Sunday, February 1, 2026 – More Cold Weather, Trip to Apex

Hiya Sweetie,
Another late morning, staying in bed to avoid the inevitable freezing! Thankfully, my small space heater is doing a bang up job, and my furnace hasn't had to come on at all! I waited until after the outside temperature reached above freezing (it took until almost 11:00!) before trying to turn the water back on, and even then I had to put some hot water on the my spigot to get it going, even though the rest of the campground was flowing freely. My pipe is out in the wind chill and not insulated, so it took longer. I was finally able to get it going, but when I fed the horses this morning, I had to take a block of wood to break the ice in their water buckets. I don't come down to Florida for this! I should be farther south! Finally managed to fill my tank, so I started on some laundry, did several loads throughout the day. Did some computer work, read for a bit, then had to meet two of the TOG folks down at Apex to go over where the stations will be. Stopped at Jo's to pick up a package, then got home by about 4:30. Turned the water off again at dusk, settled down for the evening, heading to bed shortly! Good night, babe! Love you!

Saturday, January 31, 2026 – January Ends in A Freeze

Hey Babe,
Took awhile to get out of bed this morning, got my chores done, did some work on the computer, did some housework, tried to get my new bathroom carpet to fit but it was too big, so that's going back. Ordered something smaller, without a horse theme. Got my new travel size My Pillow for my trip. Spent most of the day reading, except I tried to fix one of the ramp stops that had gotten broken somewhere along the line, probably when I was struggling to get in this site the other day. Must have scraped a tree or something. Weird because it was on the opposite side of the trailer as the ladder, which I also scraped off somehow. That was not a good day! More work to do to get that fixed. It got windy and the temps dropped, supposed to be going down to 19 degrees with a wind chill factor even lower! I turned the well pump off as a precaution. Brought out my little space heater in order to save on propane, my furnace had gone off a couple of times this morning, even though it wasn't that cold yet. I think the space heater will be enough tonight, though, along with the fireplace, as it's very efficient. Settled down for my usual evening, my latest binge is a Canadian series called Regenesis, about an agency that tracks down viruses and other gene-related things. Guess I'm getting into these science-type programs for the moment! Heading to bed before too long! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Friday, January 30, 2026 – Wonderful 10.5 Mile Ride!

Hiya Darlin',
Another good night sleep, not quite so cold this morning, at least not enough to make the furnace come on this morning. Did a little computer work in the morning, but with the cold front coming in tomorrow afternoon, my main goal today was to take a nice ride on Flash, so it wasn't long before I was saddling up. I didn't have a particular plan in mind, which was a refreshing change, so we kind of meandered a bit, going out on the green trail to start (albeit "backwards" for awhile) but got back on track heading northward. About halfway around, Flash decided he wanted to get off the main trail and take an overgrown trail straight north, obviously bored with the regular trail, so I let him go that way. That eventually led us back to Hospital Rd., then Griffis, where we veered off onto another lovely trail I seldom use, heading all the way north to some sections I use for the Benefit Ride, though in reverse. Once we turned off Griffis Rd., Flash decided it was time to get some speed on, and we were galloping and cantering for the next several miles! Came back around, crossed 337 and followed the usual trail until we crossed again early, rejoined the blue trail and cantered back to camp. A fabulous ride on my little speed demon! I'm certainly getting a lot of cantering practice on him lately. Such fun! Rinsed him off, though he promptly rolled after going back into the paddock, then headed over to Helen's to visit with her for a minute, pick up the recycling that the neighborhood saves for the forest, dropped that off at HQ, took a quick drive down Gasline Rd, which they have apparently just graded, just to make sure the place I've selected for one of the food stations has enough room (it does!), then off to Jo's so Lola can have a quick play date with her four dogs and we could get caught up on stuff, since it's been a while since we've had time to chat. Got back to camp, fed the horses, settled down for the evening, finally finishing the rather slow mini-series and starting a new series, and heading to bed soon! Had to get as much done outside as I could, as the forecast is for bitterly cold weather the next few days, so I expect I'll have time to get my long overdue housework done. Well, maybe :-). Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Thursday, January 29, 2026 – Some of This, Some of That

Hey Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep and another chilly morning, again having to turn the furnace on even though the electric fireplace was on all night. It just wouldn't keep up! I spent most of the morning working on the TOG website and FB pages, then finished up the plumbing repair on the water spigot, so that's back to good as new. Got word that one of Val's young horses escaped into the forest, so I posted some info on a couple of sites to spread the word. I moved some hay into the trailer, than ran back to the hay place to pick up my purse, which I had inadvertently forgotten yesterday. Then off to Michelle's to drop off five bales of hay in advance of me moving over there, leaving enough under the gooseneck to last me the duration of my stay here. Picked up Helen and took her over to Willards where we had dinner together. I ate too much, as I always do when I eat out, so no weight loss tomorrow morning! Got word that Val's horse had been found, which was good to hear! Settled down for the evening, watched a few more episodes of the mini-series, and soon off to bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Wednesday, January 28, 2026 – Runaround and Hay Day

Hi Babe,
Another chilly morning, down to 27 degrees! Think I need to winter in Costa Rica to escape the cold! And it's only going to get worse over the weekend, they're calling for lows in the teens! Brrr! So glad I have a full 50 amp hookup, though even running my fireplace all night (and after raising it's thermostat to 75 degrees), I still have to put on the gas furnace in the morning to take the chill out. Did some work on the computer before heading out to do errands. Picked up my mail in Dunnellon, did a little shopping and got fuel at the Walmart, then ran up to Williston, stopping at Triple J to look at their coastal hay, then to the Chocolate Station and Sparrs to ask for donations for the Taste of Goethe. Went to Farmers Direct, who also donated, though I passed on their coastal. Their latest load wasn't as nice as it has been, and the hay at Triple J was better (and cheaper!) so I stopped by there and picked up a 21 bale bundle, most of which I stored under the gooseneck, since I don't have my tractor to put it away in the front stall. The rest will go over to Chelle's, where I will be moving after I leave here. I was glad to put up the skirting around the hay, that should help keep the cold out from under the bed, if only for a little bit. Of course, I always like the smell of fresh hay that drifts upward, it's almost like sleeping in a lovely barn! After putting everything away, I decided it was warm enough to do the plumbing repair I needed to do on the spigot I ran over, so I got that about half done, with the rest waiting until everything dries before I put the post back in and bury everything. I'm not likely to keep it hooked up anyway, not with the freezing temps they're forecasting! It's safer to just fill up the fresh water tank in my trailer! At least with a working spigot I can keep the horses' water full. Finished my bing of Departure and started an old mini-series based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, pretty dry but it'll do. A productive day, though I'm looking forward to once again crawl into my lovely flannel sheets! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 – Computer Day with TOG Meeting

Hey Darlin',
Had a pretty good night sleep, laid in for awhile waiting for the sun to warm up things a bit. Despite having the electric fireplace on all night, when it got into the 20's, it couldn't quite keep up, so in the morning, I ran the furnace for a bit, just to warm it up a bit. Spent most of the day on the computer, working on Taste of Goethe stuff. Chelle is having to help her Mom look after her ill dad, so she delegated some of her usual work to me, so I had to try to get up to speed on that today, which I managed to do to some degree. Still a bit of a learning curve ahead, though! Meanwhile, I revisited the signage to update that from last year. Jo has agreed to make signs again this year, as well as let us borrow her trail markers. We seem to be on track, though I'm not involved with the food portion of it. Anyway, I was hoping to attend the meeting, scheduled for Meg's house, via Zoom so I wouldn't have to go out in the cold, but Dina asked for a ride, so I braved the chilly temps and made do. My Alaska parka is getting a lot of use this week! Meeting was about what you'd expect, progressed a few things a little bit, got assigned more stuff to do, so it will be a busier couple of weeks. Got back around 9:30, tea/shower/bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Monday, January 26, 2026 – Rest Day, Sort of

Hi Sweetie,
Slept late, but still felt tired most of the day, not surprising after all the energy spent over the weekend. Got involved with a bunch of stuff happening at the campground. One camper and his wife, regulars here at BP, came over to chat, while in the meantime, a very large family of apparently homeless people were being moved out by the FWC, the law enforcement end of the Forest Service. Apparently, they have been camping here over three weeks, well past the 14 day limit, and haven't been paying. According to the camping couple, they were in their spot when they arrived last Wednesday and they had to wait quite awhile for them to move out to another site. It took hours for them to move out, with two FWC cars waiting for them to move. They drove off with their slide-out still open, apparently it didn't work. While I have some sympathy for their situation, there must be services that can help, especially since there were two young kids and a teenager in the group. Apparently they've been making a mess in the bathroom every day according to the ranger, and before FWC arrived there was a screaming match at the bathroom door. Not to rehash old news, but I can't help but think these kinds of problems would have been avoided if they had a camp host here. Anyway, Art came by and took Lola for a walk, then he went into town and tried to get the elbow joint I needed to make the spigot repair, but the Ace person gave him the wrong size, so later in the day, we went back to exchange it, as well as to pick up Art's truck from the repair shop, before heading back to Canada in his car. It was supper time by the time this was all over, so I didn't quite get the restful day I was looking for, but I did relax in the evening, so hopefully after another good night sleep, I'll be thoroughly rested and ready to tackle a busy week! As predicted, far from having to put on the AC tonight, I've had the fireplace on for the last few hours (and will keep it on all night), and put the winter blankets on the horses, since the forecast says it going down below freezing tonight. Glad I have electric! Looking forward to getting into my flannel sheets, though! Good night, babe! Love you!

Sunday, January 25, 2026 – Final Ride at FL100, Travel to Black Prong

Hiya Babe,
Had a good night sleep, not surprisingly, and was up early again to do the final marker retrieval ride today, the white trail, with sections of orange along the way. Woke up to some fog and a flock of wild turkeys wandering around in the campground. Hit the trail, but something was really off with Flash today, he was moving like a slug, so unlike him, but I figured he was tired, until about the last five miles, when I rearranged all the stuff I had hanging off the saddle horn. I realized that my aluminum grabber was at the bottom of the pile against his leg, and I think it was bumping his elbow or causing some other distress, because a few minutes after I moved it, he perked right up! I thought maybe it was because we were so close to camp, but usually he gets excited as soon as we turn for home, so I really think it was the grabber. He still slowed down occasionally, but nothing like the majority of the ride, when he was doing barely 3 mph! All of those delays meant that even though I left camp by 9:30 and we only had to do 15 miles, we didn't get back until about 2:30, much later than I had anticipated. Anyway, I got him rinsed off, packed up my trailer, hooked up my truck at a 90 degree angle to avoid the soft sand and holes I dug when I arrived, and managed to pull it straight out, thank goodness! I finished loading up the horses and all the last minute stuff, said my good-byes, and headed out just after 4:00, arriving at Black Prong just after 5:00. Then the real fun began. I don't know, sometimes I can back right up into this space with only a couple of course corrections, but today I because the entertainment for the campground. It took me better than half an hour to get it right! I just kept overcompensating, and it's tough because there are so many trees and so little space. I really screwed up when I ran into the water spigot and broke it, so I had to turn the water off (thank goodness there's a bypass for the back spigot and camp host site!) after I filled up the horses' water buckets and my fresh water tank. That will hold me over until I can fix the pipe. Grrr! This is what happens when I get this tired, I guess. Anyway, I finally settled down for the evening, heated up the leftovers from the Indian Restaurant the other night just because it was the easiest thing to do, and chilled out for awhile. I actually had to put the AC on to cool it off before bed, which is going to be ridiculous after tomorrow, when the temps drop down to below freezing tomorrow night! Crazy weather! That's it, I'm done, tea, shower and bed forthwith! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Saturday, January 24, 2026 – Another Great 21 Mile Marker Retrieval Ride

Hi Darlin'!
Had a great night sleep, once again getting my chores and breakfast done in a leisurely manner before saddling up Flash and heading out, this time to do the 20 mile Green trail that was used yesterday as the first loop of the 35. Got off to a bit of a rocky start when I thought the trail started up the driveway, but it turned out they were coming in that way, not going out that way, so when I finally figured out I was leaving from the same gate as yesterday, I had already clocked a mile going back and forth up the driveway! No worries, we finally got started on the right trail and this time, we headed more northeast, into sections of the Greenway I've never done. What beautiful trails! Some of the live oaks were absolutely huge, and stunning! Absolutely breathtaking. I only had one bit of confusion that was quickly cleared up by trailmeister Madelyn, but the rest was fine. This is truly my favorite endurance ride volunteer activity, taking down trail markers. I get to ride the trails without any stress of designing them or putting up markers. Even though I enjoy doing that, it can be taxing, but taking them down is utterly brainless and delightful! I even saw a pair of coyotes out and about, which surprised me in the middle of the day, but apparently they are so abundant here now, daytime sightings are becoming quite common. Flash wasn't quite as rambunctious today, but we still maintained a steady pace and got back into camp before 3:00, despite not getting off the property until 10:00. Lola got to spend the day with Art again, same as yesterday, so she's a happy camper, being able to get walks in throughout the day. After putting Flash away, I went over to our Cracker hostesses and chatted with them awhile, letting them know that there was a possibility I may need help getting out tomorrow. They went about making sure they had a key to the big tractor that sitting in the pavilion, just in case. It was a lovely chat. By then, dinner had arrived, so I went back to pavilion, and stayed through dinner and the ride meeting. Settled down for the evening, and once again, am up to teatime! Heading to bed shortly, of course. Tomorrow we will be doing the 15 mile white trail, so hopefully Flash will be good with that. Must be reminding him of the Shore to Shore Ride, when we were doing 20-25 miles a day, so tomorrow should be a breeze! Anyway, good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Friday, January 23, 2026 – Fabulous 24 Mile Marker Retrieval Ride

Hiya Sweetie!
So glad I had earplugs last night, as this place is practically right on I-75, so loud traffic was the rule! That's okay, though, because I always sleep sounder when I use them, so it's all good. Woke up to my alarm, fed the horses and did morning chores and breakfast, and was saddling up Flash by 8:45, and heading up to the pavilion just after 9:00, just a tad behind schedule. We headed out going west, following and removing all the markers for the yellow/lime trail all the way down to Ross Prairie, about 13 miles. We took a very short break there (I tried to rinse Flash off at the wash station, but he wasn't very interested in that!), then headed back out on the blue trail, removing markers for about 1/3 of the way back, stopping at the 484 underpass. Once Flash figured out we weren't stopping to pick up markers any more, he took off, quite happy to canter and gait at high speed, winging his way through the woods like a bat out of hell! We did that off and on for the remaining ten miles, arriving in camp almost an hour before I had calculated, which was fine by me! What a blast! I love this little horse, he is just SO MUCH FUN! I rode over to where Art was acting as timer at the gate, and he took a minute to check Flash's heart rate (I was curious), and couldn't believe it was already down to 40 bpm! Amazing! Once I got him rinsed and settled, I sorted out the various ribbons and signs, then drove them up to the pavilion and hung around up there until dinnertime. My friend Jo arrived in the afternoon, and we chatted for a bit, then we all had dinner and the ride meeting. I left before the awards, though, because I had received a form from the horse safari outfitter and had to fill that out and get it back to them asap. Settled down for the evening, tired by happy after our 24 mile speed ride, won't be long out of bed! Good night, babe! Love you!