Hi Darlin’!
Well, all the best laid plans today! I managed to solve numerous problems this morning, confirming that my new window is, indeed, supposed to arrive early and I was able to change to address in time to get it to the right place, here at McIntosh tomorrow. Well, I hope so, anyway, you never can tell with FedEx, they always seem to disappoint. Fingers crossed, though, if I can get this fixed before the rain and cold weather come in on Saturday! Also ordered all the rest of the sealant tape and clear seal I need to finish the job. Once I got that all squared away, though, I created another problem for myself. I was all set to go riding, and decided to fill up the water tank before the busy weekend, but while I was worrying about backing up onto their hose, a tree jumped out and smashed into my tailgate! Really messed it up, too. So I changed out of my riding gear into my jeans and spent the rest of the afternoon making a dozen phone calls and going to four different junkyards before I finally found an affordable tailgate in somewhat the right color. It’s not perfect (then again, neither was the old one!) but we managed to get it on okay. I just need to put some lubricant on it to make it a bit easier to open and close, it’s ever so slightly bowed in the middle, hardly noticeable but just enough to not make it close easily. Anyway, that took me hours to accomplish, got back to camp at nearly 6:00, fed the horses, grilled a chicken thigh and finally relaxed the rest of the evening. Unfortunately, I just checked my FedEx tracking and even though they’re still saying I’m going to get my window tomorrow, they’re also saying it’s going to next week’s address (instead of this week’s) and that at the moment it’s on its way to Holbrook, Arizona! What’s up with that? Can’t wait to see how this plays out! As I said, FedEx never fails to disappoint! Anyway, not going to worry about it, I’m just going to take my shower and go to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Woke up to a very thick fog today, so after chores, I did a few things around the house, waiting for the fog to lift. Once it did, I saddled up Apollo, since he hasn’t been ridden in a couple of weeks now, and headed out for about a five mile loop, along the river first, then through the woods. It’s really pretty here, and it’s small enough to not get lost once you get the lay of the land. There are NO trail markers here, and lots of shortcuts that lead to the same place, so it can be challenging for a stranger, but since I was here last year, I know them well enough to not freak out about it. No boots were necessary and the grades are fairly tame, so Lola and I had a good time. Not too many people here at the moment, but one of the staff came by to warn me that there’s a HUGE event this weekend, and that I wouldn’t be able to get out if I wanted to, which is fine since I’m not leaving on Monday. He warned me, though, that it’s POSSIBLE that the organizer will want me to move out of the park, or at least to another place in the park, because they had rented the entire area out! Not really relishing the idea that I might have to pack up and move a quarter mile just to stay out of their way, but he seemed to think the organizer would probably be too busy to notice I’m even here, way down on the other end of the field! Fingers crossed! Later in the day, he was kind enough to deliver my Amazon package to me, and I’ve managed to install a new keyboard on my laptop, yay! Wasn’t hard, but the silly thing was missing two out of six screws, so I had to cannibalize the old one to replace those. The action is a little different, but I’ll get used to that. I’m just glad to have all my keys working again! Now I’ve caught up on my blog, I’ll be settling in before long, so I’ll say good night now. Love you, sweetie!

Hi Sweetie!
Managed to have a good night sleep, having gone to bed quite early and waking up around seven, though it was still pitch dark! Sunrise wasn’t until 7:45, and it was cloudy this morning, so I wasn’t in a hurry to get out of bed. After chores and breakfast, I got on the computer to solve a couple of problems, glad there’s a good cell phone signal here. I managed to find and order a new window for the bedroom, but it can’t be delivered until next week, so I’m having it sent to Mingo Trails, where I hope I can enlist the help of someone to lift it in. I also had to order a new keyboard for my computer. I had problems with my up arrow key for quite a while, but now my Enter key and my right shift key isn’t working, which makes almost everything impossibly hard, and in some cases, like paragraphs, COMPLETELY impossible. Fortunately, Amazon Prime is able to deliver one to me tomorrow, so hopefully I can get that problem fixed quickly. Then I went on Marketplace to look for a file cabinet, and managed to find some used ones less than 30 minutes away, so I ran out and got one. I’ve been wanting to reorganize some of the office stuff that I’ve been storing under the kitchen table, as well as some stuff I’ve just piled in the back, and I thought a filing cabinet would accomplish that. Once I got back to camp with it, I manhandled it into place in the front stall and spent the rest of the afternoon sorting things out. Meanwhile, I let the horses out so they could graze in the pasture across the road, there’s acres of beautiful green grass. I put the anchors on Apollo, which didn’t stop him from having a good gallop, and let Flash run free, since he never gets too far. He even came back to visit a few times while I was working in the back, silly horse! I got the barbecue grill out, I’m having a burger and salad tonight, then I’m settling down for the evening! I need to get some rest! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Up with the alarm at 7:00 and still managed to get out before 8:30. Had a bit of a scare getting out, though, just not the one I thought I would have having! I didn’t put any weight on the truck last night because I was afraid it might sink in overnight, and was very glad I didn’t! Once I got everything packed in except the horses and the last minute stuff, I dropped the trailer the rest of the way onto the truck and proceeded to pull out, or TRY to pull out. I was upping the gas, very slowly, waiting for it to start moving, and it just wouldn’t! I was scared to death that the wheels would start slipping and that would be the end of it, I’d have to start hauling gravel over to put under the wheels, but I kept slowly increasing the acceleration, until I was at such a high RPM I thought for sure I would be stuck for good, but finally, we started creeping, creeping, creeping forward until I was safely moving. My plan had been to move forward a bit, then back up between a couple of trees onto the road, but once I got moving, there was no way I was going to stop, so I just kept going, hoping like mad I’d be able to make it around the trees in front of me, and straighten out well enough to get past the tree that had come down after the rain. Miraculous, I made it! I even had room to spare, much to my surprise! Once safely on the gravel road, I loaded up the horses and all the final stuff and hit the road, yay! We had a nice, uneventful trip all the way to McIntosh, which was about two hours on the highway and another hour each before and after the highway. The only problem was just as I was making the very sharp left turn onto the road leading into the Reserve, some guy in a little car had turned the corner and then just stopped on the road! I needed the whole road and then some to make the turn, which he figured out pretty quick when I started getting closer and closer to his back end. I couldn’t very well leave my back end sticking out on the main road waiting for him to move, now, could I? Anyway, we made it the rest of the way with no problem, paid at the gate, then noticed that my emergency exit window in the gooseneck where my bedroom is was completely shattered and gone! Not sure how that happened, but I guess I must not have locked it properly, so that’s another job for me in the coming days! I went on and filled up at one of the water spigots, then found the perfect camping spot, where the trailer would be in the shade, but it was close enough to a clearing to take advantage of what sun I could get for my solar panel, and of course, right next to the river, as all the sites are. I got the horses up on a highline pretty quick, but had to leave right away to get into town in time to pick up feed and fill up three propane tanks, as they wouldn’t hold the feed after today. I did some quick shopping at Walmart, filled up with fuel (which had gone up fifteen cents a gallon in the last couple of hours, apparently), and made my way back to camp. I felt exhausted by the time I got back, not surprising with all the activity and no real rest I’ve had in quite a few days! Finally settled down for the evening, looking forward to a nice hot shower and a good night sleep! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Despite the long day yesterday, I had trouble getting to sleep, and couldn’t sleep in too late because I had a lot to do, starting with three loads of laundry. I thought I had two tanks of propane left, but it turns out the only one I have is the one I picked up yesterday, so glad I did that! I had to switch over to it shortly after I started, so I’m going to have to be careful until I get the other tanks filled, probably on Tuesday. Anyway, while I was doing laundry, both Pam and Laurie (with her granddaughter) came out to ride, albeit separately. I would have like to go with them, but I just have too much to do. Since I’ve been here nearly two weeks, packing up took awhile, but I managed to get it all done. It was pretty hot today, too, which didn’t help. I’m a bit worried about getting out of here, with all the rain, some parts of the ground are really soft, and it’s hard to tell exactly where until you start slipping. I’m also in an awkward spot trying to maneuver around trees, especially because one fell down across the road and it’s a pretty narrow spot to get out. There are several options, I’m just afraid if I get stuck I won’t be able to move in any direction. Anyway, no sense worrying about it tonight, I’ll deal with it in the morning! Just going to have a relaxing night tonight, I feel exhausted after three days of hard riding and several hours of packing up in the heat. Looking forward to my shower and clean sheets! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Even though I put my earplugs in last night, there was so much hard rain that it woke me up a couple of times it was beating so hard on the roof! It seemed to rain practically all night, and I heard later that we had nearly five inches! Everything is soggy, but it seemed to drain away pretty, though it was muddy all around. A tree came down on the other side of the loop, right across the road, so I called the office and they sent someone out to chop enough of it off the road so cars can get around it. Was surprised when the young sawyer actually got his chainsaw stuck at one point, it took us fifteen minutes to get it unstuck. I helped move the limbs and trunk sections out of the way, but he didn’t really cut much up except what was right on the road. I think we moved enough for me get past it, the road is pretty narrow right there, with trees on both sides, but I think it will be okay. Naturally, though, it’s way too wet to even attempt to go riding. I let the horses loose, though, so they could get some exercise. Poor Apollo, I’ve yet to ride him here! I was thinking about doing it tomorrow, but then I got a message from one of the women I rode with on Saturday saying she’s going to take a 15-mile road ride tomorrow and asked me to come, so it will be Flash again tomorrow. I also had Kari come by with Hal and a boxed dinner from a local barbecue place, which was really sweet of her! They kept me company for awhile, and we worked out the details of our riding plans for the weekend. Once this front finishes going through overnight, it’s supposed to be nice the rest of the weekend and into next week, fingers crossed! Read and watched TV pretty much the rest of the day, now I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Woke up early and well-rested, got my chores and breakfast done, then headed into town, first stopping at the post office to get my two packages, plus send out a package as well. From there I went to pick up some hay just north of town, very big bales, though loosely strung so I had to be very careful stacking it or the bale would fall apart. Roger only charged my $4 a bale, which is the best price I’ve gotten in a while, plus he threw in an extra bale, so it was a good deal. Unfortunately, the weather forecast mistimed the rain coming in, again, and I hit a couple of brief but heavy showers just before getting back to camp, darn it. I left it out in the sun for awhile, and finally got it stored away, I’m hoping it didn’t get so wet as to get moldy, fingers crossed. Of course, it will all get used up in the next couple of weeks, so it should be all right. Traded in that propane tank that expires in December for a refurbished one from Walmart, and tried to find a spare quart of oil, but evidently there’s a Rotella shortage for some reason. Anyway, heavy rain moved in later in the day, so I just had another leisurely TV binge-watching day. And that’s all the news that’s fit to print! Good night, sweetness! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Ended up getting to bed late, but had a good night sleep. My one and only neighbor left pretty early this morning while it was still foggy out, and finally, we had the place to ourselves! Just the way I like it. My first chore after feeding the horses and putting them out to graze was to solve a leveling problem. Last night when I went to close the trailer door, it got caught on the stairs, which it hadn’t done here before, but I remembered noticing that the jack stanchion on that side had sunk into the ground (along with the board I had it sitting on), so I jacked the trailer back up, hooked it up to the truck and raised the jacks up. Fortunately, there is a pile of gravel nearby, so I got out my big manure shovel and got some of the gravel and filled in the hole and then some, put down a second board, and raised the trailer back up again. I had breakfast after than, then did a couple of other odd jobs before settling down to read for awhile. Then I did some mending. On one of our recent trips, I left too much slack in Apollo’s lead rope when I tied him into the trailer and he managed to knock over a feed bin, munch a bunch, then started tearing into the bag that holds the patio rug and ripped that up as if it were a feed bag, so I mended that, as well as the pocket in my down vest (or should I say, YOUR down vest which I have now inherited). Went back to reading, then eventually binge TV, so a leisurely day, to say the least. When it was supper time, I had to loosen up the anchor that Apollo was on, it had gotten stuck on one of the posts, and after I did that, he went galloping across the campground heading for his hay on the line, hardly noticing the anchors flopping along behind him! Funny horse! Finally settled down for the evening, grilling a beautiful thick, bacon-wrapped sirloin that was really nice. Getting close to shower and bed time, so I’ll say good night now. Love you, darlin’!

Hi Darlin’!
Had a great night sleep, though some rained moved in during the night, but I didn’t hear it because my earplugs were in. By the time I got up this morning, pretty much all of the non-horse campers were gone. A few day riders came in, and a group left about the time I was having breakfast, all slickered up and leaving in the rain. Just after they left, it started to come down pretty good, and a half hour later, there was a torrential downpour! As I’ve said, I’m a fair weather rider, and it would either have to be an emergency with someone’s life at stake, or a big paycheck at the end for me to ride in that kind of weather! Unless it’s a linear ride where I had no choice, like a cattle drive, of course! It basically rained almost all day, finally clearing up a little in the late afternoon, but even then it stayed cloudy. I spent part of the day doing some cleanup, the counter and dining room table area needed some serious reorganizing, and it took me nearly three hours just to do those two small areas! It does look a bit better now, I just don’t quite have enough storage space for everything, so I’m having to do some rethinking on how to get organized. I have a few ideas, but I’ll have to see if they pan out. Meanwhile, the rest of the day was reading and binge-watching an Australian series called Offspring, which has been somewhat entertaining. The rain has finally stopped for now, and I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe,
A great night sleep, did my chores, then headed out to do a big shopping day today. I haven’t been in awhile, so I had a lot to stock up on. First stop was Tractor Supply, but unfortunately they don’t do propane refills at the Moulton location, so they recommended I go to the Coop. Ridiculously expensive though! They stopped filling at four gallons (I’ve never had ANYONE stop before at least 4.2. and usually I get up to 4.7 or 4.8!) Guy there claimed it was the law they had to stop at 4! Plus it cost me over $18, which several dollars more than I usually pay for a FULL tank! Well, I’m not going THERE again! Only good thing that came out of that was they had some nice hats, and I found a nice green mesh one that looks like an Aussie jungle hat with a nice shape, and I needed one, so I bought that. Then I had a good long shop at Walmart, then a stop at Marathon for diesel, it was actually cheaper than at Walmart, a quick stop at a beer store, though they still didn’t have my Yeungling’s Black and Tan, but at least they had Modelo Negra, so I bought some of that. Hot weather always makes me want to have beer, and I haven’t had any in months, so I was glad to get something. Got back to camp, unpacked everything, then… had a beer! Settled down for the rest of the day, but did manage to line up a riding buddy for tomorrow, someone who can trailer us over to the west Pine Torch loop for a ride. She was recommended by my Facebook group network, so I guess that’s a good place to find help when I need it! Anyway, I’ve had a relaxing evening, probably ate too much but will hopefully burn it off tomorrow. Heading for shower and bed now. Good night, my darlin! Love you!