Hi Sweetie,
Slept later than I should have again today, I really need to get on a different daily schedule! Spent most of the day just reading and doing a few odd jobs on the computer (as well as playing a few games, of course), then received a message from Chad, the president of the local horse association that does the upkeep on the trails here and organizes the events, about meeting him for dinner at a local restaurant. We agreed on 7:00, which gave me time to feed the horses and get ready. I put my green faux leather jacket on, but didn’t realize until much later the dang thing was falling apart on me! The outer layer was just peeling off, so I put it in the trash when I got back. Really a shame, I loved that jacket! But one less thing to carry, right? Dinner was at the Portage Lake Parlor, a local hangout, with mediocre food, poor service, and acoustic music that was so amped up it made it almost impossible to talk. Met a couple that was here at the horse camp last weekend and chatted with them for a bit, too. Got back to camp by 9:00, where quite a few campers had come in today, though not anywhere near as busy as last weekend, put the blankets on the horses again, even though it’s not supposed to get that cold tonight, I don’t want to take any chances on them starting to sprout a winter coat! Not when we’re heading south next week, where it’s still 90+ degrees in Indianapolis (not to mention over 100 in Las Vegas where I’m flying off to). Anyway, it was a very quiet day overall, ready for shower and bed shortly. Good night, babe! Love you!
Archives for September 2021
Thursday, September 9, 2021 – Short Ride, Otherwise A Quiet Day
Hi Babe,
Started out a bit chilly this morning, glad I put the blankets on the horses last night! Spent the morning doing my knee PT and my Egoscue exercises, which I haven’t done in awhile. Felt good when I was done, though I had to be dressed in a sweatshirt outside! Don’t think it ever reached 70, and almost decided not to ride today because I just couldn’t seem to warm up, but I finally decided to take Apollo on the camp loop, which the locals refer to as the “kids loop” because it’s only about 2.3 miles long. I wanted to stretch Apollo’s legs, but it was still cool in the forest, so I thought that would be just right, and it was. I took his boots but didn’t put them on because I didn’t remember seeing a lot of stones last time, so it all worked out. Lola got a little exercise along with the rest of us, too. The only downside was someone was mowing the lawn nearby, so we had to listen to that the whole way, not exactly the quiet getaway we were hoping for, but it was nice nevertheless. Did a lot of French lessons today, started a new series of books, and relaxed most of the day other than the usual chores. I actually gave up on a series of books I was reading, and wrote a rather negative review on it, truly I couldn’t go on with it, and you know me, that’s unusual that I don’t slog through a book, I just couldn’t take this guy’s writing anymore. Slower than watching grass grow, really! The new series I started moves along so fast, it’s so refreshing! Anyway, I’ve already had my shower, another few French lessons, about ready for bed. Love you, darlin’! Good night!
Wednesday, September 8, 2021 – Shopping Day
Hi Darlin’,
Rain was all gone by morning, sunny skies all around, a beautiful morning! Got the horses all squared away, then headed off to Jackson for some shopping. Filled up three propane tanks and stocked up on horse feed at Tractor Supply, then headed off to Walmart for the rest of the shopping. I’m stocking up for the critters since I’ll be off to Vegas next week and I needed enough for my boardees to take care of everyone while I’m gone. A pretty mundane day otherwise. Settled down for the evening, finished binge-watching Manifest, now it’s time for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Tuesday, September 7, 2021 – Ride on Flash, Rain Moves In
Hi Sweetie,
A wonderful night sleep without earplugs, it was so quiet in camp, it was delightful! Had kind of a lazy morning, then finally got around to saddling up Flash. Got delayed leaving camp, though, got into a conversation with a guy who happen to stop in camp, and he was a chatty fellow so it was awhile before we finally left camp. My intention today was to knock off the last few trails that I had previously missed, plus rehome the beautiful painted rock that Alison gave me, but it wasn’t as enjoyable a ride as I had hoped. For starters, to do the west trails, the shortest distance requires you to take a good half mile along gravel roads through farmland, and cross a relatively busy asphalt road. I had to put Lola on a leash just to be safe, and then when we got to the section I was trying to map, I ended up getting lost. In fact, I got lost half a dozen times because there are so many renegade trails out here that aren’t on the map, and the main trails sometimes don’t have good markings at the intersections with the renegade trails, so the result is inevitably getting lost! At one point, I was getting way off the reservation, thank goodness I have a GPS, or who knows where I would have ended up! Not a happy camper today, I’m afraid. It was practically 4:00 by the time we got back. It had been my plan to go shopping today, but it was so late now, I decided to go tomorrow instead. Flash was pretty sluggish at first, eventually I put his boots on because he was so hesitant whenever he saw rocks, and that helped a little bit. I think he’s just bored with doing the same old trails, just like me. He finally picked up his tempo when we were headed back east again, but even so, he was pretty sluggish. The western section has a lot of logs left on the trails, evidently the local hunt club likes them to jump over, and Flash also jumped a lot, which, considering I’ve never had any jumping training, was a bit intimidating, but I’m starting to get the hang of. Flash is actually a good jumper, but I’m not going to go over anything that’s very tall, not when I’m out riding on my own! Anyway, once we got back to camp, it wasn’t long before I heard thunder, so I got the horses fed early and everything put away before the rain finally hit. It was quite a bit of rain and thunder and lightning, but nothing very destructive, fortunately. That continued through the evening, finally tapering off around ten. They needed it here, though, it’s been quite awhile since they’ve had any rain. I settled down and binge-watched a bunch of episode of Manifest, they just released their third season so I followed that story all night. Anyway, now it’s time for shower and bed, and shopping in the morning. Good night, baby! Love you!
Monday, September 6, 2021 – Waterloo Exodus and Hay Day
Hey Babe,
Had another great night sleep, though it rained a little overnight, nothing serious. Got my chores done, and watched the mass exodus as the crowd kept thinning and thinning. I started my laundry as soon as it looked like the folks on the other side of the copse of trees I’m next to were leaving, since they had a great sunny spot where their highlines were. Sorry to say they didn’t do a very good job of cleaning up after their horses, but at least it was clear enough to hang my laundry. Got two loads done and everyone was just about gone by the time I got the second load hung up. So quiet and lovely here now! It was nice to see the activity, but nicer to have it back to being empty except for me! I read most of the day, then remembered I would need hay sometime this week, so I got on Marketplace and immediately found a listing in Chelsea just 15 minutes away, posted two days ago, for nice grass hay for six bucks a bale, so I made arrangements to meet the guy in half an hour, and picked up a nice load of hay. Gotta wean these guys off the alfalfa stuff, and this is really nice soft green hay, so hopefully they won’t mind too much. Got the hay loaded in the trailer, then had dinner and a movie, my shower, and soon to bed! Good night, darlin’! Love you!
Sunday, September 5, 2021 – A Quiet, Lazy Day
Hi Darlin’!
Had a good night sleep, still slept late this morning. Guess all this activity has worn me out! So I decided to make today a quiet day. Well, except for a few extra chores. Lola managed to open a seam in her bed and proceeded to pull a bunch of stuffing out, so the bathroom floor was a mess. She hasn’t been on the trail in a couple of days, and because of all the activity I’ve had to keep her mostly tied up, so she was really ticked at me, her face this morning said it all! So after chores, breakfast, and sewing her bed back together, I took her down to Crooked Lake boat launch just down the road and we fetched and played for quite awhile. We actually saw a seaplane take off from the lake, as well as some boaters doing a variety of activity. She was much better after than, no more evil eye the rest of the day, thank goodness! Got back to camp and mostly read for the rest of the day. Had a couple of visitors, first Paul, then Chad, and then late in the evening some friends of Chad, who presented me with a beautiful painted rock. It’s gorgeous, but I explained I don’t need to carry any extra weight, and they suggested I place it out in the woods like some of the other ones, or give it to someone else, which is what I plan on doing. It reminded me of an old Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz movie called the Long, Long Trailer, where she decides to collect big rocks at every place they stop, until the weight gets to be so much they can’t get up a hill. It was a really stupid movie, but it came to mind for obvious reasons! Anyway, I finished off a limited series program I’ve been watching, now it’s time for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Saturday, September 4, 2021 – Another Ride on Apollo, Poker Run, Dinner and Raffle Winner!
Hi Sweetie!
Had a great night sleep (with earplugs tonight!), got chores and breakfast done, and since I had already decided to try the new Ridge Trail here, and the poker run was along the Ridge trail, I decided to put up my five dollars and play a hand. Then I discovered that, unlike most poker runs where the cards are out along the trail, this was all done in the pavilion before even going out on the ride! I guess they didn’t have enough volunteers or something, but I didn’t have much of a hand anyway, so then it just became about the ride. It was only about six miles round trip, so off Apollo and I went. It was a nice ride, the new trail is still a bit rough in spots, some trees were down, and several times I stopped to pull small but annoying stuff out of the way. I ran into a lot of other groups, and joined one group for awhile, had some nice chats along the way. Got back to camp and relaxed in the afternoon (so glad I did my cooking yesterday!), then headed toward the pavilion, stopping at Paul’s trailer right behind me. He introduced me to a couple of ladies there, and when we got talking, they promptly wanted to buy a couple of books from me, which I was happy to sell them. Finally got up to the pavilion, where we had a nice dinner, though I have a LOT of leftover macaroni salad left over, darn it! No deviled eggs, though, there are never any of those leftover. So I’ll be eating macaroni salad for the rest of the week, I’m afraid. I had decided to buy some of the 50/50 raffle tickets earlier, and was astonished when I actually won! A nice tidy little sum, too! I immediately donated a twenty right back, before I even knew how much was there, but it’s more than half my camping fee, plus with the sale of the books, it just about covers my two weeks here, for which I am grateful! Every little bit helps keep me going! I brought the same two ladies back to the trailer because they wanted to see it, then we headed across the road to a campfire full of folks, so I did my Snowy River for them, and at another campfire as well, before I came back and got Lola to take her for a walk. She’s been so cooped up I’m sure she’s going stir crazy, but it can’t be helped, too may people on the trail to take her. Finally got back home, how I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!
Friday, September 3, 2021 – Another Nice Ride on Flash, Sans Lola
Hey Babe!
Despite going to be pretty early, I slept late this morning. I thought the noise of the busy camp would wake me up, but I think most folks had a late night and slept in, too. This would be a good crowd for brother Jeff, there is a lot of drinking and smoking and tokin’ going on. Michigan legalized recreational marijuana, and I’ve caught many a whiff of it since I’ve been here, despite the fact there are a lot of kids around, too. Anyway, got my chores and breakfast done, then saddled up Flash and headed out for a nice 12+ mile ride, picking off a few more trails we hadn’t done yet. Because I knew the trails would be busy, and would likely have youngsters, both horses and humans, on them, I decided to leave Lola home, just in case. Not that she would have bothered anyone, but some people get a bit freaked out when they see ANY dog, and I didn’t want to cause a ruckus. It was a wonderful ride, Flash did fabulous, we barely got lost (only one renegade trail, but that ended up where we needed to go anyway), so it was all good! I’ll give these Michiganders their due, they know how to make you smile on the trail. Every once in awhile you’ll see something along the way, like a carving on a tree, a painted rock that says ‘Be Happy’ or a little plastic hedgehog stuck in a hollow in a dead tree looking out at you, and it just can’t help but bring a smile to your face! Tomorrow is the poker run, though I don’t know if I’ll join or not, we’ll see. After we got back and I put Flash back on his line, I had dinner (including a fabulous ear of sweet corn that my neighbor gave me!), and then I got busy doing my cooking for the dinner tomorrow. I made a nice macaroni salad and some deviled eggs. Once I got that all done, I went and sat with another group of my neighbors and chatted for a bit, with Lola at my side since I had neglected her all day. Finally headed back to the trailer, now I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!
Thursday, September 2, 2021 – Camp Gets Busy!
Hi Darlin’!
Though it took awhile to get to sleep, I ended up having a good night, nice and cool this morning! Almost too cool! But I put on my sweats and did my chores, changed my water filter since the charcoal one I put in not too long ago is already clogged up, read for awhile, then took a ride out to the local store, just over a mile up the road to the Village Market, where I was able to get onions, mayonnaise and eggs for the deviled eggs and macaroni salad I’m going to make for the big Saturday night dinner. I also asked about a palette. It had occurred to me that if I put a palette down and put my mounting block/stairs on top of it, it might be tall enough and sturdy enough so that I could raise the trailer up high enough on the front to be level. Lo and behold, they had one! They were going to give it to me, but I insisted that would bring it back before I left. I don’t need to carry the weight and it was a really sturdy one that they were using to block leaves from getting into their HVAC system, so it seemed only right to do that. Anyway, it worked out PERFECTLY! It’s like having a little deck, it created an extra little step, and raised it high enough so the first step out of the trailer is very comfortable rather than terribly scary like it was before. Problem solved! I read most of the rest of the day, while watching the campground fill up with trailer after trailer coming in. I chatted with some of the neighbors, got invited to go riding, which I turned down, I was really just wanting to relax today, then had my dinner, then sat around with some of the other campers for awhile. Then a huge old LQ horse trailer showed up, and suddenly it seemed like the population of the campground tripled! It was like watching a VW full of college kids unpeel from inside, one after another after another, people of all ages somehow appeared. Evidently it’s a very large family that camps here every year, and have done for over 40 years, so it was quite something to watch them all set up. As it got dark and the mosquitoes started to come out, I decided it was time to come in, but first I stopped to put blankets on the horses. Yes, blankets! It’s supposed to get down to 47 degrees tonight, and the last thing I need is for the horses to start getting their winter coats in September! One extreme to the other in just a few days, but I have to say, I like the cooler temps much better than the hotter ones! At least I can dress in layers and not sweat like a pig. Anyway, I’m off for my shower and bed, I have plans for a good long ride tomorrow. Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Wednesday, September 1, 2021 – Second Ride Day at Waterloo and Solved Brake Problem!
Hi Sweetie!
Woke up to a beautiful morning! Cool and sunny, just gorgeous! Before even getting out of bed I called the RV guy that had promised to call by the end of the day yesterday (and didn’t), and he said he didn’t have anyone that could come out, so I made a couple more calls, and couldn’t find anyone. As the DNR guys drove through I asked them, they suggested I message the local horsemen’s club, which I did, and got a very quick answer from Chad, the president, who said he’d be by later today to help. Meanwhile, I got a call back from one RV guy, Smitty, who didn’t have time to come see me but answered some diagnostic questions I had so I could narrow down my search, and voila! That made all the difference! I should have known it would have been something simple, and once he explained the system, I found the problem, just a simple loose wire in my trunk of wires that lead from the trailer to the truck. I had rewired them before, and actually, that was the next place I was going to check, and as soon as I took off the outer tape from my repair, I found the loose wire that had come out of the shrink wrap crimp connector. It’s a job that really needs three hands, and I think that’s what went wrong before, but Butch came over and lent me a hand, so it was done properly this time. Everything started working as soon as I got it reconnected, yay! Well, I assume everything will work again, the noise from the brake is more like a chirp than a buzz now, but I’m hoping that has to do with not being attached to the truck, but we’ll see. At least I know the controller is working now, so I’m expecting the brakes to work as well. I messaged Chad to let him know I had fixed the problem, and now, with no worries, I saddled up Apollo and took a six plus mile ride. I chose a few trails I hadn’t taken yet, and they were mostly lovely. We left camp without his boots on, but after awhile it seemed like a lot of the trails were rockier, so I put his boots on (I had brought them with me), and he seemed much more comfortable after that. It was a great ride, though we started and finished later in the day than usual, but that was fine. Got back around 4:00, but by the time I got everyone settled in it was closer to 5:00, so I grilled a steak and had a nice dinner. Settled in for the evening, after a lovely ride and a productive day (SO glad my brakes are back on track!), so now I’m ready for my shower and bed. Good night, babe! Love you!