Hiya Babe,
Woke up a couple of times during then night, but ended up getting a pretty decent night sleep. Got up around 8:15, and as soon as I got dressed I went to check on the generator, and it was still running from last night's fill up. Got everyone fed and walked and the cat let out, had breakfast, and had a quiet morning, once again without electricity, until finally, just before noon, it came on and stayed on. I immediately went in and turned off the generator and got everything plugged back in accordingly, and started a load of laundry, which, as usual, is my big Sunday chore. Patsy and Larry got back a little after 1:00, I helped them unload some stuff they brought back with them from Long Island, where they had gone to do a memorial for her parents. Considered going riding but decided against it, had too much laundry to do. Not much to pack up, though, since I didn't unpack hardly anything, and I won't have to take down a highline or clean up any manure in the morning, so I should be able to get out without much fanfare. Patsy took me for a quick ride down the road because there were a couple of very low-hanging wires on the route I'm taking out of here tomorrow, and if they don't fix it beforehand, it's going to be a tricky job getting under a couple of those wires. I'm going to have to get a ways off the road, and it's on an uphill grade and the shoulder doesn't look too firm, though at least it's not a ditch. Patsy called the powers-that-be, and hopefully they'll have it fixed by the time I go through in the morning. It's about a five hour drive tomorrow, and my hostess Meg will be at work anyway, so I don't have a tight schedule. Had another excessive dinner with leftovers from the whole week, I'm sure I've gain at least five pounds while I've been here, so back to lots of exercise and much less food this week! Watched a movie about Errol Flynn, now it's shower and bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Archives for August 2024
Saturday, August 10, 2024 – Beautiful Day With No Electric!
Hey Sweetie,
Woke up and there was still no electric, which was a little surprising. What's more surprising is that I'm ready for bed and there's STILL no power! Patsy and Larry were supposed to leave at 9:00 to drive to Long Island for a memorial for her parents, and Larry had decided he needed to stay here, but Patsy managed to persuade him to go with her, which was the original plan. I think we were all expecting that power would be restored quickly, but so far, it hasn't. After they left, I had a pretty quiet day, working on my computer trying to sort out my schedule. I updated my calendar on the website and spoke to several people about the next few weeks, so I managed to get some things confirmed. I'm definitely going back to the Biltmore in September, the trailmaster there was very complimentary about my "deep trail skills," and I also firmed up several other things in my schedule. Finally ended the day with a lovely dinner featuring the beef and veg pot pie I bought at the farmers market on Wednesday, which was lovely. The crust was spectacular, and the inside was typically bland British, but I managed to spice it up a bit. Still, a nice treat! I'm going to have to set my alarm to refill the propane tank after midnight tonight, if we don't get power by then, though the power outage map is indicating completion by 11:00 pm, though I'm losing hope that that will happen. Weather was beautiful, but I didn't get out in it much except to walk the dogs, let out the cat, feed the horses and put more gas in the generator. Enjoyed a bottle of wine with my delicious dinner, and hoping I have enough water for a shower tonight. Not sure what I'll do if the power isn't back on by morning! May have to take a trip over the Larry's sister's house and put some water in my freshly cleaned truck water tank! At least I'm self sufficient, one of the great advantages to living off the grid. Anyway, ready for shower and bed, fingers crossed we get electric back before I have to fill up the generator again, but we'll do whatever needs must! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Friday, August 9, 2024 – Rainy Movie Day, Dinner with Patsy’s Family
Hiya Darlin',
Well, the remnants of hurricane Debby came in with a bang, we had rain pretty much all night. I put my earplugs in and enjoyed a lovely sleep. Took my time getting up, waiting for a break in the rain long enough to feed my horses. Didn't exactly stop, but it did slow down enough for awhile. Later in the day, it quit raining, the storm having moved to the west of us, until late afternoon when the tail curled back around. I spent the day watching a couple of movies, including the latest Mission Impossible, and didn't do much else. We left about 4:30 to go have dinner and spend the evening with Patsy and Larry's relatives, who have a couple of mobile homes on the north end of the lake, making for a nice finish to the day. Just after we got there, the electric went out, but we managed dinner anyway, and just after dinner, the electric came back on. Unfortunately, it hadn't come back on up at Patsy's yet, we passed a tree that was laying over a power line on the way back, and had no power when we arrived. No worries for me though, I have half a tank of water and a fully charged bank of batteries, so I'm good to go! The only thing lack of power affects me is that their wifi doesn't work without it, but they put a little generator on when we got home, so we even had that for the evening. No worries, I'm going to bed very shortly, will read for the evening. Good night, babe! Love you!
Thursday, August 8, 2024 – Floor Fixed, Water Tank Cleaned, Generator Oil Changed
Hey Babe,
Had another good night sleep, and once again woke up before the alarm. I still didn't know what time the repairman was coming, but after morning chores and breakfast, I went to work in the bathroom, clearing it out of everything, and then tried to take out the old toilet. The nuts were totally useless, one was rusted so bad it literally disintegrated, the other wasn't far behind, but I couldn't get that one off, so I left it. I cleaned up all the edges, hoping that we might be able to get the floor down, but that didn't happen. I started draining the oil out of the generator after warming it up a bit, the pressure washed the water tank in the truck to clear out all the algae. The repairman arrived around noon and got busy taking out the toilet. Once he did, and cut through some of the flooring, he called me in to show the damage. What a mess! But he said it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, and most of it was salvageable. He then went on to rebuild the worst section, did a nice job of providing extra support and getting it really level. Unfortunately, we couldn't do anything about the floor, because the surrounding wood needed to be dried out before I should attempt to put the floor down. He was done by about 2:30, and I was happy with the job and I thought he charged me a fair rate. I had finished the tank cleaning as well as the generator oil change by then, so it was a productive day. It was right around then that the remnants of hurricane Debby started to show up, so the timing was perfect. Went on to have a nice dinner with Patsy and Larry, although today we ate inside rather than on the porch because it had gotten cold as well as rainy. Settled down for my usual evening! Heading for shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 – Nice Ride With Patsy and Wendy, Shopping Trip
Hiya Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, woke up before the alarm, got my quick and easy chores done, feeling so spoiled here! What a luxury to have electric and water, and to not have to pick up manure in the morning! Feeding the horses takes no time at all, so I was raring to go to the Farmers Market. We headed out about 9:45, it only took about 15 minutes to get there. Patsy had some specific things she wanted to get, I wandered around a bit. The only thing that really caught my attention was a booth that had authentic looking British savory pastries, and I ended up getting a pasty and a beef and veg pie. I was hoping for a pork pie like they make in your home town of Nottingham, but they didn't have any. The guy there said he might make some at Christmas, but that won't do may any good. The pasty was still warm and tempting, but I resisted since I had just eaten breakfast, and both will make a great dinner one day this weekend. Got back just before 11:00, Wendy arrived moments later, and we got saddled up and headed out for what Patsy said would be a 8-10 mile ride. At first we went down a trail that led to a swampy area, and had to stop and let an ATVer and his dog go by, then we reached the swampy area, and the ATV was stuck. Exactly why I prefer my original four-wheel drive, aka Flash! Riders used to go through the swampy area, but then some logs and other windrow made it too treacherous, and they've been going around it, through a rather dangerously muddy and rooted area, and both Patsy and Wendy actually got off their horses and walked them through. We waited a bit to see if the ATVer could free himself, but in the end, I tied up Flash and went back to help until he was free. I rode Flash through the bypass area, because I trust him to find his own way, and we made it safely without any problems. Then we did a bit of road riding, but it didn't last too long, then we got into the woods where there was a lot of trails, though not very used, so there were a lot of branches hanging over the trail and several logs to cross over or go around. Lots of spider webs, too, so I had to find a spidey stick. Of course, Flash had to be in the lead, which worked out fine because it made their horses move a little quicker. As it was, we were going much slower than I normally would, and it took us nearly four and a half hours just to go under ten miles, so quite a slow ride. Of course, we had several stops along the way that slowed us down even more. When we got back to the swamp, Patsy wanted to have me lead so they could follow Flash's path, since we made it through fine under saddle on the way out (and they were tired of getting down and walking them), but as it turned out, it was a moot point. As we got there, there were a bunch of guys who had parked their ATVs at the other end, and they told us they had just cleaned out that whole stretch in the swamp of all the obstacles and that it was clear to come through. Not being afraid of a little water, Flash and I went through that stretch, with only one little trip, though the water did get up to belly high and even a bit more. I'm sure he would have been happy to swim it! I was so grateful I didn't lose my boots in that swamp! I had one come off earlier, but they stayed on after that, thank goodness! It was such a gorgeous day, and as always, it was great to be out riding. We did get back kind of late, and by the time I got Flash put away, it was almost too late to run my errands, but I had to go, so I hopped in my truck and drove down to Queensbury, stopped for fuel, went to Tractor Supply for feed, then Lowes for flooring for the bathroom. After considerable thought, I ended up buying one big piece of linoleum rather than the squares, I figured that would hold up better, though the one piece would have some challenges of its own. Didn't get back until nearly 7:00, but my hosts were kind enough to keep dinner warm (they've been graciously feeding me every night!) so I enjoyed that before settling in for the night. Nice not having to cook and clean, even nicer to have a variety in my dinners! Anyway, busy day planned for tomorrow! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 – Not Much Done Today
Hey Darlin',
Well, the plan was to ride at 10:00 this morning, but it was very cloudy and sprinkled a couple of times, with a promise in the forecast for more rain this afternoon, plus it was a bit on the chilly side, so in the end, we decided we weren't in the mood. Even though the repair guy said he wouldn't be here until afternoon, I didn't want to take any chances, either. As it turned out, it didn't rain more in the afternoon, and the repairman didn't show up at all. When I finally texted him at 5:15, he said he wasn't coming today, but would definitely be here on Thursday. Sigh... So I didn't do much today except a load of laundry, but one remarkable thing that happened, I FINALLY found proper instructions on how to adjust the thermostat on my electric fireplace!! This has plagued me ever since I bought this trailer. I never had a remote for it (not sure it even had one, can't find that little infrared eye you usually see with a remote), and I could never find out what make it was, or find a manual for it, or any information at all. I even took pictures on my phone of the model number, and still couldn't find anything, for years! Finally today, on a whim, I asked the generic question again, and lo and behold, a Youtube video popped up showing the exact same front panel as mine, and specific instructions on how to control EVERYTHING!! FINALLY!!! I was able to adjust the temperature down a bit, which is all I wanted. It had been set at 72, which would normally be okay, but up in the bedroom above the gooseneck, it would get to about 85 degrees before it shut off, since the thermostat was so far away. Now I set it at 69 to see how that goes, and I now know how to change it if that doesn't work out. Wow! I love it when a long overdue issue is finally resolved!! Yippee! Had another Larry-prepared dinner of spaghetti and sausage with garlic bread, took another walk with the dogs, spent the evening chatting with Patsy, and planning a busy day tomorrow, as it may be the only good day for riding we're going to get. A hurricane named Debby has passed over Florida, hitting the center of the state again, and is creeping up the east coast, arriving here Thursday night, and calling for heavy rain all day Friday and Saturday, apparently. Since the repairman will be here on Thursday (fingers crossed!), that leaves only tomorrow, which is also the Farmers Market we want to go to, and running into town to pick up some flooring material, which I figure I'll need for the bathroom once the woods replaced, and horse feed. So a busy day tomorrow! Which is why I'm having my tea and heading to shower and bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!
Monday, August 5, 2024 – Travel Day To My Friend’s Place Near Brant Lake
Hi Babe,
Woke up to the alarm, got packed up and ready to go, stopped at the dump after dumping a couple of buckets of soapy gray water down the toilet, and hit the southern route to Patsy's place on the east side of the Adirondacks. So glad I asked her which was the best route, because several go through the middle of the mountain range, which would have been a nightmare! It was fairly easy, until I lost signal completely, made a wrong turn and had to turn around in the parking lot of some business in a little hamlet, but managed to get to the Stewart's Shops where Patsy came to get me to show me the back way to get to her place. They were paving the road and it went down to one lane traffic, which would have been fine except several cars still somehow managed to be coming at us! Lots of driveways along there. Anyway, it all worked out fine. Arrived maybe around 1:00, though there were a couple of short steep hills, but apparently much better than the usual Google-mapped way. She lives on the top of a hill with a great view, not quite what we had in Tennessee, but lovely. We got the horses out, then had to turn around, which was a bit tight but doable. Finally got all settled in with water, 30 amp electric and great wifi through Starlink! The horses have a lovely big pasture and ran around like lunatics for a bit before settling down to graze, and Lola was beside herself with all the room to roam out here! No leashes needed for her here! She made friends with Patsy's little dog Tucker, and they got along just great, even playing a bit! I started a load of laundry, then visited with her and her hubby Larry for awhile, did more laundry, then had dinner with them, chicken skewers with a special sauce from Binghamton, NY and a gorgeous squash casserole. Nice to eat someone else's cooking for a change! After dinner, we went on a short walk with the dogs, fed the horses, then I was ready to call it a night. I was relieved that my RV repair guy reached out today and said he'd be here tomorrow afternoon to look at what he needed, then would be back Thursday to do it. Whew! Getting worried there for a bit! All of this will no doubt lead to a worry-free night of sleep, so that's where I'm headed. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!
Sunday, August 4, 2024 – Short Ride on Apollo, Packing Day
Hiya Sweetie,
Had my usual night and morning chores, then decided to take Apollo on a short ride, probably the shortest ride I've ever done! I just wanted him and Lola to stretch there legs a bit, and there was one trail near camp that I'd somehow never managed to include in any other ride, Glenwood Trail, so we did a tiny loop down Hiawatha to Glenwood then up to Twin Ponds. We could have gone another mile if we had turned right, but I decided to leave it up to Apollo, and not surprisingly, he turned left, the shortest way home. We were gone less than an hour and did less than two miles, but since I had so much packing to do, I didn't really mind. At least it gave them a little exercise. Once I put him away, I got busy packing. Since I had unpacked more than usual here, i.e. the screen room, the grill, the skirting around the gooseneck, I figured I could pace it out over the day, and I did. When I took one break, I went over to my neighbors (with the generator) and had a nice chat with the two ladies there, sisters name Connie and Kate. Turns out they winter at Goethe State Forest!! Small world, or at least, small horse camping community. I'm sure I'll be seeing them again in a few months. Still haven't been able to get a good enough signal for TV, and I almost didn't have enough to download a new book, which would have been a disaster! All set now, though. Patsy has sent me a route that she says is the easiest to her house from here, so I'm hoping for an uneventful drive tomorrow. Still haven't heard from my RV repair guy, very disappointing. Don't know how I'm going to travel with a spare toilet! Not like I have a lot of extra space to store it! Now that would be a disaster if I have to wait months to get it fixed. Ugh. Anyway, heading for shower and bed, want to make it an early night if I can! Good night, darlin'! Love you!
Saturday, August 3, 2024 – Frustrating Wasted Day
Hey Darlin',
Late night getting to bed and sleep, let morning getting up, but there was a bunch of stuff I needed to do on the computer which I've been putting off in lieu of riding, so I tried to tackle that today. Unfortunately, I didn't end up getting much done because the internet was SO SLOW! Even though I had two bars and my booster was on, it took me forever to get anything done. Things that should have taken five minutes took me an hour, and things that should have taken me thirty minutes, for the most part, didn't get done. Very frustrating! Couldn't even get a good enough signal to watch any TV tonight. I imagine it's because there are a lot of people in camp trying to use the same cell phone tower, and there's just not enough bandwidth. It was not a very productive day. I was also frustrated because the RV repairman I had lined up for next week hasn't answered three texts and his voicemail is full, so I have this horrible feeling I won't get my repair done next week, which means months before I can probably get it fixed. Since it's all but unusable at the moment, life is going to be much harder for awhile. I hope I'm wrong and he comes through, but I'm starting to be really worried about it. Most RV repair is months out in the scheduling, so I'm not hopeful for finding a replacement. So that was my frustrating day. Glad I've had so much saddle time this past two weeks, at least that makes up for this dismal day. Enough of the rant! Good night, babe! Love you!
Friday, August 2, 2024 – Another Fabulous Ride on Flash
Hi Babe!
Another day at Otter Creek, another fabulous ride! This place is truly magnificent! As you know, my goal is always to ride every trail on the map whenever I go to a trailhead, and even though this is my third time here, there were still plenty of trails I hadn't done yet. Today's ride was to try to reach as many of those trails as I could, and I ended up doing a very wide loop to cover most of it. I had a GPS trail from back in 2015 which I rode with a woman named Marsha, and it took a renegade trail to the south to reach Otter Creek Trail the quickest way, so I followed that today. I did what I think was called the Mohawk trail, then the Otter Creek Trail, then the Eatonville trail, all gorgeous trails in the southwest section of the park. Then I hit Catspaw (which isn't named on the map) to Erie Canal, fording back over the creek, up to Shortcut Road, onto Pitcher Pond, Florence, Aspen, Fletcher, Cow Trail, and finally Homeward Bound back to Blue Jog and camp. In total, it was about 17.75 miles. I started out without boots, and wished I had put them on because we did some gravel roads at the start, but finally I put them on, and was glad I did! We hit a lot of stony areas after that, though most of it was good foot, except for the many roots. Once we crossed the creek, though, I took them off again. He had started limping, because he had stones in the boots, and when I took them off, he was a happy camper! Most of the trails from then on were sand or dirt, so he sped along them just fine. We left at 10:45 and got back just before 4:00, which was the plan because the weatherman said it was going to start raining at 4:00. Of course, that was wrong, it was about 7:00, just when I started feeding the horses, when it started to rain. It's been like that all week with the weather! Regardless, it was a magnificent ride, I am so loving it here at Otter Creek! And other than a few short sections, I have now ridden all of the mapped (though not on this trip, only the accumulation of three visits here!) and a couple of the unmapped renegade trails, though there are a lot more out there if I was so inclined. I gave Flash a nice bath with shampoo, he's been laying down in his standing stall and was absolutely filthy when I got him out today, I had to give him a good brushing before saddling him, and he deserved a nice bath when we got back. He worked hard, but I think he enjoyed himself as much as I did! Settled down for the evening, finally got a signal good enough for streaming, though it's been a tough slog with that. I have two bars, but I think there are so many other people taking up bandwidth on the weekends that it really slows it down. Anyway, started a new binge on Prime, Bonekickers, a British series about a team of archeologists discoving all kinds of weird stuff. Listening to the lovely rain, having dinner, watching TV, a fitting end to a lovely day of riding! Good night, sweetie! Love you!