Hi Babe!
No Jeff again today, but he promised tomorrow, after I decided to change my appointment to get my truck aligned from tomorrow to today. Ever since I had it aligned the last time, years ago, it’s been pulling to one side, and the result is that I’ve had uneven wear on my front tires, with one balding spot on the edge of one tire. After a quiet morning of trail planning on my computer, I headed out, first to the post office to pick up a couple of packages, and passed the Marathon gas station where diesel had reached the unheard of level of $5.04 a gallon (thanks Uncle Joe, for shutting down the XL pipeline on your first day in office!), then to Ranch feed to pick up some horse feed, finally to St. Lucie Battery and Tire in Palm City, where I arrived early, but Lola and I made ourselves comfortable on their leather couch where I read for the duration. They did a fantastic job! I’ve been fighting the pull on my steering wheel for years, and it seemed perfect when I got it back, despite the wear on the front tires, which they rotated. Got back to camp and spent a little time with Jiggs and Ted, showing her how to download her GPS tracks to my computer so she can do the same with hers. Fed the horses and settled down for the evening. We are having some heat wave here, it’s almost 10:30 and it’s still 78 degrees outside! Thinking I’m going to be leaving Florida a bit late again this year! I might have to make a beeline for New York once I leave, but it may still be too cold for that, we’ll see. Anyway, settled down for the evening, now I’m heading to shower and bed. Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Archives for 2022
Monday, March 7, 2022 – Ride Day at Dupuis
Hey Sweetheart!
Still no Jeff today, naturally he’s finding more things to fix on his Bronco as the day went on. I started the day with a shower, because last night the batteries got so low the water pump wasn’t shutting off so I waited until this morning. Then went and mucked out the dirty stalls in the barns. I couldn’t believe that in the eight-stall barn, every single stall was dirty again! How can people be so thoughtless and inconsiderate! The find a stall clean, then leave it dirty, I just can’t understand some people. Twelve out of 36 stalls were dirty again, and it’s been less than a month! I’m going to speak to James about sending these people a warning next time it happens. Fortunately there were only two dirty stalls in each of the other barns, so it didn’t take that long, but it was a dirty, dusty job. I did a load of laundry so I would have clean sheets tonight, then eventually saddled up Flash and headed out on the start of my task of GPSing all of the trails out here, in the hopes of eventually changing the marking system. There are so many trails on the map that don’t exist, and so many trails on the ground that aren’t on the map! It’s going to be a challenge! It’s getting unseasonably hot and humid, calling for 90’s already this week, which is usually about the time I start heading north, and if I hadn’t said I would do this, I’d probably be making plans for that already. My job in Vegas was postponed, so my reason for staying here for that is gone, so I’ll have to make other arrangements for the critters when that happens. I tried a new bit on Flash today, one of those Argentine copper snaffles with shanks, and he didn’t seem bothered by it. It should be a bit easier on him than the curb bit I’ve always used, and I was glad to see his mouth had healed from all the dragging on the bit I had to do on him during the Cracker Ride. He was THRILLED to be able to do whatever speed he wanted, though I had to hold him back some anyway because Lola was having a hard time keeping up. There’s no water on the trail, everything is so dry, and I think her age might be starting to catch up to her. Her muzzle is starting to get a bit gray, poor gal. But she still leaps around like a puppy when we’re playing fetch! Of course, there was no rain in the forecast, but that didn’t stop it from sprinkling anyway, I had to rush to get my laundry in during a sun shower, yikes! I finally settled down for the evening, finishing off the seventh and final season of the Gilmore Girls, though there’s an additional limited series that takes place ten years later that I’ll likely watch next. Hopefully, Netflix and Prime will have added some new movies that will interest me after that. There’s rain in the forecast overnight, so I took down the extension ladder and put it over the open exterior panel and covered it with the tarp, so hopefully no water will get inside that panel until we can fix it, which I hope will be soon! So time for another quick shower, then bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!
Sunday, March 6, 2022 – Brunch at Seminole Inn
Hi Darlin’,
Slept late, then joined five other folks here to have brunch at the famous Seminole Inn in Indiantown, which was very nice. Ate way too much, of course, that was about all the food I had all day except a little ice cream in the evening. Was hoping Jeff was coming out today to work on this exterior panel, but never heard from him, hoping he can get here before it rains, which it’s supposed to do by Tuesday. It was windy again, and after that huge meal I felt sleepy, so I ended up reading and napping the rest of the day, a pretty lazy day! Had a relaxing evening as well, so hopefully I’ll still be able to sleep tonight, and be refreshed tomorrow for whatever comes my way! Heading for shower and bed now, so good night, babe! Love you!
Saturday, March 5, 2022 – Putter Day
Hey Babe,
It was pretty windy today, so I decided not to go for a ride, so I spent the day mostly puttering around. I bought a new bit for Flash’s bridle, so I switched that over, found a couple of things I needed and ordered them through Amazon, did some research as to where I can go for an alignment and possibly a new tire, since one of the front tires on the truck is really wearing out unevenly. I visited with Margarita and George for a bit, then Ted and Jiggs and Laura for another bit, but mostly it was a fairly quiet day. Won’t be long out of bed, either! So good night, my sweet! Love you!
Friday, March 4, 2022 – Ride Day and Hay
Hello, my love!
Had a good night sleep, did my morning chores, then eventually saddled up Apollo to check out the trail they plan on using for the Poker Run next weekend. Most of it is fine, though it goes on so many trails I’m not sure how anyone would find it if it doesn’t get mark, which I plan to do. There is a section where the mower missed the trail completely, so we need to address whether we want to reclaim the old trail or just follow the mowed trail. I’m going to check that out tomorrow and see if that would be easier. Once I got back from that ride, I decided to run into Okeechobee and get hay. My job in Vegas has been postponed for a few weeks, so since I’m going to be here, I figured I would stock up, so I got 20 bales. I also stopped at Verizon, by phone charger cord has been progressively getting worse and worse, until it finally gave up the ghost this afternoon, so I bought a new one. Back to camp, I then unloaded all twenty bales under the gooseneck and put the skirting up around it, though it’s not a completely tight fit, so I may have to move a few, just wasn’t in the mood by then. Settled down for the evening, now I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!
Thursday, March 3, 2022 – Housework and Dinner Meeting
Hey Darlin’!
Woke up rested and mostly back to normal energy levels, with a hankering to get some housework done, so once I fed everyone and had breakfast, I got busy. First, I had epoxied the front panel back on the stove yesterday, so today I took all the tape and props out, looks good as new, especially considering the original plastic seal on it had never been taken off, but it had started peeling a while back, so I finished taking it off now, looks great. Then I got busy doing some dusting and burning a bunch of junk mail that had piled up, then did the floors, twice, just to make sure. After that I washed the truck, it was covered in dust and dried mud, then finally relaxed to read a bit in the afternoon. Took my shower and got dressed and headed for Jupiter to what was supposed to be a debrief of the OTL, but everyone else forgot or had something else to do, so it ended up with just Anita and I, as always! Did hash a few things out, but nothing we couldn’t really have just done on the phone. At least I picked up my pressure washer from Jeff, though he was saying he thought it wasn’t working right anymore, but I’ll have to check it. Evidently he turned the water off but not the machine, although it has an automatic shutoff, so it should be okay. I’ll check it tomorrow. Picked up a couple of things at Publix as well. Didn’t get back to camp until nearly after 9:30, and my trailer batteries are so dead the water pump is running on, so I had to put the generator on for a bit. Can’t remember if quiet time is 10:00 or 11:00, but it can’t be helped. I’ll turn it off as soon as I can. Anyway, bedtime for me soon! Love you, babe! Good night!
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 – Endless Laundry Day
Hi Babe,
Slept late this morning, back to my usual schedule at last, and still laid in bed for a bit reading. Today was all about doing laundry, I must have done five or six loads today. It was a perfect day for it, not too hot, sunny, nice breeze, just perfect! George helped me figure out how much lumber we’ll need to build the three manure bins, just as James came by and gave me some Volunteer shirts. Shared cocktail hour with George and Margarita. and spent an hour around the campfire with Ted and Jiggs and Laura before finally coming back home and falling asleep in front of the TV, so I guess I’m ready for bed now! Short and sweet, best I can do today! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 – Shopping Day
Hey Sweetie,
Had an excellent night sleep, woke up feeling almost back to normal after my day of rest yesterday. After chores and breakfast and a load of laundry to wash two sets of sheets, I headed into Okeechobee to do some shopping. I had three propane tanks to fill, and Tractor Supply ran out of propane in the middle of filling them, so I ended up having to go the Gerards Bait store up the road to finish getting them filled. A stop at Walmart, then back to camp. After I unloaded everything, I walked over to Steve’s trailer because James was there, and we chatted for awhile about what the priorities are here for this place. Then I had an early dinner, then headed over the Margarita and George’s new trailer. These were the folks I met at Lake Panasofkee and then had dinner with at their house near Goethe State Forest, and we had a great chat, like always. Back to camp, watched a little TV, had a phone conversation with Anita, now I’m headed to shower and bed, hoping for another great night’s sleep! Good night, darlin’! Love you!
Monday, February 28, 2022 – Total Rest Day
Hi Darlin’,
I allowed myself the luxury of staying in bed late, reading for a bit after I woke up just to keep the resting phase going, and it felt positively decadent. I was feeling tired even after a good night sleep, not surprising all things considered. I pretty much did nothing today, just like I planned, binge-watching a bunch of Gilmore Girls episodes. With full sun on the solar panel, it even kept the batteries well-charged throughout the day, and I only had to put the generator on for less than an hour at dinnertime. I ate too much, had a couple of glasses of wine, and now I’m ready for a quick shower and bed. A perfectly boring, quiet day, and exactly what I needed! Good night, babe! Love you!
Sunday, February 27, 2022 – Travel Day Back to Dupuis
Hi Babe,
Well, despite plans to have an easy day today, it didn’t quite thappen that way. I did get up early enough to say good-bye to Lynda and Wendy, which was just before 7:00, so of course it was too late to go back to bed, so I started packing up and ended up getting out around 8:00, which meant I arrived at Dupuis just after 9:00, stopping at the dump to clear out my tanks. Fortunately, the same spot was open so I slipped right in there, then the problems started. I couldn’t get my jacks to come down, so I worked on that for a bit, finally discovering it was a loose ground, so I tightened that up and everything was fine. Then when I started to disconnect, I saw that the big rubber bushing in my gooseneck hitch had literally blown out, and it was preventing the lock release handle from getting high enough to open the lock off the hitch, so with campground host Steve’s help, I cut away some excess rubber and finally managed to hammer the handle past the rubber so I could raise the trailer and unhook from the truck, at last. I’ve noticed that the bulging panel that I’ve had on the trailer has gotten worse, so I wanted to take out the panel screws and see if it would work itself back into place so I could screw it down in a way that the panel wouldn’t bulge, a problem that the manufacturer had tried to fix a few years ago, but didn’t quite get it right. Fortunately I was able to loosen all but one manually, and the one I managed to finally chip off with a hammer and screwdriver. I took the ladder with a towel on top and laid it against the panel along with the weight of the screen room on it, hoping it might encourage it to return to it’s former flat position rather than bulging, If I can do that, then I can screw it back in it’s correct position, at least that’s my hope. I got out my solar panel and then had to go up into the attic for my pressure washer that brother Jeff wanted to borrow, but because I had knocked off my ladder on the ride I had to do a little careful repair there to be able to get to the roof, which I finally did. I finally headed ot to Jeff”s to pick up Apollo, but Jeff had a service call so he wasn’t there when I got there. So I went ahead and started pressure washing some boards he had used to surround his hot tub. This hot tub has been sitting around for YEARS, I couldn’t believe he finally got it up and running, though it wasn’t hot enough to use yet, sorry to say, would have felt good on my sore muscles, I’m sure! I did as much as I could, then luxuriated by the pool for awhile, swimming occasionally and thrown the frisbee for Lola, who was just so happy to finally be able to roam around instead of being chained up like she had been all week. She was exhausted by the time we left for home! Jeff finally arrived and we finished pressure washing the rest of the boards, then I finally loaded up Apollo and headed back to Dupuis camp. I had just enough energy to get out the grill and make dinner before I all but collapsed in front of the TV for a couple of hours. Now I’m starting to come down, and I’m feeling so incredibly exhausted, I truly hope I don’t have to do anything tomorrow! Down to my last tank of propane, though, so I’m a bit worried about that, but I think I can hold out until Tuesday, because I’d really like to take at least ONE DAY off and do nothing. It seems like I haven’t had a day off in weeks, or may just one in about six weeks, I don’t know, I’m too tired to think about it. Anyway, I’m off for my shower and bed early, so good night, my sweet! Love you!