Hey Darlin',
I had really hoped it would warm up enough today to go riding, but by the time it reached 50 degrees, it was already too late to go. Considering it started out at 29 degrees, I'm not surprised! There were crystals forming around the edge of the water bucket! And tomorrow is supposed to be even colder! It's supposed to be close to 70 on Friday, though, so that will be my riding day. Beginning to think I need to go further south! So instead I spent the day working on my computer, preparing a press release and PSA for the Taste of Goethe, updating my contact list for local media, and generally doing more planning for the event. I also talked with the trailer place about the fact that I STILL have a leak coming from my kitchen, though now, instead of it leaking through the little drill holes someone had put in there before, now it's leaking along the big long seam where they cut a hole in the floor. I did manage to find the dead mouse, though, it was under my refrigerator, but was hidden behind the curled edge of the linoleum under there, so at least I was able to clear up that smell. I fiddled with my ice-maker as well, no matter how much I adjust it, there's still too much water coming in, making it jam up, another problem they need to come out and fix. They've promised to close up the gap on the opening in the floor that they left, so hopefully less critters will find their way in. Pretty busy but kinda boring day. Looking forward to getting back on the trail! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie,
Can't believe it's been five years since you moved on to the undiscovered country. Miss you!! The pic is from your last ride at Oak Mountain Alabama on Nov. 19 2019. You were feeling really good that day! It was a lovely ride. Sigh. Was busy today running around. I had to take the small horse trailer all the way over to the east side of Ocala to get someone from the DMV to certify that the title I've had since 2011 in TN was actually for that trailer, because the VIN number was on a label that had completely faded out. It's a problem I've been dealing with since I first brought it to Florida, but I figured I had better get it finally straightened out. Would you believe that guy found a metal plate right on the hitch that still had enough legible numbers to believe me? I can't believe no one else, including me, never found that before, but this guy knew what he was doing. Anyway, I got the paperwork I needed, and walked over to the tax office next door, but the line was so long I gave up. We made a stop at the Walmart in Ocala for fuel and a few essentials, then I headed to the new hay store that opened in Williston, they have some spectacular, super green coastal they're getting from Live Oak, which the horses are absolutely loving, so I went to get another 21-bale bundle. Unfortunately, while I was at Chelle's, I stored the hay where Apollo could reach it, and he ate more than his fair share, so my nearly month supply dwindled down to about two weeks, the pig. Now that we're back at camp, I can at least control his intake a bit more! Then I went to the tax collector in Williston, which had no line at all, as usual, and got my new license plate. I can't believe how expensive vehicle registration is here. In TN, I didn't even have to register a horse trailer and all, and my other vehicles were about $26 a year, where here it's in the hundreds! That little horse trailer, which I'll only use about 4-5 months out of the year, cost me almost $150! Highway robbery, literally. Anyway, got that done, got back to camp, put away my groceries, stored my hay under the gooseneck, and spent the rest of the afternoon answering a long email from my supervisor. I've been finding a few issues with my trailer repairs as well. I noticed I still have dripping from under my kitchen, there are gaping openings from the cuts they made in the basement covering (which I specifically told them not to do, but they did it anyway), my ice-maker worked for about 12 hours but is now jamming, and there's a terrible smell from something that died under my refrigerator, which I can't find, so I'm thinking it got trapped between the floors or something. Guess I'll be calling the trailer place tomorrow! Finally settled down for the evening, watched an interesting sci-fi film, had my hot tub, which was reminiscent of winter nights in TN on our deck, though there wasn't snow (though it felt cold enough!), be in bed shortly! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Spent most of the day working on the computer, getting caught up on all the stuff that piled up over the last couple of weeks. Still putting some things away, and tried to fix my ice-maker. It worked for the first day or so, then quit working. Well, not quit, but it seems like too much water is going into it and it's jamming because the ice is too big or something. I'm wondering if they messed with the settings on it, so I'm dealing with that. Ordered two new burners for the stove, evidently that flaring they've been doing, which has been making black marks on the bottom of my pans, are because the burners are worn out. Should be an easy fix, though. Had some rain in the afternoon and cold weather is coming in for the week, which is unfortunate because I really need to ride the trails at Apex and figure out where we're going for the Taste of Goethe. Not as many trails to choose from as Tidewater, but we'll figure it out. Finally settled down for the evening, though I took my hot tub late because a breaker kept going off and I had to keep remembering to go out and turn it back on again. Not to mention the ambient temperature has gone down considerable, low 30's forecast overnight, so naturally the blankets are on the horses. Anyway, a relatively quiet and physically undemanding day, which I needed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Woke up way too early, read a bit, worked on my shoulder a bit, finally got going way later, but it felt so good! Puttered around in the morning, then went to a Taste of Goethe meeting at Willards at 12:30, got a few more things on my list of things to do, did a few chores around the campsite, then went out with DeDe to put up a couple more sign posts in the Black Prong area. Used the last two posts that I was given, need a few more before we can go any further, but happy that we got done what we did! Settled down for the evening, treated myself to a martini or two, finally got a hot tub back into the schedule now that it's up to temperature. Watched an interesting movie with Meg Ryan, won't be long out of bed, which I have now put flannel sheets on, because the weather forecast for this week is pretty brutal! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie!
Had a wonderful night sleep back in my own bed! Laid in a bit, just to celebrate. Got busy after feeding the horses with putting up the screen room and setting up my hot tub. I was hoping it would be up to temperature by the evening, but the breaker went once and I forgot that I had to reset the temps in the hot tub, so we didn't quite make it. After that and a late breakfast, I went back to the farm to retrieve my last four bales of hay. Apollo munched through the fence the entire time they were there, so I have a lot less than I normally would, but at least they had plenty to eat over there! Took a quick trip to the DG market for a couple of things I had run out of, then when I got back, piled my hay under the gooseneck and put up the skirting to keep it dry, and finally settled down for the rest of the day, though I cleaned the public restrooms and hung up a couple of Taste of Goethe posters. Settled down to a couple of movies and a new series, had a salad and leftover turkey along with a martini, and enjoyed a much deserved quiet evening. Looking forward to shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
The day started slowly, waiting to hear whether my trailer would be ready for me today, then sped up exponentially when I learned it would be ready at noon! I was heading to the trailhead at about 10:30, but then my truck wouldn't start, with a dead battery. I realized I had left the interior light on overnight, and in their weakened state, my batteries died. My BeatIt charger wasn't enough to get it going, primarily because I had used it once before recently and I hadn't recharged it because all that was in the trailer, so I ended up having to wait to get it jumped. Finally got it going about 11:40, right after I got a call that my trailer was, in fact ready, but I went over to the trailhead first, because I wanted to do a quick runaround the paddock with my bushhog before I brought the horses over. Got that done, then headed straight to the repair place. Spent some time going over some things, then left paying a bill that I thought was more than reasonable. It took me almost an hour to get it into the site the way I wanted. Though I had put up little flags to create a line to follow, somehow I just couldn't seem to make it work, not sure why! Then I was getting stuck off the gravel, and had to maneuver around that. I'm definitely going to spread some of the gravel around to make a wider turn, since my truck has to get off the gravel to make the turn. Anyway, I finally got it in, unhooked, then headed back to the farm to pick up a load of stuff, then back to unload, then finally to pick up the horses, getting back just before sundown. Thank goodness the days are getting longer! I worked steadily to get them put away, fed, feed moved back into the trailer and hay underneath the gooseneck (though I only grabbed a bale and a half, I'll have to pick up the rest tomorrow), and managed to pretty much put everything away by 7:00. Finally made some shrimp ramen for dinner and settled down to dinner, so happy to be back in my comfortable recliner again! Made myself a cranberry/black cherry martini with dinner, followed by my mint Sleepytime tea and Lorna Doones, glad to be back on my usual routine! It was wonderful having someplace to stay while my trailer was being fixed, but it's even more wonderful coming home! Got my fireplace going (it's going down into the 30's tonight, so that baby is staying on all night!), and I'll soon be in the shower and then my own bed. Can't wait! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Well, I've managed to make it to another year. It was busy, fulfilling and had plenty of new experiences and new friends. I can't wait to see what this next year holds in store for me! I let myself be lazy knowing Chelle would feed her own horses, and mine aren't too fussy about what time they get fed, so I didn't get up until after 8:00. Well, I should say, I woke up at about 3:00 a.m. and read for awhile before I finally fell back to sleep, so it's not like I slept straight through. I finally got up and fed the horses, read and chatted for a bit, moved my horse trailer out of their way because they had to move their other trailers off a cement pad where they've been sitting in anticipation of a builder coming out and putting a building on top of the pad. Eventually I drove over to Jo's for a play date and to relax where all the dogs get along before she brought her hubby home from the hospital. We wanted to get them tired enough not to jump all over him when he arrived home, and we succeeded in that apparently. Came back to the farm and found Chelle already dragging the pastures, though she left mine to me, which I was glad about. Then I munched on a turkey leg and finished off my egg nog ice cream, helped her solve a plumbing problem in her trailer, and retired to my room early to watch a movie on my laptop. Chelle is sick with a cold or something, so I don't want to get too close to her for too long, I sure don't need to catch anything! Won't be long out of bed again tonight! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
While I was hoping for a somewhat quieter day, that didn't happen. After chores and breakfast, I was just getting ready to start dragging the pastures when I got a call from the trailer repair place, asking if I could come by to chat about progress and possible return dates. Of course, I ran up there immediately. I was glad to see it in the shop with a bevy or workers inside and out, so I'm hoping their promise of having it finished by Friday will come true. We had a discussion about the linoleum for the slide-out, which ended with me spending the next two hours running around trying to get it. I went to three different stores before I found some, then their cutting machine wasn't working! I had to beg the management to cut it by hand to so I wouldn't leave empty handed. Finally got it and returned to the trailer repair shop, then raced down to Jo's, as I had agreed to let her dogs out while she was at the hospital with her husband getting surgery. I was a little late, but got it done. Then I stopped at the campground to check on things, had to sweep and resupply, and finally got back to the farm, where the owners had returned while I was gone. I had so wanted to get the pasture dragged before they got back, but it just wasn't to be! We tried to assimilate the dogs together, but unfortunately, her little dog is scared to death of Lola for some reason, and her medium dog keeps trying to attack her, so we'll have to be very careful about keeping them apart. I went back to Jo's for dinner, where all of her three dogs get along fine with Lola, and got back to the farm around 8:30. Jo had picked up horse feed for me on her way back, so I transferred that from the truck to the trailer, but decided just to give the horses more hay instead of trying to grain them in the dark. Pretty much went straight from my shower to bed, with Lola safely tucked in the bedroom to avoid conflict. Going to be an interesting couple of days! Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hiya Darlin',
Another day of getting up early, doing all the chores, and getting down to the Tidewater Trailhead just before 9:00. Helped with cleaning up the area, cleaned the restrooms, collected all the trash, helped drop down a tent, and generally did whatever needed doing. Once that was mostly wrapped up, I went out and closed up the gates I had opened, thinking the buckets had been collected (they weren't), dropped the trash off at Apex, met with my supervisor for a couple of minutes, stopped at Jo's to drop off some stuff she had forgotten plus a bale of peanut hay she had bought, then finally back to the house where I spent some time cleaning and vacuuming. Out at the barn, the mats were covered with sand from the rain, so I rigged up some hoses and washed it all down. Just as I was finishing that, I heard from the water bucket guy (Eric), learned he hadn't collected the buckets yet, so I had to drive back down to Tidewater and open one gate for him. The rest were okay for him, the buckets were close enough to the gate for him to get. Went back to Tidewater with my manure rake and spent a little time cleaning up a couple of sites that were left in bad shape, once again marvelling at how inconsiderate some people are when it comes to leaving a mess behind. Did they not notice that everyone else was cleaning up after themselves? Why do they think it doesn't apply to them? Did they not see the multitude of signs asking them to spread their manure into the woods? Jeesh! Hard to understand some folks! Took a roundabout route home so I could fill up with fuel at a station with reasonable prices, then finally got back to the house. Put the hoses back the way I found them, and by then it was time to feed the horses, so I did that job, and proceed with my evening, supping on the leftover equivalent of my Christmas dinner. I'm looking forward to a day when I don't have to get up at 7:00! But that won't be happening for awhile yet, I don't think. Continued my usual hot tub, shower, movie routine, and it looks like it will be another early evening! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Another early morning, another fairly busy day, though not quite as bad as yesterday. The biggest highlight of today was when a very strong thunderstorm came barreling through, blowing over one of the FEI crew tents, which apparently hadn't been the least bit pinned down, and moving Carol's buffet area into the pavilion in the nick of time. A few things got knocked over, and a lot got wet, but it only lasted a couple of hours. I spent the day working on the computer with Art, and a lot of restroom cleaning. It's a good thing I was able to get into the supply closet, because if all we had was what was left in the box, we would have run out of stuff yesterday! As it was, there wasn't any soap bags, and I mopped the floor half a dozen times this weekend. Heading out a little earlier since there wasn't any registration to do, and the rest of the night will be waiting for riders doing 75 and 100 miles to come in. I picked up a bale of peanut hay Jo had bought from her neighbor and stopped at HQ to throw another half a dozen bags into the dumpster, which is as full as I've ever seen it, almost overflowing. Stopped at Black Prong to lock up the well house, then back to the house for the rest of my chores. Watched a Gerald McRaney movie, took my hot tub and shower, and won't be long out of bed. Good night, baby! Love you!