Archives for June 2022

Monday, June 20, 2022 – More Painting and Phone Research

Hey Babe!
Up at my usual hour, did my chores and breakfast, and promptly started painting posts, this time to get them ready for the numbers to be put on. About halfway through, “old” James, who was out mowing nearby, stopped and walked over and chatted for half an hour. I kept painting and managed to get it all done before he headed out to finish his mowing. Spend the rest of the day on the computer and the phone trying to figure out what to do about getting a new phone. The problem is that all the new phones are so much larger, and I really don’t like them, they don’t fit in my hand or my pocket, but I really don’t want to pay $450 for a phone that’s way beyond my needs, even if it is spread out over 36 months. After hours and hours dicking around, I finally ordered an old style Nokia, which, if I had bought it at Best Buy would have been about $69, but through Verizon was $169. Can’t be helped at this point, though. The Nokia doesn’t have great reviews, but it’s very similar to my last Samsung in size and capacity, so it will have to do for now. Part of my thought process was that I have a 4G booster, and if I upgrade to 5G, that won’t be any help any more, so I’ll stick to 4G for now. In another couple of years, I’ll have to upgrade again anyway. If I like the phone, I may just decide to get it from somewhere else and turn the other one back in, it really is overpriced! Anyway, we had another afternoon thunderstorm (it’s getting to be that time of year!), and did my evening chores, settled down, will be off to shower and bed soon. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Sunday, June 19, 2022 – Not the Day of Rest I Was Hoping For

Hi Sweetie!
Up again around 7:30, had a lot of problems to solve today. My phone, which has been giving me some charging problems for awhile, and which I’d been able to solve by buying a bunch of different charging cables, finally gave up the ghost last night. Looks like the charging port needs to be replaced. I was told that the Verizon store in Okeechobee did repairs, so after chores and breakfast and killing time by doing my book work until they opened, I drove all the way up there, only to learn they DON’T do repairs any more, and the only other cell phone repair shop was closed on Sundays. I managed to get the phone number transferred over to the old Pantech so I could at least get phone calls and texts, but I soon learned that I couldn’t get any data at all,so no internet and not hotspot, a complete waste of time. Rather than make the day a complete bust, though, I went to Tractor Supply and filled two propane tanks (I was down to my last one, waiting for the TSC in Indiantown to get their propane license, but they still don’t have it, so better safe than sorry!), also picking up some feed and a couple of spacers to use on the spare tire. I was able to return that quart of paint to the Home Depot, so there’s that. Got some spirits at the Winn Dixie liquor store, then stopped back at the Verizon store hoping they could get my data working, but the phone is just too old. Ended up taking a new phone with me, they have a return policy for 30 days, so if I can get my other phone repaired, I can return it. I’ll call the one guy in town that does repairs to see if he can fix it, but I’m beginning to think that maybe it’s time to upgrade anyway, much as I hate to spend the money on an otherwise perfectly good phone, albeit only 4G. I’ll decide after I talk to the repair guy tomorrow. After that, I got fuel at Walmart at $5.57/gallon, grrrrrr, and did a little shopping there as well, just a few things I was getting short on. Got back to camp after 3:00, worked on the phone to get it to my liking a little, then binged on a couple of Supernaturals, fed the horses, and settled down for the evening. Got a call from brother Karl’s birthday party, can’t believe he’s turning 70 tomorrow! Scary! Back in camp, I’ve got mostly good campers, but one family, a woman and two kids that she yells at all the time, creating some problems, not locking the gate behind them and leaving trash all around. They’ve been here before, so I’m having to keep an eye on them. Anyway, have a Spanish lesson to do, then I think I’ll check on the gate before my shower. Had a short storm here which cooled it off a little, but still muggy, of course. Then I’ll be heading to bed, later than I want, but that’s the way it goes! Love you, darlin’! Good night!

Saturday, June 18, 2022 – Good Start of Post Intersection Painting

Hey Darlin’!
Had a good night sleep for a change, was up by 7:30 (still need to be earlier than that, but I’m working on it!), and after chores and breakfast, I dug right into painting the posts, this time with intersections in mind, which is a whole different approach in many ways. I started by numbering the ends of each post so I could narrow down what needed to be painted in a certain way, then I did what will be the white background for all the numbers. I can’t do the cross pieces until I get more material from James, but I can certainly get the rest of it done, which will make this a much easier job, one and done, when we take them out to install them. Made a couple of errors I need to fix, but nothing complicated, and I need to bring eight more poles out of the barn over here to add to them. Lola’s in the doghouse again, I wasn’t out of the trailer for five minutes, and when I came back in to get something, she had already managed to sneak her way into my bedroom! Grrrrr! I put her on her cable outside for the duration, which I’m evidently going to have to do every time I go out anymore. I had just sprayed her with flea spray this morning, don’t need THAT aggravation at bedtime! By 1:00 the posts were all in full sun, so I quit for the day, but got an awful lot done. Thinking I’ll take the day off tomorrow, and maybe if it’s cloudy, go for a ride. Sure could use one! Had some serious storms come in, just managed to get the horses fed before they rolled by, lots of nice rain for a few hours. Settled in for the evening, and after having taken my shower this afternoon, I’m heading to bed early tonight. Good night, babe! Love you!

Friday, June 16, 2022 – Took A Ride With Chester, Mowed Little Yard

Hey Babe,
Couldn’t decide what to do this morning, whether I should start painting some of the post tops white now that I know I’ll be putting intersection numbers on them, but then I had to revisit my Google Earth files because my stupid computer rebooted with updates and erased all the changes I made yesterday, so I had to go back and do all that again. Then Chester called and said he was coming out and could I show him the places on the trails that have changed, and I thought he meant on a map, but he arrived with his UTV and wanted to actually go out there, so we headed out together and spent a couple of hours out there. Not sure what it accomplished, but I was able to confirm a couple of places where I want to put markers anyway, so it worked out just fine. Got back around 3:00, chilled for the afternoon, had dinner, then mowed the little patch of yard around the trailer. The mowers had come in today, and I had put the horses in a stall so they could mow all the paddocks, and tamp down the ragweed population temporarily (they were getting a bit ahead of me!), but I let them out again once they were done. So everything is nicely mowed everywhere now, the camp, the trails, my little yard, looking good! Had quite a few campers arrive today, so rounds were busy, then I settled down for the evening, now I’m ready for shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Thursday, June 15, 2022 – Firmed Up Marker Plan, More Paddocks Mowed

Hello My Love!
Well, the day started out not very well. I had a terrible night sleep because I was so livid with the fact that our local FWC guy, who is ostensibly the overriding law enforcement guy here, showed up unannounced, uninvited and unwanted, and started harassing my campers, including giving out two tickets to a father/son pair that had been the model of cooperation, quiet, cleanliness and all the things I really appreciate in campers. They were helpful and friendly with their neighbors and as far as I was concerned, ideal campers. But along comes this LE guy, well, I don’t want to get into the details, but his behavior was strictly harassment, and it totally spoiled the nice, friendly, quiet atmosphere we’ve enjoyed out here all week. His issuing two tickets two folks in that manner was just uncalled for, and left a very negative feeling amongst everyone else here. Just when I was getting back into a positive place after that father/daughter couple made everything so tense, now we’re back at it again because of this. Anyway, I only slept a few hours and not surprisingly, woke up cranky. Took awhile to get going this morning, then James called and said he was coming out to chat, which was good because I had some things I wanted to discuss about the permanent post markers, but of course, we had to talk about the LE guy as well, as well as the issues with the well pump. Suffice to say he also thought the LE guy was over-aggressive, and to my mind, so arbitrary, considering the number of times I’ve asked him to write tickets for much more egregious infractions which he refused to do, and often refused to even show up. Grrrrr! Anyway, it was a good meeting, and it now looks like I’ll have ALL the materials I need to finish the trail marking system within two weeks! Yay! No half measure, which I was worried I would have to do, but it looks like we can do it once and forget about it, yay! I ended up trying to read in the afternoon, but kept falling asleep, watched a little TV, then had dinner.early. After dinner I hopped on the tractor and mowed a few more paddocks, the ones with the worst ragweed infestation, plus pulled out a bunch by hand, so I’m hoping I have a handle on it now. Fed the horses, did my rounds, where I got another earful about the harassment by the FWC guy, finally got back home at 8:00. Took a long, cool shower, watched an hour of TV, now I’m off to bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Wednesday, June 15, 2022 – Poles Painted, Paddocks Mowed

Hi Babe,
Morning got off to fast start, got the horses fed, pulled a bunch of ragweeds, had breakfast and promptly got out and painted the posts, though only one color at the moment. After that I spent some time figuring out how may multi-color posts I think I’m going to need, though I won’t be sure until I get back out on the trail. Had a quiet afternoon, then when I was feeding the horses, I looked at some of the paddocks near the barn and saw that the ragweed was taking over there, and it was too much to pull by hand, so I got the tractor out and mowed for the next hour or so, just to slow the growth down for a bit. Then I went to water the horses and there was no water, so I had to start investigating that, and found the old DEP well pump didn’t seem to be working right, hardly any pressure, and only the first few spigots worked. I ended up being told to turn off the well entirely. All this cut into my evening, it was 9:00 by the time I got back to the trailer and settled down. Glad I had an early dinner! Anyway, day is done, off to shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 – Poles Delivered

Hi Sweetie!
The day got off to an early start when old James and a helper arrived just after 7:30 with the 80 poles I asked for from Andrew. I hadn’t even finished getting dressed yet when they arrived! With the three of us we made short work of unloading them off the truck and setting them up along the fence, where later in the morning, after chores, I rinsed them all off with a hose to get the sand and dirt off of them. That didn’t take long, but I wanted them to dry before painting them, and by noon it was pretty hot and humid, so the plan was to start that job tomorrow anyway. Pretty much just relaxed the rest of the afternoon, finished reading a book and binge-watched a little TV, settled down for the evening for more of the same, and now it’s just shower and bed left! Pacing myself, that’s the key to getting all this work done in the heat down here. Besides, I’ve got all summer to get this job done, no sense rushing it. I’ve now set up another volunteer work day for July, though I’m hoping to get some of the posts out before then anyway, can’t just sit around and wait for three weeks, right? Anyway, off to bed early, need to add another hour in the morning, so need to get up earlier as well. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Monday, June 13, 2022 – Welding, Shopping and SFWMD Meeting

Hey Darlin’!
Started the day out with having a welder I hired fix the spare tire holder. He was pretty close and completely portable, and it took him less than an hour to get the job done, plus he charged me a very reasonable fee, so kudos to him! He didn’t have the proper nuts for it, but gave me a small section of the same kind of bolt so I could match it up, which I did when I headed out in the afternoon. Glad that job is done! Made a quick stop at CVS for some face cream I use that Walmart doesn’t carry anymore, then got to the meeting in plenty of time. VERY glad to see a large horse community contingent there! James had asked us to participate, there’s been a dearth of horse folks attending these meetings, and since they deal with recreation, it’s important they get feedback from us. It started at 5:00 and was done about 7:15, then we chatted for a bit, setting up our next work day in July. Stopped at Walmart to shop on my way back, another quick stop at Tractor Supply just before they closed, then back to camp! I was disheartened to find that Lola had once again managed to bypass all my stair-blockers and had managed to get into my bedroom, I was NOT HAPPY with her for that! We had the same problem a few days ago and I thought I disciplined her well enough for her to get the point, but obviously the draw of sleeping in my bed trumps all the punishment she gets for doing it. Just going to have to find some way to lock up bedroom, much as I hate to do that. Oh, well. Checked on the horses, they were way out back but came when I called, now it’s much later than usual, but my towels are in the dryer so I’m going to have to get to bed a little later. Glad it was a busy day! Good night, baby! Love you!

Sunday, June 12, 2022 – ALL TRAILS FINISHED!

Hey Babe!
Well, Phase One of trail marking is now COMPLETE! All trails, with the exception of one small connector trail that’s never been on any map and I’ll get to when I put posts out, are DONE! I’ve trimmed and lopped most everything out of the way, and recovered many sections of trails that were lost years ago. I can only hope that when Chester mows he’s able to follow everything the way I marked it! Didn’t get out until nearly 10:00, and was back by noon. Spent the rest of the day doing laundry, reading, binge-watching TV and otherwise relaxing. So glad to have that job done! Phase Two will be to paint posts, but I need to get the posts over here. The new land manager Andrew offered to help me with that, I’ll need to contact him tomorrow about when he thinks he can make that happen, or if I should just start bringing them over myself if it’s not in the foreseeable future. So a quiet afternoon off to reward myself for all the hard work I’ve done this week! Ready for my shower and bed, so good night, sweetie! Love you!

Saturday, June 11, 2022 – Almost Finished With Yellow Trail

Hi Sweetie!
Not a great night sleep, and up a little later than usual, but after chores, breakfast and planning, I was out on the trail before 10:00. After looking closely at another section of the yellow trail yesterday, I’m convinced that there another bit that’s been mowed wrong for a long time, so I went out today with the intention of completely recovering it, in accordance with an old GPS file I have from 2013. Sure enough, despite it’s long neglect I found I could actually follow it, so I mowed it a few yards at a time to make sure I got it right. There was only one section I couldn’t recover because a very large tree had fallen over the trail and I had to go around it, but other than that, I’m pretty sure I got it all right again. That meant having to paint over a few of the markings I just made with some camouflage spray paint which I had brought along. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish it completely because the dang roller fell off the bucket loader and I ran over it before I realized it. That’s the second time that’s happened now! I only had about a quarter of a mile left to do, so I’m going to have to finish it tomorrow, darn it! Just as I was finishing it looked like it might rain, but it skipped around us again. The afternoon was reading and binge-watching Supernatural (I’m hooked! Season 10 and this show just keeps getting better!). Lola is in the doghouse, though, when I got back from my trail marking, she was up in my bedroom, though how she got around the spice cupboard and the fan on the stairs is beyond me. So now, after yelling at her and sending her to her room, we’re not talking. I may just keep her tied up outside in future when I go out, not sure what else to do. She really messed up my bed, throwing my pillows and sheets and blankets everywhere when she “fluffed it” to her liking. Grrrr! Anyway, time for shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!