Hi Babe,
Had to put my earplugs in last night because of the ongoing generator in the motorhome across from me. I have to say, I'm hoping their leaving tomorrow, and can't wait to enjoy the peace and quiet of this lovely preserve again! I had a quiet day in camp, about the only thing I did was waterproof my orange windbreaker, which, last time I wore it, got pretty soaked through. Not surprising, really, I've had that jacket for decades! Hope the Scotchguard will improve it! Mostly read outside, it was a beautiful day. Met a couple more of the folks that will be involved this weekend, but still haven't met the key players, so I'm not sure what it is I'll be helping with, other than checking the trails, which I've already done. I'm hoping to help mark them, but we'll see. Was thrilled when the motorhome finally pulled out after 1:00, with their generator STILL running, even as they drove off! Crazy! Heading to shower and bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Got moving around 8:00, was leaving camp just before 10:00 (it's great when the horse containment is someone else's paddock so I had nothing to deconstruct!), and had an uneventful drive to River Rise. With a stop at O'Leno State Park to get my permit and gate code and a short drive to the Preserve, I was finished parking in my site by noon and fully set up within 90 minutes or less. Got involved with a conversation with a rider, which delayed me a bit, but I then took a quick drive down to Alachua to drop off the UPS package of my Amazon return (the circuit board I didn't need for my furnace) and was going to make a Walmart stop, only to discover there is no Walmart here, that the nearest one was another 15 minutes farther south in Gainesville. Since I didn't have much to get, I opted to go to the nearby Publix instead. Got back to camp around 3:00, put everything way, and was sitting down enjoying the afternoon when I got involved with another conversation with some guy who just stopped by my site and started talking (I guess I must just look like a good listener, though I wasn't trying :-)), and eventually settled down for the evening. Despite them having a barn here, I put my horses on their highline, which is more convenient for me, and because I'm worried that a stall would limit their movement, especially Apollo, and he'd get too stiff. At least on a highline, they have to move back and forth between the water in the middle and the hay bags on each end. I've half decided to just stay here two weeks, though I'll have to move sites, so that I minimize the amount of driving. I don't really have to go down to Green Swamp yet, since that's my destination in January anyway, so it doesn't make a lot of sense for me to get there any earlier. It keeps me going in the right direction, anyway, southward, until it's time to come back north! Besides, I rather like this "back yard," though I can't get very much sun here for my solar panel, but it's very woodsy and feels like old Florida, and I'm close enough to a water spigot (at least this week) for my hose to reach. It will be a different story next week, but if I fill up everything before I move, it should hold be for the week, and if I need more, I can always get some at the barn in my truck tank. Nothing I haven't done many times before! Headed for bed soon, my love! Good night!

Hiya Babe,
Another beautiful sunny day, warmer temps, gorgeous morning! Woke up to find my side table had somehow come loose and fallen to the floor, so job one was to screw that back in with bigger, better screws. Did more laundry all day, flushed out the black water tank, did some cleaning on the exterior of the trailer that still has some traces of oil from the recent mishap, vacuumed, and did a bunch of other small chores while packing up in between in preparation of our departure tomorrow. A busy, productive day, but I still had time to read and have my usual dinner and movie routine. Mundane but necessary activities! Heading to bed soon, of course. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Started out the day with my usual chores, then met up with the North Florida BackCountry Horsemen's group to do some trail work, mostly just clearing around marked trees, scraping off some old paint and repainting the blue trail. We had four UTV's and enough people to have two teams going in opposite directions, and even with a mechanical emergency, we still managed to get it all completed by 2:00. Arrived back at camp just as the postal carrier was putting stuff in the boxes, and when I checked, my package had arrived, with the circuit board for my furnace. Since that was a very easy fix, I decided to go ahead and replace it, and when I did, the furnace was doing exactly the same thing it had been doing, no change at all! I was sure the circuit board had to be the problem, since it's about the only part left I have either replaced or confirmed it was working. I couldn't believe it! I fiddled with it, but nothing changed. Then when I went to put it back inside the furnace, it turned out that one of the diodes had an electrical pin that was sticking straight up instead of at a 90 degree angle like the original, so it didn't fit anyway! I took it back off and put the old one back on, tested the system again, still no joy. I put it back together and was starting to look for a mobile RV service. Then I remembered I had left the reset switch in the off position, and that little voice in the back of my head said I should leave it on, so I removed the cover enough to flip the switch, and while I was screwing the cover back on, I was astounded that the furnace not only came on, but kept running! WHAT??? I waited for it to shut off, and it never did! I had the thermostat set for about 90 degrees, just to test it, and it stayed on! I finally turned it off, and waited for awhile, then tested it again, only to have it, once again, stay on. Working exactly as it should! Go figure! Hopefully it will stay that way. I'm sending the circuit board back, and keeping my fingers crossed that this mystery repair holds. Whew! Anyway, after that, I took my folding chair over to Nancy's camper, as they were providing a nice chili dinner (will work for food!), and we sat around the campfire for a bit chatting before it got too cold, and Lola was getting a little ornery at another dog in the camp circle. Watched an hour of Bones, won't be long out of bed! And I got confirmation that I can move to River Rise on Monday, to help with the Poker Run next weekend, and to save a bunch of money, since McCulley is pretty expensive, relatively speaking. They've raised their prices to $35/person, plus another $25 for a paddock, so much more than my usual expenditure. River Rise is $5/night in comparison, though I won't have any amenities. I only needed the electric because my furnace wasn't working, but now that it is, I'm good! So a productive and positive day, for everything except the stock market, which took a big plunge, but I'm sure it will come back soon, now that the longest government shutdown in history has ended. It's been doing very well that last couple of years, no complaints there! Another great day to be alive! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Slept a little later this morning, but got going early, doing a bunch of little jobs that needed doing. Considered going for a quick ride, but ended up doing some bookkeeping computer work instead, a little housework, and finally heading out to Lake Park, GA to the Winn-Dixie for a few groceries, topped off my fuel tank, and then picked up 14 bales of hay from a nearby newby haymaker. Typical coastal, bales were kind of light, but easier to handle, so I liked the tradeoff. I met the women in charge of the trail cleanup this week and offered to volunteer, was hoping to go on Flash, but I think it's all motorized transport tomorrow. I also made some headway for going to River Rise next week, as they're having a Poker Run next weekend, and need volunteers. The only question is whether they have room for me over there, it's not exactly made for big rigs, but we'll see. The organizer said she'd call me tomorrow after she's had a chance to look at it. Got my hay stored and my groceries put away, had a pleasant, quiet evening, and didn't have to put the blankets on the horses tonight, as the temps are finally starting to warm up some, though still in the low 40's at night for another day or two. Getting back to my MO, 70's and 50's! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
It was a chilly night, lows around 28, and my fireplace was barely able to keep up with it, but it was a comfortable night, as long as I had all my blankets in place! Didn't do much today, except for getting caught up on bookkeeping, which didn't take very long since I'm trying to do it monthly so it doesn't get overwhelming. Wasn't in the mood for housework, so I mostly read, watched a little TV, tried to work out my schedule for the next few weeks, and not much else today! I guess I deserve a little lazy day once in a while. I had to alternate between running my space heater or the water heater to make sure I didn't snap a breaker here, since I'm only on 30 amp. The breakers aren't on each post like most places, they're on a couple of main boards, and I don't want to take any chances on losing power during the night, since I don't know which board my site is plugged into, nor do I want to have to go find it in 30 degree weather! Anyway, a quiet day, headed for bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had a good night sleep, woke up before the alarm again, finished packing up and was leaving Broxton by 8:30. A little chilly, but not a cloud in the sky, so a great day for driving. Had an uneventful drive to McCulley, though I realized I had forgotten to get a Health Certificate, so I had to come in the back way to avoid the Ag stations for the moment. One stop for fuel in Georgia, paid $3.37/gal, about thirty cents less than the first station I saw in Florida, so I'm glad I filled up. Picked site 63 near the corrals, though I had to plug into 62 because the first one wouldn't keep my plug snug enough to stay in. Got the horses squared away, putting on their blankets at suppertime, settled down for a quiet evening, watched a movie, ready for shower and bed! Been running the fireplace all day, the forecast is calling for about 29 degrees overnight, so the plants are staying inside. I even covered the water hose with my canvas tarp, which I hope will prevent my water from freezing, fingers crossed! So far, it's staying about 70 degrees in the camper, very comfortable, but it's still in the 40's outside. I expect it will drop a bit overnight, but we'll see! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Woke up before the alarm, was at the Snack Shack in time for an Eggs Benedict breakfast, and not long after, was out on the trails with John in the UTV to pick up trail lights and signs for a couple of hours. Not much else to do after that, so I went back to the camper, started a load of laundry and some packing. Fairly leisurely day relatively speaking. Even managed to get a movie in, another 2025 DeNiro gangster movie where he plays the dual role of rivals, pretty typical for him, though it was based on a true story. Settled down easily, ready for an early bedtime, ready to hit the road! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Babe,
An excellent night sleep, and it didn't hurt that I put in some earplugs because I knew there would be a lot of early morning activity, considering the first riders had to leave camp at 6:00. Was up and finishing my chores in time to get to breakfast by about 7:30, then reported for duty to Nancy by 8:00. Got inducted to one of the timer jobs, and off we went for a very busy morning. By afternoon it was running fairly smoothly, but then Nancy left to run an errand at just the wrong moment, and I was overwhelmed by riders, most of whom were finishing, and I hadn't had any training in that! But we managed to struggle through. At 2:00 I resumed my registration and check-in duties, which was much less stressful and more evenly paced, finished that mostly off by 4:30. Kept busy with some other stuff right through the ride meeting, headed back to my camper a bit after 8:00, helped my neighbor explore some stuff about her new camper she wasn't sure how to manage, and finally got done with my usual routine just before 10:00. Ready for bed, for sure! Good night, my sweet! Love you!