Hiya Darlin'!
Had a wonderful and busy Christmas Day! After chores and breakfast, I did a little checking on the non-working furnace, which is back to doing what it did before the last mystery repair, and nothing I did helped, unfortunately. But that wasn't my focus for the day. I saddled Flash and we went for a fabulous ride, almost fourteen miles, on the orange trail, which took us up to the Apex area trails. That turned out to be great, because I had a chance to check out a couple of trails ahead of the Taste of Goethe, and one trail which I couldn't use last year because they had chewed it up so badly that it was terrible for horses, has now settled down into a beautiful sand and grass trail that will work just fine! Flash was in high spirits, insisting on a four mph walk the entire way, except for when he decided a fast gaiting or a full on hand gallop was called for! What a fun ride! We went nearly 14 miles. The trails are so dry and lovely, you couldn't ask for better trails! I noticed some of the trails already had ribbons on them for the Goethe Gallivant ride this weekend (quite right, since it's an FEI ride, including a 100-miler), and the conditions are perfect! The weather was fabulous today, with a high near 80, and they are supposed to continue through the week until a cold front finally comes in on Tuesday. Fabulous! Got back to camp around 2:00, rinsed of Flash, who then promptly rolled in dirt and sand, going from white to brown in a matter of seconds! Oh, well! I decided to take one last stab at my furnace, cleaning off the control board and removing the cover from the far where the sail switch is, cleaning that up, taking off all the electrical connections I could see and running an emery board over them in the hopes of improving any connections. I finally put the cover over the fan, and put it on more tightly than before, since nothing works unless that's in place, and finally turned everything on, and was delighted when it immediately came on and stayed on! Everything works, but something is setting off the safety switch, which shuts everything down, and I think it's that fan cover, as simple as that seems. We'll see how long this fix lasts! Finally cleaned up after that, changed my clothes and headed up to Bob's house, aka Mellow Yellow, and joined the party up there. What a lovely evening! Too much food and drink, some very pleasant conversation, a nice walk over to the Caudill's for dessert, music, door prizes and even some dancing (though I didn't partake in that!), and a lovely Christmas was had by all! We finally left around 8:00, back to camp by 8:30, gave the horses their hay, and now have just a short evening left before bed. So grateful for days like this! Though I'm grateful for every day, of course, but these kind of days are so memorable. Not long out of bed tonight! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
A very happy day! The weather was gorgeous and crying out for outdoor activity! First, though, I took a quick look at my furnace, which stopped working a few days ago, and I reset it, pulled the fuse a few times, and finally got it back on track, working again. Hopefully it will stay that way, since we have some cold weather headed our way next week. The Porta-potties for the upcoming Goethe Gallivant arrived, so I got them settled in and taped up so prevent their use before the event starts. Then I took a ride on Apollo, with Art and Lola alongside, and we went on about a 2.5 mile loop. It was wonderful! Then Art drove me up to Reuben and Angela's to pick up Panther. He sounds fantastic! That incredible growling purr is back! I'm still a little worried about things like what kind of shape my tires are in, but there wasn't the shimmying at 45 mph like they're use to be, so a lot has improved. There are a few electronic problems I need to look into, like the power locks and the power windows on the passenger side, though fortunately, the driver side window works fine. It was covered in dust, which I remedied later when I got back to camp. After I picked it up, I headed to Helen's to pick her up, then over to Willards for lunch. She was in a particularly despondent mood today, I've never seen her so depressed. Having a car accident and losing her independence a few weeks ago is really getting tough on her. We managed to cheer her up a little by the end of lunch, I think. Then I headed back to camp, where I gave Panther a good wash and a light wax, as well as a bit of Armorall on the inside. There are so many boxes being stored inside, I really need to take some time to go through them all and see what I can get rid of. No room for Lola or passengers at the moment, gotta fix that! Finally settled down for the evening, having enjoyed a very fulfilling and satisfying day! So good to have Panther back on the road!! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a great night sleep, finally found the right setting for the thermostat so that I would stay fairly warm in bed, while I try to stop being so stingy with propane that I'm uncomfortable! Woke up to the sound of thundering hooves, and sure enough, Flash was doing some self-exercising around the paddock. Guess he's ready for a ride! Did a little planning in the morning, then saddled up Flash and headed out, just as Art was arriving for his morning walk. I had texted him to suggest that if he wanted company, he was free to take Lola with him, and he just received the message as he arrived here, so he did take her. Flash and I headed out, trying to follow a trail that the trailmaster for the next ride had given me, though the map she uses is much different than the map I use, so I'm not certain I followed it exactly, but I did most of it. My Garmin died about halfway around, and even though I had four spare batteries, none of them worked! Guess they got a little rusty or old from sitting around in my horn bag for too long! Still, it was a lovely ride, and Flash did a good job, as usual. About a mile out of camp we ran up on a woman, Deb, who was ponying a youngster, and once Flash was bent on catching up, then as soon as we passed (after chatting for a minute), Flash decided that he needed a gallop, so I let him run until we reached Saddle Pen Road, which was lime rock, where he slowed down. Got back to camp and Art was still here, so I had him look at Flash's movement to make sure he wasn't limping, but he seemed to think he was okay. He didn't seem to favor any leg after I rinsed him off and put him away (after he rolled in the sand and dirt, of course!), so I guess he's fine. We chatted for a bit before he headed out, and shortly afterward, Lola came out and reclaimed her outdoor lounge chair! Read for awhile, then settled down for my usual evening. Another beautiful day in paradise! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hey Babe,
Woke up to an early alarm, with a busy day in front of me. Had a quick breakfast and was just getting ready to saddle Flash when Ranger Rick stopped by. I hadn't seen him all week, surprisingly, but it seems he's working the south end of the forest these days. We chatted a little while I saddled Flash, as I was on a tight schedule. Managed to hit the trail by 8:45, and we did the entire revised red/white trail, over 11.5 miles, and got back by about 11:20. I needed to get back in time for lunch at Willards, so I was kind of pushing Flash, which I felt bad for doing because he seemed to be limping. Hate to see that, that could really mess me up for next week if he's gimpy on me! Hopefully it will resolve like it did at Biltmore earlier this year, I'll have to keep an eye on it. I did manage to just make lunch, picking up Helen, then meeting Jo, Chelle and Art for lunch. It was part meeting, part social event, so we got a lot accomplished. Afterward, Chelle picked me up at camp and brought me to her house, where I picked up the tractor so that I could do some mowing tomorrow on the trails that need work. That all took until nearly 3:00, so I settled down for the rest of the day. Heading to bed early, got another busy day tomorrow! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
A much nicer day today, though it took awhile for the sun to come out. Eventually saddled up Flash and headed out on what will be the short orange trail for the upcoming ride, at 13.9 miles, though I didn't do the final bit to and from Helen's house, so it was only 13.5. A great ride, though! Flash was his usual brilliant self, insisting on doing his fast 4+ mph walk today, along with some great gaiting and cantering, taking less than three hours to complete. It was great to be back on our "home" turf! It is incredibly dry, though, with less water than I've ever seen out here. That may change with the forecast of much rain this weekend, particularly on Sunday, but we'll see. The forecasters have been known to be wrong once or twice before! There are only a couple of places that need trail work, but those places need A LOT of trailwork. I'm hoping they'll let me bring my tractor out to do the necessary mowing, it would be really helpful. Got back just after 2:00, got Flash put away, then finally managed to make a reservation at a place in January where I can go after Tidewater, though not before the 5th. Tough to find someplace over the holiday weekend! Hopefully, the forest will let me stay longer under a special permit. We'll see! Settled into my usual afternoon and evening routine. Love you, Babe! Good night!

Hey Babe!
What a great day! It started out with a much better night sleep, confirming my supposition that it was the overdose of aspertame that was preventing me from sleeping well. I had none of the previous afflictions after resuming a mostly water beverage diet today. After breakfast I had to fill up the water in my truck tank and refill the camper, then I finally saddled up Flash and headed out on the trail. We took the long perimeter trail, crossing 441 and riding all the way up to O'Leno State Park. I'd forgotten how beautiful it was on this side of the forest! Flash was brilliant once again, averaging nearly six mph for the day. We did over 14 miles in just under three hours, and got a tremendous amount of galloping, cantering and gaiting in. It was wonderful! About halfway around we went by a cattle or dairy farm, and we were sorry to see a dead cow in a copse of trees, and another cow, still alive, but laying down and not looking very well. So sad! Not far out from camp, there was a long rattlesnake crossing the trail in front of us, and when I stopped to take a picture, it started to rattle and curl up, so we moved along quickly to get past it. What a truly gorgeous ride! The weather is due to turn colder, so I wanted to get a good ride in before that happened, and I couldn't have asked for a better day, or a better horse. Flash truly is a wonder! Gave him a good rinse off with a brush before putting him away, and was happy that he didn't immediately roll in the dust, as he is wont to do. Settled down for the rest of the day to reading and bingeing on TV, and am looking forward to a quiet day for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Woke up pretty early this morning, not sleeping as well lately and I attribute that to my drinking more diet drinks with aspartame, which I've experienced before, so today I'm back to mostly water to see if that helps tonight. Apollo really needed some exercise, so I saddled him up and was on the trail by just after 9:00, wanting to get out before it got too hot, with temps in the low 80's today. It was a lovely ride, a little more than two and a half miles, essentially the nicest part of the red trail, though he was quite sluggish, as usual these days. Was spoiled a bit by a woman in the parking lot threatening to have her mule kill Lola because she wasn't on a leash (Lola was a long way away from her and heading straight back to the trailer, not even looking at her or the mule). Interesting that my dog is better trained than her mule, if it kicks at every dog it sees. Oh, well. Got back to camp and quickly headed down to the nearest Walmart north of Gainesville to do my Thanksgiving shopping. Got back around 2:00 and spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing, then bingeing on Bones. I noted that no one has moved into my old spot, even though I was told they would be arriving today. Anyway, it was a beautiful day, always a great day when I can get a ride in, no matter how slow! Off to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Up at the crack of dawn, got everyone fed, then met up with Ray, albeit 15 minutes after the appointed time, to head off onto the trails and put up the "markers," which were just paper plates with arrows and Dealer #'s on them. It took just about an hour, so gratefully, we were done well in advance of when the riders were released at 10:00, which I ended up doing because there was some confusion about who was supposed to do that. I hung around the pavilion with the other volunteers until the riders started coming back, though there was again some confusion about who was supposed to man the dealer post in camp at the end, which got sorted out just in time. Once a good portion of the riders were back in camp, I decided to saddle up Flash and take the signs down, which we managed to do in a short 45 minutes, working up a nice sweat along the way, as he gaited and cantered almost the entire way, which was slightly less than five miles. The raffle was still going on by the time we got back! I rinsed him down and put him away, helped clean up the pavilion, chatted with the ladies for a bit, then settled down for the night. I binged on some Bones, and my usual routine. It was a beautiful day, glad to feel productive and appreciated! Sorry I had to listen to the generator next door all day, but am grateful they turned it off before 9:00 this evening. Whew! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Sorry to report that there's a motorhome here that runs it's generator all day and all night, though it was quiet enough (or I was tired enough) to be able to sleep through it. Not quite sure why people need to make so much noise in such a peaceful and quiet environment, and ruin it for the rest of us without any thought of wrongdoing. Sigh... Anyway, did manage a decent night sleep despite that, and had another wonderful ride on Flash, though he wasn't exactly a speed demon today. I think he may have strained himself a bit more than he realized with all the deep sand here, it's definitely tougher to get through than what we've been dealing with this summer. While yesterday he was moving very quickly as we did the perimeter trails, today we focussed on doing the interior trails, and he was much more reserved. It was only about eight miles anyway, so it didn't matter that we were going slower, it was still a lovely ride. We saw deer and squirrels, and at one point an armadillo crossed the trail right in front of us, and Flash completely ignored it! He's such a good boy! Another gorgeous day, though I'm glad it's shady here, because the temps are reaching the 80's now, and sunshine would definitely make it more uncomfortable. Settled down to my usual evening! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!