Thursday, July 31, 2025 – Not A Nice Day, Caused by Not A Nice Person

Hi Babe,
Well, today was one of those days where the dark side of humanity really comes out. When I got up this morning and was out doing my horse chores, Beth came out and started yelling at me about how inconsiderate I am having my horses on a highline because they get in the way of people trying to get to the horse manure bin. Well, no one but she has complained about it in the two plus weeks I've been here, because I've explained that one of my horses (Apollo) had gotten hurt in one of these stalls and I preferred to keep them on a highline. Yes, I understand it's against the rules, but generally we horse people are pretty forgiving when we know people are just trying to do what they think is best for their horses, and are tolerant of the many things that may entail, but that was not the case with her. I remained calm and tried to point this out to her, but she kept railing on. I finally said that if it bothered her so much, I would keep my horses in their stalls. I thought that would be the end of it. Then I saw that the ladies next to me were packing up, and since I had noticed evidence that someone had previously highlined their horses over there, I decided to pack up and move over there, thus getting out of everyone's way and still be able to highline my horses in a quiet spot that wouldn't bother anyone. So I spent the next three hours packing up and moving over, taking down the highline and putting it back up again in a quiet spot next to me, hooking up, moving and unhooking again. A lot of work. At 1:00 I finally stopped to eat breakfast. I no sooner got my breakfast started when a ranger came to my door. He demanded to see my permits and read me the riot act about the highline, which looked no different than a clothesline at this point, because I hadn't moved the horses over and there was no evidence horses had ever been there, so I knew he came gunning specifically for me, and I knew why. I explained that one of the locals had told me they didn't really enforce the permits, but that I was leaving on Monday anyway, but he insisted I had to move immediately. He eventually backed off and said I could move tomorrow, considering how late in the day it already was, and how long it would take me to pack up, again. After he left, and I went over to check on the horses, Beth had returned from her ride and asked me if I had been riding, and I informed her that, no, I had spent the last three hours moving my trailer. She asked where did I move it, and I told her where, and that I had done it to get out of her way, but that apparently wasn't enough, because the authorities had kicked me out and I was leaving in the morning. Then she curiously said she'd been out riding and that did I think it was her fault. I said, I don't know, did you? and she went silent. That was all the confirmation I needed, though I didn't even need that, there was no question about it. So my day, and my weekend was pretty ruined. I was really looking forward to a couple more days of nice riding, as the weather had cooled down nicely and it's going to be a beautiful weekend, but not, instead, I'm going to be driving straight to New Jersey tomorrow. I was even more disappointed, because the couple that was parked in this spot last week, and whom I had a lot of fun with, came around and ended up parking in the site I just left, and I was looking forward to spending more time with them. Interestingly, she overheard that conversation with Beth, and agreed that she displayed all of the characteristics of a guilty person. Anyway, that episode is over and I'm ready to pack it in here. Really disappointed, but am not going to let it fester. Anyway, Karen picked up my order at Tractor Supply in Watertown and I drove over to her place to pick it up, so at least I'm set with horse food for awhile. Binge-watched a few more Havens, soon to bed as I expect to get up extra early tomorrow so I can get to Meg's and get settled in down there. Good night, darlin', love you!