Archives for July 2021

Hi Babe!
Woke up early with the alarm, got the horses fed, then headed into town to drop off the truck at the body shop to get the good repairs done. Enterprise rentals met me there with a little Nissan pickup truck, and for a minute I thought it would be too small for my water tank, but it turned out that it just barely fit lengthwise. Was afraid I was going to have to strap it in with the tailgate down, but we were just able to close it. Went to Tractor Supply and picked up a bag of feed and to return a pot that I had bought the other day, then Meijers to pick up a couple of grocery items before heading back to camp. I had noticed that a lot of slimy stuff had been growing in the tank when I emptied it out yesterday, so today I stopped and filled it about halfway, then got the pressure washer down and did my best to clean the inside. I actually hooked the washer up to the tank so that the water recycled, and was a bit surprised but happy there was enough pressure just from the gravity to make it work. Then I put in some bleach, filled it the rest of the way up, and got out a couple of scrub brushes and really scrubbed it down before draining it. I left it empty just in case I get my truck back before I need more water (I filled every container I had in hopes that I would have enough to keep the horses watered long enough), but at least now it’s really clean, and I can put water in it if I need to. When I took the tank out, all the boards that we had built as a frame had rotted out, so I’m going to have to repair that when I get it back. All that took a couple of hours and a lot of energy, so I decided not to ride or do anything else today, so I just read most of the day, then settled down for the evening. I paid for another week as well. Apollo was so cute today, he was on an anchor but he managed to get right over to me when I sat outside and snuggled with me for quite a while. We’ve seen some times together in the last 20½ years, all 48 contiguous states and so many other remarkable things. He’s such a good old boy, hard to believe he’s 25 now, and we’ve had him since he was four. Still in pretty good shape, though, but he’s come down with a case of rain rot that I’m treating with Listerine, per Maggie’s suggestion. Can’t tell if it’s getting better, but it doesn’t seem to be spreading any more, which is a good start. Anyway, time for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Another good night sleep, off and running starting with several loads of laundry, washed and hung out to dry. Then I got busy housekeeping, overdue so I was pretty thorough, that took hours. Hard to believe so little square footage still takes so long to clean! Finally took the wash down around 3:30, and at 4:00 I headed out to pick up ten bales of hay at a farm nearby. Small bales, but only $4 so I can’t complain. Hope the horses like it. Settled down for the evening with Ramen and TV, fed the horses, now ready for shower and bed with fresh sheets! A busy day, but have to get up early to drop off the truck and pickup my rental, so I’m off toe bed early, too. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Woke up to a beautiful, albeit cloudy morning, but the rain was gone and it cleared up throughout the day. After chores and breakfast and a search for hay (I want to get enough so I don’t have to use the rental truck to haul it next week,) I saddled up Apollo to take him on a little ride since he’s been standing around for so long. We had a nice 5.65 mile loop through Trail 5, which is probably the wettest trail here, and the one that has the little mud bridge boardwalks, and it was a little mucky in places, but not really bad. Before we left, I set off a couple of bug bombs, I’ve been seeing the occasional roach so I wanted to get ahead of it before it got any worse. Got back to camp mid-afternoon, let Apollo wander on his anchor for awhile, and later switched out Flash, who promptly wandered off to the campsite next door, so I had to go fetch him back and anchor him down. He was better after that. I topped off the water in the trailer and the horse troughs, I didn’t want to waste any, and don’t want to have any left by Monday when I take the truck in. I confirmed that was all arranged to exchange vehicles, so that’s taken care of. I mostly read the rest of the afternoon, watched a little TV, had a nice steak dinner and settled down for the evening. I took a quick run down to the dumpster to drop off a bag of garbage and was surprised I didn’t see more trailers here for a Friday afternoon. I have one couple a few sites away, one woman with a mule that parked almost directly across from me, and another woman parked next to her on the other side. Only one person at the bottom in the same site I was in last time I was here (and the time we came here in 2013), but the rest is empty, so I guess this little corner I’m in is a popular spot! Not sure why, it doesn’t seem to have anything special going on with it, other than a good cell phone signal, but that’s most other places here. Anyway, doesn’t matter, I’m here for another ten days, I’m sure I’ll see lots of people come and go. Everyone’s is settled in, and I’m heading off to shower and bed shortly. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Honey!
Rain came in a little while after I went to bed, so earplugs went in, and I slept well for the rest of the night. Since it was due to be a gray day, and I had planned to do some bookkeeping and other computer and paperwork the first rainy day where I had a good cell phone signal, today became that day! I literally spent almost the entire day getting caught up. I didn’t think I had let it go for as long as I did, was surprised to see unfiled receipts as far back as March! I also had to do some reports for Equity, and sent a check in, followed up on my insurance claim for the truck (I forgot I had a $500 deductible I’m going to have to pay, darn it! But at least I’ll have a nice paint job on the hood that was overdue!), and ended the afternoon by running down to the post office for a package that I thought was going to be delivered by Amazon Prime (who can usually track me down anywhere that shows up on Google Maps) but instead was sent by USPS, so they wouldn’t deliver to an uncontracted address so I had to pick it up. I ordered three shut-off valves for hoses of the firehose type with the flip over switch, such a superior design to all those ones with the little handles you have to push to one side, they always seem to fall apart or get stuck or leak or in the case of the last one, the plastic cover came off and it was so stiff to move it killed my fingers. I love these new ones. I originally bought a hose splitter with that type of valve and I loved it, so I got a couple more like that, and then I saw these single hose shut-off valves, which is perfect for the water tank in the back, so much easier! Anyway, got back to camp, several more trailers had come in so I’m guessing it’s going to be a busy weekend here. Saturday they’re having a Christmas in July gift swap and ride, I might participate in that just for fun. Anyway, settled in for the evening, binge-watching the 3rd season of Virgin River (and finished it off just now), glad to have all that other work done. Oh, and after all that rain, I only found two small spots of water on my bedroom window sill, so still not perfect, but a whole lot better! Still not sure where it’s coming from, but I’ll have to check in one day when it’s light out to find that out, but for now, it seems like all the rain has been coming in at night, so no luck on that at the moment. Anyway, ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a pretty good night sleep, woke up a couple of times, finally had to read a bit around 5:00, but then fell asleep again. Had a bit of rain come in, and it got worse after I got up, but I managed to get the horses fed between showers. After breakfast I went into town, first going to Scott’s Body Shop for an estimate on the truck damage from the limb that fell on the hood at Jeff’s, then on to Tractor Supply for horse feed, medicated shampoo (Apollo’s got a case of rain rot) and antibiotic spray. Though they had a propane tank in their gated area, they aren’t selling it yet, so I had to go to an Amoco station across town to get some, but they were pretty fair, even though it was by weight they did deduct for what was in the tank, unlike some places. Finally off to Walmart for my big shopping day, it’s been awhile since I’ve gotten groceries. They were having a clearance sale on some weird bourbon, cream, ginger stuff that I persuaded myself to get for a change, turned out to be awfully nice, so it won’t last long! Got back to camp and treated Apollo’s rain rot, put everything away, did a few odd chores. I’m happy to report that despite all the rain, and it coming from seemingly the right direction, there were NO LEAKS around my bedroom window, so I’m hoping I finally solved the problem. There’s more rain forecast later in the week, so I’ll hold off stating that as a definitive until it’s had a few more rounds of rain, but fingers crossed, I think I may have finally solved the problem. Had a nice grilled chicken dinner, than took a walk around camp to visit with two ladies staying at the bottom of the hill for awhile. Got back to discover it was well after 9:00! I really don’t like this late daylight for some reason, it just seems too light for bed, yet it’s time for shower and bed already. I’m still going to watch a one hour TV program, just to wind down, but then it will definitely be time to go. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Woke up a couple of times during the night, ended up reading until I fell asleep again, then woke up late at 8:30. No worries, I only have to travel about three hours today, so I wasn’t worried about the time. Got everything packed up, coffee made and hit the road around 10:30, arrived safe and sound around 1:30. Filled up both tanks with water, the trailer and the truck, at the water spigot, then drove around to find my perfect spot. That turned out to be #22, right on a corner. Easy access, no tight turns or trees in the way, a pretty big spot, and my patio and bedroom window will look right onto the horses highline. Got everything set up by about 4:00, just taking my time, so happy to hear my phone chirping away as I received messages, texts, emails, voicemails, everything I’ve been missing for weeks and months now! I’m hoping to get a lot of work done in the next few days now that I have internet again! It’s still a bit slow, but I think that’s because it seems I have a broken wire on the antenna of my cell phone booster, that will be job one tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ve just settled down, enjoyed the care package leftovers of ribs and sides from Sandy so it was an easy dinner, watched a little TV, and generally relaxing after a very busy couple of weeks! Looking forward to getting a little rest while I work solely on my computer for awhile. There’s rain in the forecast for tomorrow, and a couple of other days later this week, that will be a great incentive to get my computer work done! Meanwhile, it won’t be long before shower and bed tonight! Good night, babe! Love you!