting my Prime Video tonight! I think there must have been some updating going on or something, but I was able to enjoy several episodes of the last season of Drop Dead Diva, which I've really been enjoying. Totally a suspension of disbelief, but a very enjoyable one! Ready for a better night sleep, and I hope Lola is ready, too! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had another full night sleep, with just a little barking early, but I had my earplugs in so I was able to ignore it, and happy when I discovered there was no accident as a result, which was my fear after doing all the cleaning yesterday! Woke up to a lovely morning, did my usual chores, than after breakfast, I saddled up Flash and we took a nice ride. I had marked off the trail I wanted to take according to their map, since I ended up on a snowmobile trail last time (those are mostly shared anyway), but wanted to try to stay on track a bit better. That didn't exactly work out. Where the map said to go in a few places was more like a barely visible deer trail, so I stayed on the main trails as best I could. Followed some trails that weren't even on the map, and some of it was what I did earlier this week only backward. Came across a couple of major tree falls, but nothing I couldn't get around. When I hit about mile 5 or 6, I started hearing thunder and seeing thick clouds come in, despite the weather forecast saying it wasn't going to rain here until nearly midnight. Worried that I would get caught in it (and I had left some windows open in the camper), I tried to find the shortest route back to camp, which took me along the road, but with a good grass swale on the side, so Flash and I were able to canter and gallop most of the way home, so it didn't take long. Of course, the storms missed us anyway, which I didn't think was possible when I looked at the radar, but they just fell apart before they arrived. No matter, it was a lovely ride. I forgot to mention that on my other ride earlier this week, at one point I heard a mewling sound, and saw some fur babies along the trail. I thought they were kittens at first, but then they crossed the trail behind me and it turns out there were three adorable baby raccoons! They were darling! They all started climbing a tree, very brave for such a young age. So glad I saw them! There are a lot of deer in the park as well, I even saw some in the campground munching. I let the horses graze on their anchors again, and was once again amazed that no one else arrived today. I get that there's not a huge amount of trails, and they are pretty poorly mapped (though the markings aren't too bad), but it would be good for a weekend, at least! So reasonably priced, and the facility is nice, so it is surprising to me. Not that I mind having the place to myself! Everyone knows I'm perfectly comfortable being on my own. once I got back to camp, since it seemed like the rain was holding off, I ponied Apollo around the camp at a trot, which he seemed to enjoy immensely! Afterward, we all settled down for the rest of the day, doing a couple more walks with Lola, and for once, she didn't just bark at me endlessly after dinner. Maybe because I finally put her bed back up where it belongs instead of on the ground. I hope she doesn't try to get down during the night, but she does seem strong enough to handle it. Here's hoping she stays that way through the night! Good night, babe! Love you!