Hey Babe!
Had a good night sleep last night, woke up at a reasonable hour, read for a bit this morning, waiting for the rain to stop. The forecast said it would all be over by about noon, so I got Flash ready to go and loaded into the trailer by 11:00 and headed down to the HQ. Met with Logan about the map-making, then headed out into the forest to find a couple of downed trees that had been reported in advance of the next big equestrian event here, the Gator Run. Found them both, but was only able to remove one, the other one was just a tad too big for my little chainsaw, so I'll have to get one of the guys and a bigger chainsaw out here to take care of that. No hurry, we have almost two weeks before the ride. Unfortunately, the forecast was wrong again, and it drizzled on us until nearly 3:30, so it wasn't exactly ideal riding conditions, but we made it through, thanks to the nice, bright yellow poncho Jo gave me after her ride in December. I also picked up some restroom supplies that I needed, my storeroom is getting a little low on paper essentials. Got back to camp around 4:00, got Flash settled, then settled down myself for the evening. I've decided I want to cancel Netflix, I'm tired of their movie collection, it just seems to center on so much violence and language, I'm just going to stick with Prime, but before I go, I wanted to catch up on some of the TV series that have added seasons since I last watched, like Heartland and the Crown. Once they're done, I'm gone. Prime did raise their fees for their new category of "ad-free" (which used to be included, but now I have to pay extra), but it's worth it because I get so much more out of Prime than just the video stream. Anyway, it was a productive day, we rode over nine miles, so Lola got some exercise, too, though she was pretty reluctant to get out of the truck at first. Once she got going she was fine, it was just trying to get her moving that was the trouble. Sort of like me these days! So a productive day, a pleasant evening, and looking forward to shower and bed! Good night, Sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Another fine night sleep, and it wasn't long after breakfast and chores when I got busy finishing off sealing the two sinks. A better job than last time, I think, though still not quite professional grade, but then again, you get what you pay for! Did a pretty thorough cleaning of the public restrooms, what with campers coming in. Rick stopped by to pick up garbage and we chatted for a few minutes. Once all that was done, I saddled up Flash for a ride. I have seen a couple of wooden signs sitting on the ground for a very long time, and decided it was high time to nail them back up, so we headed over to the blue trail and knocked them back where they belonged, then I decided I just wanted to do a purely recreational ride, to observe rather than repair, so we headed out on the green trail. It was very illuminating! I've always been so busy putting up temporary markers for endurance rides that I haven't really been paying much attention to the permanent markers, and I found A LOT of places, especially intersections, that need better markings. A lot of the dots need to be freshened up as well. So I guess my next work day will be the green trail here in Black Prong. I'll need to do them all before I finish here this year. Flash did a great job, I think he really enjoyed a ride where he wasn't being stopped every 100 yards! We did a lot off gaiting, and he also did some galloping and cantering as well, so despite stopping to fix the signs, we were back in camp in less than two hours after doing nearly 8.5 miles. It was a beautiful day, absolutely perfect weather! Seventy degrees, partly cloudy, light breeze, just fantastic! Exactly the kind of weather we come to Florida in the winter for! Finally settled down for the evening, watched a rodeo movie, made up a batch of my special recipe chicken for dinner at George and Margarita's tomorrow so it can marinate overnight, and now I'm ready for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Slept better last night, thank goodness, got a busy start to the morning with chores and laundry, then saddled up Flash to go pick up markers from the ride yesterday. Had arranged with Tom to pick up everything between my camp and the first road crossing, about 14 miles round trip, and I got all of them done one way and was on my way back when I ran into someone else picking up all the markers that I was supposed to be getting! Evidently, no one communicated to them that I would be getting them, and that they just needed to start south of the road, so then I didn't have any markers to follow back to camp, and they wasted their time picking up markers I was already going to get. So bad communications equaled wasted time for both of us, two of my hot button pet peeves. Grrr! Anyway, I got back to camp, did more laundry, cleaned the restrooms after the ride, and naturally, ten seconds after I mopped the floor, a biker showed and had to use it, so I had to mop it again. Oh, well. It was a beautiful day, I just wished I had been able to relax a bit more. My back is aching for some reason, I'm thinking about taking the day off tomorrow, but we'll see what transpires. Meanwhile, I had a nice salmon dinner, watched an interesting movie about two women running an illegal coupon business, now I'm ready for shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Another good night sleep, woke up a bit early, worked on my shoulder a bit. The pain is very isolated now, and every time I work it, it improves, but we're not quite 100 percent yet. Finally got up and did my chores, felt tired from all the hard work yesterday, but finally managed to get myself motivated, got all Apollo's gear in the little trailer, and was just about to leave when Jeff H. showed up. We chatted for a few minutes, then I headed out to Tidewater, finally got on the trail about 1:00. We only had to finish one small section of yellow and then go on to what was left of the blue trail, and it all came to less than six miles. Took awhile, though, what with trimming and clearing and putting up the occasional sign that had fallen down. Apollo did a pretty good job, though, never smelled any pigs, and once I reminded him to listen to me a few times, he ended up being well-behaved. Can't solve a horse problem leaving the horse at home, right? So it turned out to be a relatively nice ride for us. At least the weather was nice, finally warmed up! Shortly before I got to camp I got a text from Connie C. that someone had taken a fall and his horse was loose, and asked me to post it in the Goethe Facebook Group, so I did. Got back to camp and was on my way home when word came it had been found and retrieved. Put Apollo away, rinsed out the small trailer and parked it, then settled down for the evening. A nice day, so glad it's back to typical Florida temps! It's temporary, colder in the forecast, but I'll take it whenever I can get it! Meanwhile, good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had plenty of sleep again last night, so I woke up nice and rested, did my chores, and found the parking lot filling up with forest folks. Evidently there's a burn scheduled for 80 acres north of here. I posted a notice on the Facebook page for Goethe, then hooked up the trailer and headed to Tidewater with Flash. There's a big event this weekend and I wanted to do a good trail clearing session, and boy, did I ever! Exhausted this evening! Did a lot of heavy trimming along with a few new stickers, and was out there for over five hours, finished over 16 miles of trail, so it's no wondered I'm tired. It was after 6:00 by the time I got back, got Flash settled and fed the horses. I warmed up some leftovers and settled down for the evening, looking forward to getting to bed early. I felt like I needed some physical activity, and I sure got it today! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin',
Had a great night sleep, slept right through to the alarm this morning! Had a busy morning with chores and preparing the chicken for dinner at Jo's tonight. I had gotten up early so I could ride the entire orange long trail out of Apex, which means, except for the two cutoffs on orange and green, I've been on every designated trail out here. Yay! Thankfully, it was a lot drier, though there were still quite a few puddles and creeks, but nothing that lasted a hugely long time. Of course, all week the forecast had no rain for today, until this morning when it suddenly jumped to 60 percent. I took my new yellow Goethe poncho with me, and had to pull it out and use it when the rain started to come down a bit. Not real bad, but it was enough to get wet! I only put on a few stickers, cut a few odds and ends that were sticking out on the trail, etc., but once it started raining, I cut it short and headed straight to camp. As it turned out, I got there just in time to get Flash settled in the trailer and parked in front of the HQ for the 1:00 meeting there with Helen, Jo and Rick. Jo was a bit late, but we all had a nice chat while we were waiting. Helen remembered me, even said she had looked me up and was impressed by what I'd done. I was very flattered! We all had a nice chat, Jo presented the checks, one to the forest and one to Operation Outdoor Freedom, the two groups that are the beneficiaries of the December ride. Afterward I headed back to camp for a bit, then gathered all my stuff and headed over to Jo's, where we had a fabulous evening eating, drinking white Russians, and chatting until after 8:00. I got back to camp and fed the horses, blanketing them for 35 degree weather, though Apollo took exception and managed to kick me in the shins in his objection. We had words, then I had to put an ice pack on my leg for the rest of the evening. Watched one quick episode of Eureka before settling down to my usual Spanish lesson (600 day streak!!) and shower, then bed. Goodnight, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Woke up a bit early, but stayed in bed until the temps warmed up a bit, then did my usual morning routine. After breakfast I did work on my Quicken program, and finally managed to figure out a workaround to merge my two credit card accounts, but it will still take some more time to correct and reconcile everything. At least I have a starting point now. I cleaned the restrooms, then saddled up Apollo for a short ride. He was only slightly better today about the pigs, and it took us almost an hour just to go two miles, but at least he got off the highline for awhile. We came across one downed tree but it was a bit too big for my little pruner, so I dropped a pin on it and sent it to Ranger Rick. He happened to be nearby, and drove up the road as Apollo and I were coming back to camp on it, so we chatted a few minutes. Also chatted with some riders in camp, and Jeff stopped by for a quick chat as well. Finally settled down for the evening, started and then abandoned a movie, now I'm just about ready for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Well, I didn't have to wait long for a warmer, sunnier day. Well, warmer, at least. The sun came out occasionally, but it was mostly cloudy. Started in the 50's and worked it's way up to about 70 by the middle of the afternoon. With all the riding I've done in Goethe, I'd never been to the Apex trailhead by the forest headquarters, but since it's one of the trails that I'm responsible for now, I figured today was a good day to give it a look. Turns out we needed to do a LOT of work on it. We rode the long green trail, and had to cut up and move quite a few trees and limbs, cut back some growth that was sticking out into the trail, put a few new stickers on the markers, battled with some brambles, and waded through miles of water, but managed to get the trail in somewhat better shape than it was. Not perfect, but a heck of a lot better. Not sure I would willingly ride this trail again, unless it's after about a two month drought. Got soaked up to my knees, and Flash was in knee-deep water so often it turned his fur brown. Lola enjoyed playing in the water, but I think even she was tired of it by the end of our 12.5 mile ride. Took over 3.5 hours, and had to use my little pruner quite a lot. The weather was fantastic, though, so I never got too cold even with being wet. Still another trail or two out here to do, that will be on the next nice day. Got back, got everybody settled, had a nice dinner, and my evening proceeded as usual! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up to a chilly morning, in the upper 30's, but nice and sunny. I couldn't decide what to do today, but as it warmed up, and as the forecast for the coming days is lots more rain, I decided to take advantage of it, so I packed up Flash and headed down to Tidewater to put in the new stickers on the markers on the purple trail. I also figured there might be some damage from the storm, and sure enough, not 100 yards out of the trailhead, I came across a pine tree across the trail. I made short work of it with my little chainsaw pruner. Fortunately, that was the only trail blockage, though I did use it again clearing some growth that was obscuring some of the markers. Flash was brilliant on the trail, standing almost perfectly at every tree. He'd sidle up to it in the exact right spot and stand quietly until I was finished with each marker. What a good boy! All except his exit from the trailer, once again, I couldn't get him to back out of the trailer, I had to let him turn around. We worked on it a bit when we got back to camp and I was finally able to back him out of the back stall, figured we can keep working on it. Anyway, it was a lovely ride despite all the work, and I even scouted out a section of the trail I'd like to move away from the road, if they'll let me. I see no reason not to move it over slightly, but I don't know the process. Got back to camp after 5:00, worked with Flash a bit on backing out of the trailer, then Jo's husband arrived, he's apparently been out scouting some of the hog hunting spots he's chose, but with all the rain, a lot of them are underwater. We chatted a few minutes, and when he left I fed the horses, came in for dinner, and settled down for the evening. Too late for a movie, I watched a couple of episodes of my current binge-watch, Eureka, now I'm ready for shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
Spent the morning do my usual chores, a little computer work, and finally getting Flash into the little trailer for a ride down at Tidewater. Today we were going to do the purple and blue trails, not hugely long, but I took along about a dozen purple stickers for the trail markers and ended up using them all long before I even hit two miles! There are an awful lot of markers out here that need refreshing! Once we got down to the south end of the forest, we ran into a prescribed burn they were doing, and I ended up having to take a shortcut off the purple trail to avoid the worst of it. Unfortunately, a long section of that trail had been torn up by a bulldozer, so what I imagine were lovely trails last week are a mess this week! Hopefully we'll have some rain to tamp it down, but I'm also going to see if they can run over it with a tractor to flatten it out before the next ride in three weeks. I remember they did that for us a year or two ago when one of the trails had been tilled up as a firebreak, maybe they can do that again. Otherwise, it was mostly a lovely trail, typical Florida, not too exciting, but a beautiful day! Jo had mentioned there's a stretch that goes right along the road and wondered if there was a way to reroute it to avoid that, and at a quick glance, I can't see any reason why not, but I'll have to go back and do a bit more exploring to make sure. We got back to the trailhead and got him loaded up, though he was a bear getting out earlier. For some reason he's decided he can't back out of the small trailer, something he's never had a problem with before, and keeps insisting on turning around. We worked on it for a bit, and managed to make a little progress, and when we got back home, he did manage to back out, though I could only make him do it when one back door was closed. But at least he managed! After I got him settled, I went ahead and emptied my black water into the portable tank and rolled it down to the restroom with the newly established access to the sewer line, very glad I can do that now! So much easier! Finally settled down for the evening, watched a Nicholas Cage movie, now I'm ready to finish the evening with Spanish, shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!