Archives for January 2024

Hiya Sweetie,
Had some trouble getting to sleep last night, but managed to get up at a decent hour, got my chores done, worked a bit on the trail marking system on the computer now that I had the go ahead from the powers-that-be here. My friend Bev from Jax showed up just before noon, and we chatted for a bit while they got settled in. Didn't do much else but computer work and a little TV today, so I'll be heading to bed soon. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
A strong southern breeze brought in some really warm weather, I was kind of regretting not taking off Flash's blanket last night, but I took it off this morning before the storm came through so it was all good. Ran over to Jo's to pick up a couple of packages that were delivered for me there, then over to the HQ to drop off some garbage I had collected when I cleaned yesterday, then back home in time to try to participate in a Zoom meeting about the upcoming Ride in the Pines event in South Carolina in April. Unfortunately, my bandwidth was too short and kept dropping me out of the conversation, but it didn't really matter, as they were all talking about the trails and I didn't have a copy of the map, so it was clear as mud to me anyway. I'll get caught up on it later, I'm sure. The storm didn't help, it came roaring through about the same time, sustained winds about 27 mph and gusts supposedly near 60 mph, but I never felt anything that seemed anywhere near that. Another storm in a teacup, literally, promoted by the local weatherpeople. Anyway, that was about it for the day, not much else going on, so more reading, computer games, TV, that was the rest of my day. Watched a good movie in the evening, about a grand prix hunter jumper rider who came from nothing and went all the way in that world. Interesting roles for William Shatner and Ving Rhames, fun to watch. But now that's it for the night, off to bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, had a fairly lazy morning because it was cool and rainy, but eventually got around to doing a good clean of the camp's restrooms, which I figure I need to do at least once or twice a week. Got several more loads of laundry done, and then got some interesting news that the forest has money in it's budget to create a full service camp host spot for me here at Black Prong! Whoo-hoo! They want me to scope out a good site behind the bathrooms, then they're ready to come in with a bulldozer and start clearing and laying the groundwork, electrical and plumbing. I don't even feel like I've done all the much yet to deserve it, but I'm happy to commit to being a volunteer for the foreseeable future, at least until it starts getting too hot, at which point I'll be heading north. Had a pretty relaxing day, and from the looks of the weather, we won't get much done outside most of the week anyway. I can do some indoor stuff, maybe start clearing out this one storage room with a lot of stuff in it that Rick asked me to go through, but he won't be available for a couple of days due to a personal issue. Anyway, a fairly quiet day, but making plans for a promising future! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin'!
Well, when I went to bed last night, I put housekeeping on my agenda for tomorrow, and boy, did I get the bug in spades today! It was one of those days when one things leads to another and another, until I was using an old toothbrush to scrub the tiny corners in the shower. I hand dusted everything, washed every bit of bedding right down to the mattress cover, took out the rugs, mopped the floor, and on and on and on. I was at it for over five hours, plus I'm still doing laundry well into the evening just to try to get everything done. Naturally, it looks and smells a lot better (not that it was that bad), which I figure is a good way to bring in the New Year! Only took a couple of short game breaks, then I went right back at it. It was busy here today, lots of day riders, plus a bunch of cars for some other non-horse group, not sure if they were hiking or biking, but a lot of traffic. It only got up to about 60 degrees, but it was pretty sunny, so not bad. Anyway, I'm pretty tired, looking forward to a nice hot, clean shower and a good night sleep! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Slept great except for getting woken up during the night with heavy rain, then laid in bed reading for awhile until it fully stopped before finally crawling out of bed after 9:30. First did some computer work on the trail system here, but got stymied by a few basic questions I need to ask of the management, then spent a long time on the phone with my friend Heide from Michigan, she was struggling with trying to update her Big Oaks map. She's not too terribly technically savvy, so it took awhile to walk her through the process, but in the end she got what she needed. It turned into a beautiful day, but it was pretty wet out, with a big puddle in the driveway, so I stayed in and stayed dry. Did a little online shopping for some essentials that I needed. Settled down for the evening to dinner and a movie, won't be long out of bed, trying to get myself to bed earlier so I can get up earlier these days. So far, it's not working out, but hope still prevails! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Glad to have another good night sleep, up with the alarm, fed the animals and did my morning chores, and just after breakfast, met up with Ranger Rick and a few of the Forest crew as they switched out vehicles so that we could have a truck with a dump bed for today's chore. We had just a single volunteer show up, which, considering the short notice, I was very grateful for. Turned out to be perfect with the three of us, pulling posts and loading them up into the dump bed, switching off drivers as we moved north along the road. We managed to pick up more than 75 posts, most of which were still in the ground, a good start towards our goal. It only took us a bit over an hour to get them all collected and dumped into the trailhead. Our volunteer Dwight headed out at about 11:00, then Rick and I went down to the HQ to look for some signs and other sundry items, then stopped for lunch at Willards, then headed up to Watermelon Pond and Bailey's Mine, two more remote areas of the forest that I had never seen. Some interesting possibilities at both places, with their only drawback of not have much in the way of horse trails, but with some great possibilities not yet realized. Got back to camp, where Rick had managed to find the port for the sewer tank, so I strung some hose so that now my gray water will go directly into the sewer field, thank goodness. Even better, we got down my portable sewer tank from my "attic", so now I can empty my blackwater tank, and I don't have to freeze my butt off going into the public restroom anymore, since I now have a way to contain my sewer output! Yeah! Small things that make my life so much easier! Progress was made on many fronts today, so I'm a happy camper today! Had a good dinner, watched a great movie "Bank of Dave", now I'm ready for shower and bed! Great day! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetheart,
Another good night sleep, some computer work, then off to the dentist to have a cavity filled, something they didn't have time for last time I was there. For once, it was the only stop we had in town! Got back and spent/wasted two hours with Quicken Support trying to figure out why one of my accounts simply refuses to download, but they had no solution and ended up saying it was the credit card company's fault, only to discover hours later that I actually had TWO accounts that weren't updating, so now I'm more convinced than ever that it's a problem with Quicken, so that's going to be yet another exercise, though probably not tomorrow. That chat lasted until dusk, so I was feeding the horses as it was getting dark, so dinner was late as well. Sigh... Finally sort of settled down for the evening, though I don't feel at all relaxed after dealing with all that stuff. Anyway, day is done, time for Spanish, shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!