Hiya Darlin'!
Had a great night sleep, got my chores done, then started more downloading of RRR pix while I waited for the welder. He wasn't able to pinpoint a time, but finally around noon said he'd be at least three hours, so I made arrangements to go pick up hay. No sooner had I done that when the welder said another job had been pushed back and he was coming right then, so I changed my appointment with the hay folks and waited for the welder (whose name appropriately is Steele, believe it or not!) He arrived and got to work. He was at it for quite a while, but did a nice job in the end, though he hadn't originally put a hole for the spigot, but once I pointed it out to him, he whipped it out in no time. It now has one solid fairly thick piece instead of several paper thin aluminum pieces, so hopefully that's an improvement. While he was working, another camper came by and asked him to do a small job for her, and another camper came and got his card, so he got more work out of it, which he said he'd discount me for. Anyway, I was happy with the work and the price was reasonable. After he left, I headed out for hay. Google maps totally screwed me up and took me to some completely different place, but I finally found it. It was nice hay so I got the full eight bale load, as I still have half a bale, which should last through tomorrow. Took a longer way home looking for the best road to leave here on Monday. There are a lot of roads out of here, but some are really steep and hilly, so I wanted to check out my options. Finally figured out the best way is Skaneateles Turnpike to 8 to 12, at least I hope it is. Finally got back to camp, exerted some energy putting the hay away, made dinner, then finally went over to visit with Sheila, Skip and Judy for a bit over their campfire for a short bit, since it was so late. Just need to finish my usual evening routine and get to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!
Archives for July 2024
Friday, July 19, 2024 – Perfect Weather For Our Sixteen-plus Mile Ride
Hi Babe!
What perfect weather today! At last, I've found 70 during the day with upper 50's at night! Seems like a long time coming! I had trouble sleeping last night, though, I stayed up late to watch Trump's convention speech, which went past midnight, at least on CSPAN, and had trouble falling asleep afterwards, read until almost 2:00 before I finally nodded off. Don't know why, I was tired enough when I went to bed! Anyway, got up, did my usual chores and breakfast, sent a few emails and texts, and eventually saddled and booted Flash for at planned 17 mile ride. We started off nicely, he seemed to have a lot of energy, but he got more tired as the day went on. The worst part was Trail 16. It started off well, looked great, but at the southern end of it, it had been seriously logged some years ago, and was never cleaned up properly. He balked at going into a bad bog (I couldn't blame him!), and my GPS said I was a ways off the trail, so we tried to find another way around and ended up going cross country until we were way off course. Finally went back to the bog, which was the only trail around, and the only way to get around it was over stacks of fallen trees all bunched up together. It was quite the nightmare. We finally got through it, with some additional technical challenges along the way, until the trail finally resumed to it's original condition. Then I made a wrong turn when we reached the end (well, actually, the trail markers were unclear, the number on the trail wasn't on the map, so how was I to know?), and got a little turned around, ended up going back out the way we came. We finally made it over to Woodland Pond, which was my main point of interest anyway. There was a group of riders there just getting ready to leave. Flash finally had a drink, and I tightened his boots, which fortunately, we haven't lost today, and carried on. He was going quite slow by this time, so I decided to cut the ride a little shorter than I had planned, didn't want to get back to camp that late. It was after 5:00 anyway when we got back. Put Apollo on his line for a bit, gave Flash two extra scoops of feed. finally fixed dinner for myself, and later, walked over to Sheila's trailer for a chat with the group. Judy's horse lost a shoe so Skip ran out and picked up their Amish farrier and brought him back to fix it. Finally came back to camp after 8:30, tonight I'm having Sleepytime tea in the hopes of a good night sleep! A beautiful, tiring day, just the way I like them! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Thursday, July 18, 2024 – Runaround Day
Hiya Sweetie,
A good night sleep, got more chores done, made a few phone calls and managed to confirm that I've found someone to do both the welding this weekend and my bathroom repair in three weeks (yay!), then headed off into Hamilton for errands. First I stopped at the Post Office and picked up my package of mail, which I had confirmed by phone that they had received. Last night I had made an online order for the Tractor Supply (so happy this store carries the Balance!), for horse feed and a bag of shavings. The standing stalls are getting smelly, so I had to do something! Then I stopped at the Price Chopper and bought groceries, then a final stop at the Sunoco for fuel, where it was $4.19 a gallon. That's the most I've paid in awhile, but it was ten cents higher everywhere else it town. Stopped at two liquor stores, neither of which had my usual bourbon, and noticed there is an Indian restaurant in town! I usually have to go to a good sized city to find one of those, and Hamilton is a pretty small town, but it is a college town, undoubtedly with a bit more refined palate. I stopped and picked up a menu, I may just have to try to get back there for a meal. Got back to camp, put all the groceries away, let Apollo out on his rope for awhile, but this place has been getting much busier, so I couldn't let Flash wander. Sheila from last weekend texted to let me know she was here (and had checked on my horses while I was gone), so after dinner I went up to visit with her and her husband and sister for a bit. Watched an episode of Warehouse 13, now I'm ready for shower and bed. Temps going into the 50's tonight, so it should be good sleeping weather! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Wednesday, July 17, 2024 – Quiet Day in Camp Downloading Pix
Hey Darlin',
Woke up and got up a little earlier again today, trying to get my circadian rhythm adjusted a bit. Did a few repairs this morning, fixing the sewer hose which had split a few inches back from the adapter, epoxying the window handle on the dining room slider (second time I've had to repair that, I'm hoping the epoxy works better than the last glue I used), plus spent some time on the phone trying to located an RV repair shop that could look at my soft floor around the toilet, and finally reached a welder who might be able to come out this weekend to repair the frame around my water compartment. Spent most of the rest of the day downloading pictures, figured I must have moved 800 or so today. Not finished by a long shot, but I'm certainly making progress. Despite the forecast for rain, we hardly had any today. Another thing I did this morning was to transfer water from my truck tank to the trailer, so now I'm full, but was hoping for enough rain to finish topping off my truck tank, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Finally settled down to dinner and a good movie, Crypto, and soon be ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!
Tuesday, July 16, 2024 – Seventeen Mile Ride on Flash, A Little More Rain
Hiya Babe!
Woke up early and decided to get up a little early, since I wanted to take a long ride today and there's more rain forecast for the afternoon. When I checked last night, they said the rain was coming in at 2:00, then this morning it went to 5:00, so I didn't worry about getting such an early start, but by the time I was saddling up at 11:00, it changed to between 3:00 and 4:00, so we had to hustle, especially for the last couple of miles when I started to hear some thunder. It was a nice ride, although one of his boots came off a couple of times until I left it off, though the one protecting his split hoof, so it was all good. The trails were once again a combination rocks, mud and some good footing, but was a great ride. Flash did well at a much faster pace today, worked up a good sweat as the humidity and temps were pretty high, which is why I decided not to take Lola today. We arrived back in camp at 3:25, and the saddle was half off when the first spit of rain at the leading edge of the front started. I just managed to get Flash and all the tack put away when it finally came on strong, whew! Just in the nick of time! I got the buckets lined up again, but the rain only lasted about 15 minutes and wasn't anywhere near as heavy as yesterday, but I still managed to collect maybe another 15 gallons, and I didn't even empty the tarp in the truck yet. It's supposed to rain most of the day tomorrow, but I've only got so much room left in the truck tank anyway! Settled down to dinner, watched a good movie, Timeline, and managed to download a lot of the Red Rock Ride pictures as well. A good day! Now I'm ready for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Monday, July 15, 2024 – Hot Day of Computer Work and Water Collection
Hi Sweetie,
Sheila came around at about 8:00 to say she was leaving, so I got up and drove over to pick up the two bales of hay from her. After chores and breakfast, I made some phone calls to try to solve two repair problems I'm having, the first is the frame around the sewer compartment that I bought a new door for, but the frame is too rusted and needs to be fixed, and the second is the toilet. The wood floor underneath is getting a bit soft and the base is starting to rock, and I'm afraid one day it's going to just break through the floor, so that needs immediate attention. I left messages and texted several people, and I'm disappointed to say that no one ever got back to me. Eventually I got on the computer to try to solve a housekeeping problem. When I was sent a link to all the pictures that had been uploaded from the Red Rock Ride, while trying to download onto my computer, I apparently inadvertently had them all syncing up to my Google Photos account, and before long, it was so full I almost have no more space. Since I have another backup program, I don't really need them there, I only need them on my computer, but there is no quick or easy way to move them other than to download each picture (which takes between one and three minutes to do), then erase it from the Photo account. But then I saw that they were being re-saved, and I had to spend a bunch of time trying to figure out how to stop it from syncing, so more time was wasted doing that. Eventually I got that figured out, but it's going to take days to first download and then erase all the photos. Oh, well, gotta be done! Meanwhile, it was a hot day, and I was down to only about 10 gallons in the truck tank when the thunderstorm finally came in. I was ready! I had all my tubs and buckets ready to go, though I had to line them up once the rain streamers started coming off the trailer. Yesterday, when I refilled the trailer tank, I left it leaning slightly down in the front so that all the rain would run in a more predictable pattern, and that paid off big-time. There was a huge gust of wind before the storm, and the rain was coming in almost sideways, but eventually it settled down. The best source turned out to be the slide topper. I put a 15 gallon tub there and it was full in a matter of minutes. All of them filled quickly. Once the worst of the rain had passed, I started gathering it all up and pouring it into the truck tank, and by the time the evening was over, I had collected about 70 gallons! Whoo-hoo! There's still a bit more rain expected tonight, so the buckets should have more in the morning, and more rain is forecast for the next three days, so I should easily be able to keep filling up the tanks. Water problem solved! I'm grateful for the cooler air behind the front, it went from 90 in the trailer to mid-70's so it's going to be a much nicer night for sleeping, thank goodness! Anyway, after sitting around most of the day, I was grateful for a little exercise hauling water, and now I'm ready for shower and bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!
Sunday, July 14, 2024 – Laundry, Housekeeping and Visiting
Hey Darlin',
Woke up early but stayed in bed reading until my usual 8:30 or so get up time. My usual routine, with the addition of a single load of laundry that I put out on the line, and some housekeeping. Sheila's sister Judy came by, and they asked if I wanted to ride with them but said I wasn't going to ride today. I aired out Lola's beds just to freshen them up and bit, and later I refilled the trailer out of the truck water tank, leaving about 30 gallons left in the tank. The trailer sits a bit higher than the truck here, so I have to put the truck on the Jiffy Jack and lower the trailer in front to get gravity to do it's thing, but it's manageable. There's a lot of rain in the forecast, so I'm hoping I can collect enough rainwater to get me through the week, but there's also a tack store very close by, and it's been suggested the might allow me to fill up my tank there. I'll need some hay later in the week and if they sell it cheap enough, I'll just get it there and save me a drive, though there are several places within 10-15 miles selling it for $5/bale. Had a nice afternoon reading, then after dinner I went and sat around Sheila's campfire with Judy and Skip and chatted until after 8:30, waiting for the inside of my trailer to cool down. It was another warm one today, perfect for drying laundry, so no complaints! The New Yorkers find this temp very hot, but for me, it's just fine. Slightly warmer than perfect, but close enough! I'm not complaining! Anyway, a fine day, looking forward to slipping into clean sheets and having a good night sleep! Good night, baby! Love you!
Saturday, July 13, 2024 – A Nice Ride on Flash with Local Gal Sheila
Hiya Babe,
Had my usual morning before saddling up Flash for a twelve plus mile ride today. Just as I was about to leave, Sheila, one of the ladies I spoke with last night, and the only one that camped overnight, came by to see if we could ride together, so I finished up and met her at her campsite, and left from there around 11:00. She typically only does about two hours, but I told here I was planning on going on a longer ride, and she understood, but managed to stay with me almost the entire way. I took a bunch of trails and truck roads that I mostly hadn't been on before, doing more gravel than I normally like, but had to if I want to ride all the trails here. It was a gorgeous day, and most of the trails were in good shape, and once again, we managed to not lose a boot along the way. She rides a Morgan, who reputedly was a fast walker, and Flash did his best at the beginning to go slow for her on the gravel roads, then when we went onto the smaller trails, the terrain helped keep him slower without me having to fight him too much, but eventually he wanted to run up hills, which Sheila wasn't comfortable with, and once we started heading north back to camp, I had to let Flash go a bit faster, and she kept up by trotting occasionally. We stayed together until the last turns for camp, with her cutting over on Trail 29 and me going straight because I wanted to come in on 30, and as soon as she turned off, Flash started moving a lot faster. We only got about 100 yards or so, though, when I spotted two riders coming our way, so I moved over to the other side of the road at speed, until I was close enough where I felt it was necessary for me to slow down, only to discover the two riders, were two of the other gals I was speaking with last night! Seems they came out again for another day ride, hoping to run into us, but they got a very late start. It was amazing we ran into each other, though I would have recognized their trailer once I got back to camp. Of course, we stopped and chatted for a bit before I headed back to camp, moving along as Flash is wont to do. We caught up to Sheila at the assembly area (group camp), where she was chatting with another friend, and walking her horse Mimi back to our camp. After putting Flash away and rinsing off his boots at the hand pump, I walked back over to Sheila's trailer, where her husband Skip was just arriving, and we sat and chatted. Eventually, the other two gals, Carla and Jane, got back and joined us, and we ended up socializing until nearly 7:00! I finally had to come back and feed the horses, and of course, the gals needed to get home, but it was a very enjoyable day. They're going to try to come back again during the week, but Carla's got a foal due any minute, and Jane is haying as weather permits, so we'll have to see. They are planning to come here next weekend, and then the following weekend at Otter Creek, so it looks like I'll be seeing more of these gals! Anyway, enough chatting about chatting, it's time for shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!
Thursday, July 11, 2024 – Rainy Bookkeeping Day
Hiya Darlin',
Was very happy to finally get a bunch of rain last night, and the first thing I did after my morning chores was to transfer all the water I had captured in my buckets and on the tarp in the back of the truck into the truck tank. I collected over 30 gallons, and that was even after I filled the horses' water tub! That's almost enough to completely refill my fresh water tank! Of course, I put a chlorine tablet in it to sanitize it. Very happy with that outcome! It will certainly allow me to do laundry on Sunday without having to run into town for a refill. Had breakfast after that, then decided my bookkeeping was overdue, so I spent most of the day doing that. It was too wet to ride, but I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. It's certainly cooler, thank goodness! Was getting tired of the very hot afternoons! I let the horses graze most of the day, until another trailer came in and I put them away for awhile. I let them out again after I went over and had a chat with them. A nice quiet day, so happy I was able to retrieve so much water! Next week they're forecasting a lot more rain as well, so hopefully, that will be enough, though I plan on making a run into town next week anyway, so if I have to fill up the tank, I will. Meanwhile, I'm grateful I'll be able to go to bed in cooler temps, and am looking forward to a better night sleep! Good night, baby! Love you!