Hey Darlin’,
I had hoped to get a ride in this morning, but I got a little sidetracked and ran out of time. I finally decided to get my foot looked at, it’s still hurting from the riding incident back in May, and I thought by now it would be healed, so I’ve been wondering if I didn’t actually break it after all. In any event, I wanted to know, so I drove to a local clinic in town, and after waiting about an hour, I finally got it x-rayed. Thankfully, it did not, in fact, have any breaks or fractures, but the provider assured me that a bad bone contusion could take 6 months to a year to fully heal, so I guess I just have more time to wait! It’s flared up a little with all the hard labor and walking I’ve been doing, but the pain has very gradually been diminishing, so it’s just time now. After that I ran down to Bealls to try to find some cargo shorts, only bought one pair of regular shorts that fit and were comfortable, and costs less than six bucks! I took a quick stop at Badcocks furniture and found a nice recliner I might like, so many of them were pretty uncomfortable but there was on Lazyboy that might work, if I can get a swivel kit. We’ll see, I have to do some research. Dave had asked me to help out with getting some firewood moved somewhere, so I stopped at the firewood guy Shannon’s house and met him, and we arranged to haul it together tomorrow. Being so late in the day, I decided not to do anything else, and relaxed the rest of the day. Once again, ready for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetheart,
Woke up to a cooler morning, actually got below 60 last night! Fall must be on the way. Dave delivered the Truckster to me, but it was having some issues, and I ended up only being able to do one small load with it before it crapped out on me. It stopped partly in the road, so I pulled the truck over and towed it into the yard. Then I hooked up the trailer and backed it next to the far paddock, and spent the day moving limbs two or three times. Out of the first paddock, over the fence, then moved it again onto the trailer. Once the first paddock was clear, I moved to the second paddock, where my horses are, and threw the stuff over the first fence, then over the second fence, then finally onto the trailer. Slow going today, for sure! Took me a long time just to fill one trailer load, and by then I was pretty exhausted, so once I dumped that I quit for the day, around 2:00. All I had energy for today! I eventually went back to see if the Truckster would start again, and found the battery completely dead! So I got out my handy jump-starter and after a bunch of tries, finally got it going. I drove it around the yard a few times and it improved a little, but it’s obviously not going to be very reliable. When Dave came by later, he said the battery needed to be disconnected or it would drain, and I explained it had already done that, which surprised him that it took such a short time. He thought it might be the alternator, but then I explained that I had started it a couple of times after running around the yard a few times, so I didn’t think that was it. Anyway, hopefully it will start next time I try to run it. Had dinner, and finally received my package in the mail (I’ve been waiting all day!) and got my new little 6 inch mini chainsaw. Put the first battery on charge, though they seem to be pretty full, but apparently they only take about two hours to charge anyway, so that’s good! I was hoping we had access to a bush hog, that would be the best way to finish off these paddocks, but apparently we don’t, so I’m not sure what to do next, probably just keep going in and getting smaller and smaller pieces, especially if that Truckster starts working better. Meanwhile, though, now that I have my chainsaw, I want to take a ride tomorrow and see what kind of shape the trails are in, not sure if anyone’s had time to look at them yet, figure I can start on it if there’s a need. Finally settled down for the evening, won’t be long out of bed tonight! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Had an easier day today, first picking up a 21-bale bundle of hay from a place just a stone’s throw from McCulley Farms, didn’t see much repair work going on there, but I guess the endurance ride is still scheduled. Got my hay (the guy was an expert, dropped in perfectly in the back of the truck, though the tailgate had to be down because of the water tank), stopped at the cheapest place for diesel I could find (still $4.29/gallon), went to Tractor Supply, who managed to find me all the feed I needed, despite their website indicating they didn’t have some of it, then a final stop at Walmart for just a few things I needed. Was back around noon. Decided I wasn’t up to heavy physical labor today, and I didn’t have a chainsaw or the trailer to haul stuff, so I opted just to burn the piles of small stuff I had raked up yesterday. I also load eight bales into the trailer so I don’t have to worry about that, and covered the rest with a tarp. I may move them under the gooseneck, I haven’t decided yet. Did a couple of loads of laundry as well. Then Deb came by with a package, the new cover for my new phone which is due to arrive later in the week, and much to my surprise, it looks like my new phone is actually smaller than the one I have now! So I guess it’s about the same size as the phone before the Nokia, which will be great! Thought it would be about the same size or slightly larger, but smaller is better, as far as I’m concerned! The cover is a lovely shade of Hunter Green, which I realized later may not have been the best choice, if I lose it in the woods while riding it will be nearly impossible to find! But being smaller, it should tuck into my horn bag better anyway, so hopefully, not a problem. Settled into dinner and TV, looking forward to a shower and bed. Glad I had a restful day, though, I’ll be ready for more labor tomorrow, though only if I get the tools I need, which, at the moment, has to have wheels. Dave is supposed to be getting something called a Truckster, which he lent to someone else, but if he gets it back I’ll get busy again. If not, I may just take a ride to see what kind of shape the trails are in. I’m supposed to be getting my mini-chainsaw tomorrow, but mail gets here really late, so I might just take the folding clippers and my camp saw just in case. Decisions for a later time! Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Not surprising, I had a great night sleep, got up early again and started working by about 8:15. Deb joined me shortly after and worked with me all morning, which meant we got a lot more work done! Another three trailer loads of stuff, plus the equivalent of another load dumped over the paddock fence to the roadside, where we hope they’ll be coming along to pick up before too long. Tomorrow they have some other stuff to do over at the canoe launch, so they’re taking the trailer and the chainsaws with them, not sure if I’m going with them or not, though probably not. I have to get hay, I’m down to my last bale, and there are a few errands I run. David said he could get a little vehicle that I can use to drag a tarp behind, so I might still be able to do some clearing, or I can do a small burn. We’ll see! Lots of choices! Looks a lot better though, we got a lot done. There are several large trees we’ve cleared up, everything but the largest part of the trunk, which we need a big chainsaw for, and is evidently going to a neighbor for firewood. Anyway, I was done around 3:00, relaxed the rest of the day. Heading to bed early again, I’m liking this earlier schedule. It’s physically demanding work, but I’m feeling stronger every day, just like on the Shore-to-Shore ride! Of course, the horses are being lazy for the time being, but once I get the little electric mini chainsaw I ordered, I intend to take a ride and see what kind of shape the trails are in. I don’t know if anyone else has been out there yet, there’s still a lot of work to be done around the neighborhood. Had an early shower, just have my Spanish lesson to do (I’m almost to a 500 day streak!), then I’m headed to bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Was up at the crack of dawn and got busy by 8:00. So much to do! Spent the morning loading up branches on to a long flatbed trailer and moving it out to the road, where evidently they’ll be along to pick them up at some point. I also raked up a lot of little stuff into piles, which I plan on burning later when the conditions are right. A bit too windy today. Later in the morning, Dave gave me a small gas chainsaw to use, so I was able to get a lot more done, though during a short break, I found a small electric mini chainsaw online and ordered it, I needed one anyway. Couldn’t believe I found one for $49!! And with really high ratings! We’ll see, but it should work on the trails, which is what I mostly bought it for anyway. Job one is to completely clear the circular driveway that goes around the property, so that’s where I put my focus, though I did try to do a little in the paddocks, that’s going to take some time, or a tractor, whichever comes first! Managed to take a few bites of this enormous elephant, but it’s a start. Finally quit about 3:30, just couldn’t physically do any more today. Tomorrow it starts all over again! Taking my shower early, will be in bed early, too, I’m sure! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
After going to bed by 8:30 and falling asleep shortly thereafter, it’s not surprising I woke up half an hour before my alarm went off. Consequently, I was all packed up and moving out of the campground be 7:30, which was actually before the sun came up! Thankfully, had an uneventful drive, except for once again stopping for fuel at a One9 truck stop, not fitting into their car area, and had to go to their truck area, where I had the same problem with too big a nozzle, splashback shutting it off, and it timing out, twice, after only a minute or two while I was checking on the horses, making me have to go inside and have them turn the pump on again. In the end, they had one of their guys come out and “do it for me” as if I was doing something wrong, when the problem lay with them and the brevity of their time-outs. Whatever, I won’t be going there anymore, which is unfortunate, because they are about fifty cents less than their sister truck stops, Pilot and Flying J. Anyway, I arrived right at 3:00, met up with my hosts and quickly got settled in. I had to put the horses in a different paddock than last time because of all the trees that were down in the previous one, there is certainly a lot of cleanup that needs to be done! I’ll start tomorrow, though, since it was after 5:00 by the time I got everything set up, and that included Lola’s swimming pool, since she was panting so much from the heat. Ran the AC for a bit to cool it off, hoping it will cool down enough tonight that fans will be enough in the bedroom. Heading for shower and bed, since I plan to get up fairly early to get a good start before it gets too hot. Good night, darlin’! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Had a quiet day in camp today, didn’t have anything in particular to do except drive into town to get fuel, for a surprising $3.98/gallon for diesel. So much easier when I’m not attached to a 47′ trailer! Other than that, I mostly just read, though I did get the truck lined up under the trailer so all I have to do is drop it down, since here the trailer has to be jacked up high to be level. I also had to mess with the water to make sure the horses had enough to get through until we leave on Friday. Right after I fed the horses, it started to rain, which, according to the forecast this morning, wasn’t supposed to happen. The forecast for tomorrow is very clear, so it should be a nice ride. My friend Linda said to be ready by 9:00 tomorrow morning, so I’m heading to bed early. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Up with the alarm, got packed up and was on the road by 8:30. Made it safely down the road to the highway, which was tricky because there was a very serious dropoff to the stop sign, but I held it in low gear so we had no problem. Had great weather and a relatively uneventful ride to Lost Corral. The only surprise was when I stopped for fuel at the last truck stop in KY, expecting that the KY fuel prices would be less than TN, which has always been the case previously. I got a bit annoyed because the car pump area was too small for me, so I had to go to the truck stop area, which is usually a pain because the nozzles are too big for my truck so I have to go really slow, and it was the worst ever here. First, they wouldn’t take my credit card at the pump, so after half a dozen attempts, I had to go into the cashier and have the pump turned on. I set it up with the cap on the nozzle, which usually lets it go real slow, as it necessary with these big nozzles, then it inexplicably shut off at $41.62 and I had to go back inside AGAIN and get the pump going. Then I had the manager “explain” to me how it was set up to avoid splashback, in a condescending voice that I found extremely irritating, even after I explained that I was perfectly aware that big nozzles need to go slower in a regular pickup, but that’s no reason for them to shut off the pump and not let me start it again without coming inside, surely every person that had a pump shut off to avoid splashback wasn’t required to come back inside to have the pump reset! Anyway, it was annoying, and I finally just stopped way before I was full, because it kept turning off. Then, when I crossed into TN, I was shocked to see that the price in TN was more than fifty cents less per gallon!! When did that happen? KY used to always be cheaper, but not anymore! I finally arrived at Lost Corral around 4:00, much delayed from the debacle at the Pilot, and it took me awhile to get set up, longer than I had hoped, because when I arrived, the whole highline area was dirty again. I remember it was like that last time I arrived, though I left it clean, but apparently some campers through the summer didn’t feel the need to leave it the way they found it, so I had to spend time cleaning up manure and moldy old hay. I left the horses in the trailer until I got everything ready, and water was so slow coming out of my truck tank after I filled it that I ended up just filling my trailer and using the spigot on the trailer to provide enough pressure to fill the horses’ water buckets. I all took almost two hours to accomplish. Finally settled down for the evening around 6:00, though I fed the horses grain at 7:00, had dinner, watched a movie, heading for shower and bed. Long day, though Friday will be longer! Rest tomorrow. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Woke up with that rare feeling that I needed to clean today, and since I’m heading to Florida at the end of the week, it only seemed appropriate to do my seasonal deep clean. Spent the day spacing out all the chores so as not to get overwhelmed. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been on electric that I decided to take advantage, and did a bunch of loads of laundry, including the horses’ blankets and a bunch of rags, and just about everything else I could get my hands on. Did windows, floors, carpets, kitchen racks, mirrors, tea kettle, bathroom, you name it, I cleaned it! At least, on the inside, the outside is another matter! Once all that was done, I slowly started packing up for my long drive to Tennessee tomorrow. Well, not that long, I figure about 6-6.5 hours. Since I’m already familiar with Lost Corral, and hoping the best spot will be open when I get there to make things easier, it should be a quick set up. It’s supposed to rain on Wednesday, which will be a nice day to relax, since I suspect once I get to Florida I’m going to be nonstop busy for the foreseeable future. Thursday my friend Linda is supposed to be taking me on a long ride, we had such a lovely one together when I came north earlier this year. Spent a little time updating the website, after it crashed they fixed it with a backup which was over two weeks old, so I had to upload all my diary entries again. Didn’t have the signal to load the pix again, though, sp I’ll wait until I get to Florida where I’ll be able to use their wifi. Anyway, got as much packed up as I could, then settled down for the evening to some more Dirty Rice (mm mm good!), watched a little rom-com, now I’m ready for my long hot shower and a good night sleep! Love you, Sweetheart! Good night!