Hi Babe,
Since my part of the trails are done, I spent the morning doing laundry, then headed into town to drop off a book order at the post office, then picked up some horse feed at Tractor Supply and some groceries at Walmart and Publix. That kept me busy most of the day. Dinner and a movie, which was very intriguing and with an all star cast with Julia Roberts about a possible apocalyptic end of the world which was fascinating right up until it's very unsatisfactory ending. Heading to shower and bed shortly, I have an early morning tomorrow! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 – Short Orange Trail Done
Hiya Sweetie,
My body clock is off again. I felt tired all evening, then when I went to bed, it took me hours to go to sleep. Don't know what's up with that. By the time it warmed up and I got my chores done, plus giving Flash enough time to have enough breakfast, it was nearly noon again by the time we got going. At least I didn't have to do any trail clearing today, since I did it all the other day. It was just a matter of marking the trails, which went pretty smoothly. We did over 14 miles for this loop. The only thing left is the bottom half of the long orange, and I have a couple of girls that have volunteered to do that. I got all the stuff they need sorted, they just need to come get it. It was about 4:00 when we got back, so it wasn't long before I settled down for the evening. Lola is really enjoying these walks in the forest, and Flash was brilliant again today. He even seems to know just how far to go before we have to put another marker up, and knows to hug a tree and stand still while I staple an arrow to it. Such a good boy! Relaxed for the evening, hoping to get to sleep earlier tonight, but it doesn't look like I'll be doing that, since it's already 10:00. Headed for shower and bed soon, anyway. Love you, darlin'! Good night!
Filed Under: Ride Day
Monday, December 11, 2023 – Red Dot Trail Done
Hi Darlin',
Woke up to a chilly morning, did a few things first, but eventually got everything ready, saddled up Flash with so much stuff hanging off him he looked like a pack horse, and headed out to mark the first half of the first loop of the upcoming ride this weekend. Most of it was pretty clear, though there were some spots I had to clip with the loppers, and one tree for which I had to break out the little chainsaw. It took us well over 4.5 hours, but it was a job well done. Just have a few signs to put up across the street from the campground and that should do it for that trail. Fed the horses and put blankets on both of them, it's supposed to be in the 30's tonight! I left the fireplace on all day so it was nice and toasty when I got back to the trailer. Lola had a good time, too, though she wasn't sure about the slow pace of it all. Flash did a brilliant job all day, except at the very end when we were across from the camp, he wasn't thrilled about riding away to do the last half mile. All good, though! Settled down for the evening, ready for bed soon! Good night, babe! Love you!
Filed Under: Ride Day
Sunday, December 10, 2023 – Recovery Day
Hey Babe,
Had a good night sleep, did my morning chores and breakfast, and was soon nodding off in my chair, a long way from recovered from my busy past could of weeks. I really crashed today! Finally got just enough energy to crawl back up to bed, read for a while, and spent some time working on my shoulder with my massager. I've gone from about 40% range of use to about 95%, and am thrilled to bits! There's just one tiny spot that still feels restricted, and only when I put my arm in an extreme crooked position, and that even felt like it might have shifted a bit today. Then Jo texted and invited me to enchilada night at her house, and I almost begged off because I was so tired, and there was a very big storm front coming through, but in the end, most of it had passed through by a little after 5:00, so I headed over there. Dinner was delicious, plus I picked up all the trail markers I'll need for this week, and a diagram her husband Jeff made for me on the electrical circuits in the trailer, for future reference. Got home about 7:15, fed the horses, put a blanket on Flash because it's supposed to get cooler overnight (Apollo doesn't seem to like it unless it's extremely cold), and prepared myself for a short evening, as I'm still feeling tired and I have a busy week starting tomorrow. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!
Filed Under: Uncategorized
Saturday, December 9, 2023 – Volunteer Trail Clean Up Day
Hiya Sweetie!
Up before the crack of dawn this morning, headed down to Tidewater Trailhead where we had scheduled a trail cleanup day. We had more than a dozen volunteers show up, and the Forest Service lent us two UTV's for the day. We had a great time! Everyone worked hard, and we got a lot done. My group did the entire Blue trail, another groups did a good portion of the purple and yellow trails, and we were all back in time for the lunch the Forest Service provided. It wasn't in too bad shape, but it definitely looks a lot better! Stayed around and chatted for a bit, then headed back to camp, with a quick stop at Apex to say hello to my cohort DeDe, who was hosting an ETS event there. Got home a bit after 2:00, and faded fast after that. It's been a very hectic and physically demanding week, and I think I'm finally crashing. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'm planning on taking a nice quiet day off to recover, and next week is going to also be very demanding, so I need to recharge my batteries! With that said, I'm going to bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!
Filed Under: Uncategorized
Friday, December 8, 2023 – Another 13+ Cleanup Ride on Short Orange
Hi Darlin'!
Another busy day, working on plans for tomorrow's cleanup day, the a ride out to check the short orange trail and do the necessary trail cleanup. Had to use my little chainsaw several times on some of the bigger blockages, though no trail was impassable, but I did make them a lot better. Flash seemed a bit tired at first, not surprising considering the long ride yesterday, but he got to rest a lot while I was cutting and clearing. Got the short orange trail completely done, thank goodness, though we didn't get back to camp until almost 5:00. Helped a couple of campers cut up some wood with my little chainsaw, then settled down for the evening with a cute RomCom. In the morning I checked my lab account and was delighted to learn my cholesterol levels were down quite a bit, the best since I've been getting tested, so I guess I've been eating right! Just trying to avoid going on any pills if possible. Anyway, had a pleasant evening, ready for shower, bed, and an early morning tomorrow. Good night, babe! Love you!
Filed Under: Ride Day
Thursday, December 7, 2023 – Great 20+ Mile Ride Today
Hey Babe!
It was a cold night as predicted, and even with the fireplace going all night it didn't get too hot in the bedroom. Slept well, did chores, worked on a few computer things, then, once it warmed up enough, I saddled up Flash and headed out to do a recon of the trails for the south trails for the 50 mile course. I've never ridden over there, so it was very interesting to find out just how many trails are out there. It's a lot! I kept taking wrong turns, though, it seems like every other intersection had me picking the wrong way, and there were a couple of times I wasn't paying attention and went a long way before checking the GPS, only to discover my mistake. It was supposed to be about 16 miles, but it ended up being 20.5, but none of us seemed any worse for the wear, though Lola has crashed for the night. I did a tiny bit of trail cleaning on the way back, there's really not much to do, the main trails are in great shape. We averaged over 5 mph, he was full of energy today. Got back around 4:00, got him rinsed and settled in, then proceeded with my usual evening routine. A fabulous day! And now I have a whole bunch more trails to explore! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Filed Under: Ride Day
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 – Labwork, Errands and Trailer Washing
Hi Sweetie,
Woke up before the alarm went off, got up after a bit, did my chores, unhooked the trailer and put it in a nice tidy little parking spot near me, then headed off to town to get my doctor-requested lab work done, then stopped at Tractor Supply for some hay, which was pretty good, though small bales for the price, but I'm in Florida, I can't expect anything else when the price of diesel is still so high. I also noticed a big stack of Nutrena Balance, so I picked up a bag for Apollo, even though his feed bin is currently full, just because it isn't easy to find. After getting back to camp, I worked on trails on the computer for a bit, then remembered I needed to wash the small horse trailer, so I went out and did that. It was actually too cool to ride today, and almost too cool to be washing a trailer, but it really needed it, it was covered in algae, typical when it sits outside like it has been. Finally settled down for the evening, to a very weird movie that seems like the writers and director must have thought up when they were totally stoned, not my cup of tea, though I had to admire the acting skill of the principals. I was shocked to see Jamie Lee Curtis, I barely recognized her, sorry to say, she hasn't aged too well. Funny, when I went in to do my labs today, the woman asked for both my birth date and confirmation that Cigna was my secondary insurance and not my first, and I joked with her and said, "This is where you're supposed to say I don't look old enough for Medicare," and she quickly responded, "Well, that's why I asked, you DON'T look that old." Maybe she was blowing smoke, but she did ask twice, so maybe I am still looking pretty good for my age. Anyway, took my shower early so my hair will dry before bed, it's going to be a cold one tonight, getting down into the 30's. I even put the heavy blankets on the horses, and I'm going to leave the fireplace on all night so I don't wake up to a cold home in the morning. Hoping to ride tomorrow, supposed to warm up after a chilly morning, but we'll see. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 – Worked on Ride Routes
Hey Darlin',
After the long reconnaissance ride yesterday, I felt I'd seen all I needed to see in this trail system to finally make some headway on the trail plan. The difficulty here is that you have to choose between crossing a paved road multiple times, riding through swamp, riding about a mile on a limestone rock road, riding in deep sand or repeating trails. None are great options, but the choice must be made. I spent several hours trying to accommodate all of that, but in the end, I called Jo, the ride manager, to try to pin down which complaints she was willing to deal with, since there really isn't any route that will make everyone happy all of the time. In the end we adjusted the route a few different ways, finally opting for using the limestone road but cutting it down to the bare minimum of about a mile. It starts at a water stop, so we figured if someone wants to put boots on, it's a good place to do it anyway. Only one mile out of 50, it's the best we could do. Glad to have that finalized, though, it's been bugging me! Still have a bit of recon to do in the south loop, so I have another day of riding this week, though not likely tomorrow. I have errands in the morning and it's going to be a chilly day, so Thursday, most likely. Finally settled down for the evening, enjoyed a funny movie with Woody Harrelson coaching a team of "intellectually challenged" teens to the Special Olympics championship, and now it's time for shower and bed! Good night, baby! Love you!
Filed Under: Uncategorized
Monday, December 4, 2023 – Great Long Ride, Sold The Old Recliner
Hiya Babe,
Not surprisingly, I had a good night sleep, and set my alarm so that I would be up for an appointment with a couple to come look at the recliner. I love Facebook Marketplace! They arrived just after 10:00, and we had all the usual discussions about the chair. The wife sat in it, but it was hard to get a real feel for it on the uneven ground of my screen room, so I suggested we carry it out to the porch overhang on the bathrooms, which had a cement floor. We did that, and, of course, it felt much better. They ended up buying it, for a girl that's staying with them for awhile that is apparently very petite, so this smaller chair should be perfect for her! Even better, they paid me a little more than what I paid for it, so I even made a profit! I was just glad to get it out of the elements so quickly, sitting in the screen room would not have done it much good if it stayed out there very long. Anyway, with that done, and after doing some other trail planning, I finally saddled up Flash and we headed out for what ended up being 16.6 miles of reconnaissance around the trails, and we didn't even complete the plan I had made because I went off exploring just about trail and path we came across. It's good, though, I'm really getting to know where everything is, and where all the roads lead, but that means another ride to hopefully finish off the last few roads I haven't quite checked out yet. Good news, though, nearly every trail I took today is passable, just some are not going in a direction that will help in the endurance ride. I'm certainly figuring out some interesting options! We got out late, so it was 4:45 by the time we got back, and once I rinsed him down it was feeding time. I finally was able to settle down for the evening, feeling very tired tonight, it's been a busy few days! Another busy one tomorrow, too, I imagine, so much to do! Love you, sweetheart! Good night!
Filed Under: Ride Day
























