Hi Sweetie!
Had a much better day today, after a not very good night sleep. Set the alarm and had the horses, Lola and me fed by 8:00, and shortly after hooked up the small horse trailer and loaded the horses and Sandy onto the truck and headed over to Riverbend. She hadn’t ridden since she took a spill off her own horse (which she has since sold), and it was important to her to get back into the saddle again, and she’s ridden Apollo before and felt he was nice and safe for her. Other than one little spin he did when we came upon a piece of heavy equipment near the trail (and she did a great job of sticking in the saddle, because as old as he is, he can still spin quick!) the rest was gratefully uneventful. She wasn’t sure how far she wanted to go, so when we go to the three-mile point, I told her we could either take essentially the same trail back to the trailer for three miles, or take the OTL and Cypress Creek Trails home, which would be about six more miles. She was feeling pretty good and opted to take the long trail, since she wasn’t sure she when she would get another chance to ride (well, at least until I come to Michigan in May!), and it was a great ride! We stopped a couple of times to rest her foot, which got really badly damaged when she took her spill, but otherwise, she said she felt great! Once we got back home and got the horses rinsed off and set free, we decided to go have lunch. Her husband and my brother had gone to lunch in PBGardens, but we decided to go for Mexican, something she loves and her husband doesn’t. We stopped at one place and was mortified to learn they only had beer and wine, NO MARGARITAS! Well, that was just unacceptable to us, so we headed a bit further up the road to a place I’ve been several times, Rancho Chico in Tequesta, which is really good. Heavy pour on the liquor, HUGE portions on the food (seriously, we walked out with leftovers that will give us at least two more meals!), and just a very nice atmosphere. Tried out a little of my newly-acquired Spanish skills, but not enough to prove anything. Afterward, we decided to check out a couple of kayak launching spots where we’re thinking of going tomorrow that were suggested by my concert friend Lori, so we took a nice drive, with me in the driver seat because Sandy is a real lightweight when it comes to tequila. Then I realized I left my fishing shirt at the restaurant and headed back there and got it. Next was Walmart for just a couple of things, then I drove to Riverbend to get the truck, took a quick stop at Publix to get another thing or two, finally getting home at dusk. Managed to get the saddles put away, the trailer unhooked, and Lola out to the pool for a few swims, since she hasn’t had any exercise in a few days. We stayed at the pool until the mosquitoes got too bad, then said our good nights. What a great day! So nice to be able to share good times with someone! Anyway, I think I have tomorrow planned out now, so now I’m just going to finish my drink, watch a Remington Steele, take a quick shower and head to bed, where I’m sure I’ll have the best night sleep that I’ve had in awhile. Good night, Sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Happy St. Patty’s Day! Did some housework and some computer stuff, and took apart the pressure washer and ordered a replacement motor assembly, since that seems to be the only thing that could be wrong (fingers crossed) then decided I just had to go for a ride since it’s been so long. It’s a good thing I did, because Flash was super frisky! I thought maybe that now that he was older he could tolerate longer down time, but that is not the case! We only went around the neighborhood for about an hour, with Lola, since she needed the exercise, too, and every time I asked him for a canter, he got all jumpy and bunched up on me, which was a little surprising, but nothing I couldn’t handle, of course! Guess I just need to ride him more often. It’s just so boring around here, we’ve done all this so many time, though I did go down a few different dead end roads than I’ve done before, so it wasn’t totally stale. Found the gun range that we’ve been listening to since we’ve been here, can be pretty loud sometimes. Just makes me want to get the heck out of here to new trails asap! Won’t be long now, just a few more weeks, can’t wait! Spent the rest of the day as usual, but got a surprise when Jeff called to see if I wanted a corned beef and cabbage dinner from his favorite place, Turtle Tavern in Delray, which he was coming home from. So I got special delivery from him a few hours later. Watched an interesting though odd movie, Right is Wrong with Sean Connery and an all star cast, rather caustic parody (though right on point) of the media and government relationship.Ready for an early bedtime, though, I have to get up early in the morning for a big day of kayaking tomorrow! So goodnight, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin’!
Had a perfectly lovely day today. Though it was windy and cloudy earlier in the day, the wind died down making it very comfortable later in the day. After breakfast, I got the horses loaded up in the small trailer and arrived right on time at Riverbend, where my new concert friends were waiting for me on their cool trike. Got them groomed and saddled up, then off we went! Lori and I went on the first leg, the full six mile loop, running into a number of other riders, including my friends Petra and John. Lori did a good job of keeping Apollo from falling too far behind, so he was doing a lot of jogging, just what he needed! Still took us over two hours to do the six miles, old slug that he is. Flash was trying very hard to walk slow, with limited success. Once we got back to the parking area, I chatted with Petra and John for a bit, then went out a second time with Mark in the saddle, though we only went a little over two miles. In total, I and the horses went just under 9.5 miles, so a good day’s ride. Then we headed over to Angelo’s Too for a great lunch/dinner of garlic rolls and pizza, ate way too much, but pizza is a rare treat for me and I enjoyed every bite of it. Then we headed back to the house, they wanted to see my trailer, and Jeff was appreciative of the fancy trike. Mark’s into some of the same old car refurbishing stuff, so they had a lot to talk about. It was after 5:00 by the time they left. What a great day! Then I settled down to a movie, Jobs, about the life of Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, which I really like, now it’s time for bed and shower. Love you, Sweetie! Good night!

Hey Babe,
Had trouble getting to sleep last night, read a long time, but got up on time this morning. After breakfast I finished painting the front cap of the trailer, looks a lot better now. Did some housework, then took Flash for a five mile loop around Hungryland, saw several gators. He’s developing a little split in one of his front hooves, so I’m treating that as best I can. Don’t want to have a lame horse come this summer, especially on the Shore to Shore Ride I’m planning on going on! Nipped out to the hardware store to pick up a couple of appliance bulbs for the microwave, both of them were gone, even though I’ve replaced them both in the last six months. Also met up with a woman who wanted to buy my book, figured she could save the shipping costs since she lives right here in the Farms. Had a nice chat with her. Got back, replaced the bulbs, hit the button for the lights to turn on, and realized I had no power! Checked all the circuits and connections, it all looked good, then realized the rest of the trailer had power, just the microwave wasn’t working. I checked the outlet it was plugged into and it worked just fine. Which is telling me my microwave is the problem, just what I need. I played around with it for a minute, and suddenly it started making a noise, even though it wasn’t turned on. I unplugged it for a bit, finally got the clock to work (it was making funny digital faces for a minute there at the beginning), and the lights and fan, but the clock seems to be wavering a bit, so it might be on the way out. Haven’t actually tried to use it yet, figured I’d wait until I needed to, maybe it will improve overnight. Then I had trouble with the TV again, telling me my wifi switch was off. I tried all the recommended fixes I could find short of taking the back off again like I did last time (too late tonight), and never got it going. Reading that maybe a Fire Stick would be the solution to my problem, a lot cheaper than buying a new TV (considering this one is only a few years old!) but again, I’ve unplugged it and I’m hoping for magic elves to fix it overnight. Meanwhile, watched a Hart to Hart on my computer, played a few games and did some research, so I’m done for the day. Heading to my shower and bed! Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Hi Babe,
Another good night sleep, did my chores, then arranged with Julie to follow me over to Glenn’s house in the Buick. Made it okay, and tucked it into the back corner of his Quonset hut. Got back and decided to take Apollo for a long overdue ride. Can’t remember the last time I rode him, he definitely needed it! We took the 5-mile green loop, took us almost 2 hours (typically 2.8 mph!) so it was slow and steady. Hot day today, 85 again, shouldn’t be like this at this time of the year! Got back to camp, chatted with some campers, fed the horses again, then settled down for the rest of the day. My latest binge-watch on Netflix is a series called Bloodline, excellent writing and production value, great acting, too. Wonder if there are really families that stick up for each other like that. Grilled a burger and had a quiet evening. Won’t be long until shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a pretty nice day today, all things considered. Made it over to breakfast with the club, some very interesting fare, including duck breast, pork bellies with apples and Jack Daniel’s, and eggs with peppers and finely chopped brussel sprouts, hmm, hmm good! Plus some coffee cake, so no one went hungry. Eventually all the gals saddled up to ride, and we had a fairly short but very nice ride. We even went on one section of trail that they hadn’t been on before, or at least not for years, which was a nice change for them, since they’re such regulars here. All the horses got along and it was lovely. Wasn’t too long after that we had a lunch of leftovers plus some quesadillas, and we ended up chatting until 3:00. Several other riders joined us, so it was a spirited discussion on many topics. Everyone finally left, and I settled down to trying to work out how people can buy my book, since my website pay buttons aren’t working anymore. Finally settled on the Pay feature in Messenger, directing potential buyers to my Best and Worse Facebook group where I posted instructions on how to use that Pay feature, and by the time of this writing, I’ve already got a couple of orders in! Be nice to have a little extra money coming in. Anyway, I’ve already had my shower, and I’m heading to bed early so I can read for awhile, and hoping to get a better night sleep tonight, knowing I have so many horse friends trying to help me. Don’t know what will come of it, but feeling a bit more optimistic. We’ll see! Anyway, heading to bed. Love you, babe! Good night!

Hello my darling,
Three years have gone by. Hard to believe. Time sure is flying by. I miss you every day. I hope you came along on my ride today, I joined a camping neighbor and we took a very long ride all the way down to the sheep shearers’ shacks. Think it was a little much for his horse, who laid down shaking as soon as he got the saddle off, but he quickly cooled down and seems to be okay after awhile. Distance and speed didn’t faze Flash in the least, as usual. He didn’t even have much of a sweat on him! It was a beautiful day, perfect weather, couldn’t ask for more in January. Fussed with the neighbors’ horse for a bit, finally settled down to dinner and more Travelers, now it’s time for the end of another mundane day. I know I don’t live as exciting a life as we did before, but hopefully things will improve once I head out this spring. Just isn’t the same without to share it with Can’t believe I’ve been in the same place for almost a year, that’s a new record! Haven’t done that in at least 14 years now! Looking forward to getting back on the road in a few months though. Meanwhile, shower and bed and a rousing bit of gratefulness for all the years I had you, almost 34! It’s so true that when you find the right one, forever isn’t long enough! Wish it could have been so much more! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Woke up to the alarm expecting to ride this morning, but things got a bit out of hand when I was expecting a bunch of people to arrive around ten, which was after I was expecting to ride with Bev’s group, so once again, they went on without me while I stayed to manage traffic and newcomers. Finally did get a ride in with Carol and Jim Walter, big volunteers that will be helping to finish off the well shelter, they have two Arabs so it was a nice, comparable ride with Flash, Did about six and a half miles at a nice quick pace, with some nice canters and gaits in between. Once we got back and got the horses settled, we had a nice (albeit later than normal) dinner of filet mignon cooked over an open fire (lovely!) and had a nice evening with them, then as I finally headed back to the trailer I went to visit my closer neighbors, who are also very interesting, and ended up spending much longer there than I anticipated, so it was after 11:30 by the time I actually got back to the trailer! Took a quick shower, now I’m headed to bed, with an early alarm so we can get started in the morning. Busy day, nice day, productive day! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie,
Despite the rain-free weather forecast that I went to bed on, it rained practically the entire night. Seriously? They couldn’t see this coming? Anyway, it was wet and chilly when I woke up and took care of the horses, and when my friends Bev and Maggie were finally ready to go, it was after 10:30. After breakfast, I just read and dozed until they called me, so as soon as I heard from them, I gathered up Flash and Apollo. Maggie’s friend Fred was going to ride Apollo, and I was happy that he was going to get some exercise. He does have one hoof that looks a bit odd that I’ll have to get looked at by a professional, but he seemed okay all day. We went on a ride about 8+ miles long, the green and yellow trail, and it was very nice. Maggie rides a Rocky Mountain that moves quickly like Flash, but we had to keep stopping and waiting for the rest of the quarter horses to catch up, even though they did a bit of jogging and cantering just to keep up. That’s how it works with stock vs. gaited horses! It was a good ride, though, everyone had a good time. Bev asked me to dinner but I begged off, it was too chilly to sit around outside to eat, so I’ll join them later in the week when it warms up a bit more. Settled down for the evening back at my trailer, now as we close in on 9:00, I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Another good night sleep, though I was up at a more reasonable 7:30 this morning. Did my usual morning chores and breakfast before saddling up Flash and heading out to do the Red Dot loop. It went quickly and easily, though it was more gravel road than I remember, so I’m going to take a look at alternatives to see if I can find some. Went out to dinner with Jo and her hubby Jeff at Shrimp Landing, a little restaurant in the tiny town of Ingles about 20 minutes away. All you can eat shrimp! Delicious. I confess, I pigged out. Got back to camp and sat around the campfire with my horse neighbors, did my Snowy River, and am now writing this with my generator on and my fireplace going, warming the place up enough to get through the night. Some chilly nights, and calling for temps in the upper 30’s by the weekend, brrrr! Looking forward to heading south again next week! Already showered before dinner, so I won’t be long out of bed. Love you, my darlin’! Good night!