Hey Babe!
A beautiful morning, did some odds and ends, then headed into Manning, the nearest town, to do some shopping. Ace Hardware first for several rubber washers and bushings for little odd jobs around the trailer, then horse feed and propane at Tractor Supply, where I considered getting a couple extra bales of hay, but at $12.50 a bale again, it seemed like a lot, and I wasn't desperate. Finished off at Walmart for fuel and some grocery items. Got back to camp around 4:00, got everything put away. I discovered that my phone isn't working, at least the phone calling part of it. I tried rebooting it a couple of times, but that didn't help. Unfortunately, there isn't a Verizon store in this small town, so I'm going to have to wait until I can find one. Oddly, my texting and most everything else works, I've been doing some texting, though I don't know if that's my live streaming issue. I should have check it but forgot about it. I did some emailing using the Taco Bell wifi before going into Walmart, so there isn't anything pressing at the moment. I'm looking forward to getting back to a place in Florida where I can sort all these little problems out! Did a couple of minor repairs before settling down to dinner and a couple of movies, thank goodness I have my DVR full of movies! Doing a lot of reading this week, anyway! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Archives for October 2024
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 – Laundry and a Ride on Apollo
Hiya Darlin'!
No drizzle this morning, but it was quite foggy for awhile. It seemed like it was going to clear up, so I did a couple of loads of laundry and got them out hanging, and a bit of vacuuming while the generator was on, before I saddled up Apollo for a nice six mile ride. Apparently there are some trail restrictions during hunting season, but it didn't affect our ride today. Apollo was moving along much better than usual, I think he might finally be getting bored with hanging around on a highline, or maybe he was just feeling better today. We averaged over 3 mph, and Lola didn't run out ahead of us most of the time, she stayed right by or behind us, not lagging, just staying with us. It was a beautiful, cloudless day, a bit warm, but cooler in the woods, so very comfortable. We crossed a stream twice, the first time Lola couldn't get down to it, but the second time, she luxuriated in it to cool off. The trails here are nice, sandy but mostly firm, but I had to hang onto the saddle horn most of the ride, because Apollo was jumping and jiving at nothing that I could see, except for a dead possum on the edge of the trail not too far out of camp. He may be an old guy, but he sure can step sideways like a cutting horse! I managed to stay on every time, but I was being extra cautious, since this was unusual behavior for him. I can't believe it's been eleven years since the last time we were here, though it made all the trails seem new. I didn't have much of a memory of them, in any event. Anyway, it was a lovely ride, we did a nice six mile loop. After giving him a rinse and hanging him back on the highline, I got my dry laundry down and settled down for the evening. Watched another PVR movie, as my cell signal hasn't changed, The Mothman Prophesies, which I'm pretty sure I'd never seen before. Not much of a Richard Gere fan, but he did a nice job, and it was a compelling story. Well, that's all the news that fit to print! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 – Cleaning and Computer Day
Hey Sweetie,
Woke up to a gray day with sporatic drizzle, so not the nice weather I needed to do laundry today, or to ride, so I started the day by doing some housekeeping, which included putting out some Borax for the insects and Havoc for the mice. I hadn't intended to do any deep cleaning, but when I looked under the refrigerator to put in my pesticides where I had deep-cleaned before, I discovered the vermin had been in there again, and had eaten through all the foam insulation I had put in around the plumbing. So I had to clean that up, plus a little regular housework as well. After that, I ended up spending most of the day working on trail maps, both for Broxton Bridge and Biltmore. I hadn't gotten around to doing the west side of the Biltmore trails, and that took quite a bit of time to sort out, then I just managed to download the .pdf files for the Broxton trails and worked on those for awhile, but they got really confusing. Lots of sections that go both ways, and some illegible arrows that I can't make heads or tail of. Plus, according the Becky, who's been doing these trails for many years, the map is very different on a couple of the trails, so I'm probably wasting my time until I get out there anyway. I wasn't even able to email the Biltmore trails to the folks over there, the cell signal is so bad. I don't understand it, I'm getting two solid bars, but I can't do anything except some browsing on the internet. I've gotten email in, but I can't seem to send any out, and streaming is out of the question. Grrr! I had been hoping for a relaxing week, but not have a good cell signal is more than a little frustrating. I did manage to watch a movie off my PVR, but it's definitely going to be a week of lots of reading! Anyway, that was my day, pretty mundane. Hoping to get laundry and a short ride on Apollo tomorrow, but who knows? Love being flexible! Good night, babe! Love you!
Monday, October 28, 2024 – Travel Day to Mill Creek County Park, Pinewood, SC
Pix to come.
Hiya Babe!
Let myself sleep in a bit this morning since it was such a short drive to Mill Creek. Didn't take long to pack up since I did most of it yesterday, and I was heading out of camp just after 10:00. Once I got to Gasline Road, though, I had a little problem. Patsy had told me that if I turned right, the way I came in, the hill was very slippery and someone had jack-knifed their trailer there Saturday night after the rain. It was possible that it was dry enough by now, but there's no place to go if it wasn't. She had suggested turning left and circling back by the lake. So I started to turn left, but that was actually going up a little hill and making a sharp corner, and there was a big tree on the corner, and the sand berm was built up on the high side. So about halfway around, the trailer was dragging really badly in the berm, so I had to back up and swing a whole lot wider, which meant I was way over on the berm on the right side in order to make the left, and I was still dragging, but at least I made it. Then I had another left turn on Mountain Rd., and I had to drive my truck halfway over the next berm in front of me in order to avoid the sign on the corner! Not sure if I wasn't better off trying the other way, but I was committed by then! The rest of the drive was uneventful, thank goodness! I made one stop at a Post Office to drop off my completed ballot, and some of the back roads were a bit rough, but I arrived right around 12:30. I had to take a walk to reconnoiter between the primitive sites and the electric sites, though most of the former seemed to be on pretty unlevel ground. I was almost tempted to take an electric site, but finally decided on a site next to the bathhouse with a couple of HUGE trees for the horses' highline. Managed to get mostly set up by just after 2:00, though I had to do some reconfiguring when the highline dropped down too low. The circumference of one of the trees has to be close to 10 feet, I really had to jury-rig my feed bag rings to make it work. Bad news is, the cell coverage is still really bad. Despite getting two bars on my phone, I can't even come close to live streaming, and I'm barely able to get on the internet. Disappointing! I was really hoping for a reprieve from that after all the frustration at Sandhills last night, but I guess I'll be doing a lot of reading this week! Of course, I still have movies on my old satellite PVR if I'm desperate. Anyway, horses are happily munching away just outside my door, and it's a beautiful night with a fantastic forecast for the entire week. It's hunting season, and some of the trails are closed, but I'm planning on giving Flash a rest for a few days anyway, though a short ride on Apollo may be in order, for Lola's sake as well. Looking forward to a good night sleep! Good night, darlin'! Love you!
Sunday, October 27, 2024 – Packing Day
Hi Darlin'!
Got up with my alarm this morning, got my chores and breakfast done, then drove up to see what help was needed to finish packing up the ride stuff. Most of it was done, though Patsy said the little hill out of here was so slick after the rain last night that someone slid off the road last night, so suggested I take "the long way" out, which isn't really that long, just not as direct, but it's flat, so there's less chance of getting stuck. They all left to put stuff in their storage shed, so I went back to camp and started breaking down everything. Had pretty much everything put away before 11:00 or so, with just a few odds and ends I finished in the afternoon. I let the horses graze this afternoon, since they've been cooped up in the corral all day yesterday. It was a gray day, though fortunately not raining as predicted, and a bit cool, so I spent a few hours doing research for my absentee ballot, which was in my package yesterday, and managed to get that all done. I had no trouble getting on the internet on my computer, but when I went to watch TV in the afternoon, for some reason, I just couldn't pick up a good enough cell signal to do live streaming today. Usually, if I'm patient, I can find a spot that will work, but I spent hours trying, and only managed to watch about ten minutes of TV. I finally gave up and read for the evening. I did manage to get my Spanish lesson in, and to load up my diary for the day, but that was about it. Couldn't do laundry, but the rest of the week looks like better weather, so it will get done soon. A fairly short drive tomorrow, so no alarm in the morning! That'll be a nice change! Love you, sweetie! Good night!
Saturday, October 26, 2024 – Sandhills Stampede!
Hey Sweetie,
Woke up before the alarm, no doubt because I got to bed a bit earlier last night, and after chores and breakfast, was up at vet check by 8:45. Had a busy day scribing in the pulse box, running around doing odd jobs, jumping a dead battery, checking riders in at the finish line, and generally being a go-fer. There was a big controversy over who finished first in the 50, but all the GPS evidence finally gave us our answer, so that edged out the conflict. There were actually a lot of people that seemed to miss markers, though I know they're there. I think a lot of these folks are so busy chatting, they just don't pay attention! Just after the awards ceremony, where I was tasked to hand out the prizes while Julia read off the winners, we started to pack up, and would you believe, it started to rain! A good two-plus hours ahead of the forecast (big surprise, the weatherman was wrong), so we got soaked getting things put away. Once that was done, I drove back to the trailer, put on my rainsuit jacket and went out to feed the horses in the heaviest rainfall. Just about the time I was done, it started to let up, naturally! It was after 9:00 when I finally finished, so no TV tonight, just a hot shower and an early bedtime. Good night, baby! Love you!
Friday, October 25, 2024 – Another Long Ride on Flash
Pix to come.
Hiya Babe,
Another beautiful day, when most of the riders will be coming in. I wanted to do one last check of the entire red trail, as Patsy and I aren't in agreement with how long it really is. I've been doing it piecemeal and putting it together in post-production, but with such a discrepancy, I decided I needed to run the whole thing again in one go. First, though, I had to run into town for my package, which had FINALLY arrived, via Morriston to Jacksonville to Charleston to Columbia to Jacksonville to Charleston to Columbia, and FINALLY to Patrick, where the postmaster called and texted me to let me know it had arrived. Weirdly, they claimed it was held up by weather delays! Considering we've had cloudless days for two weeks now, I have no idea what kind of weather delay it was. I think that must be their catch-all phrase when priority mail is mishandled. Anyway, after I picked it up, I stopped at the Forest HQ to fill up my water tank, then back to camp. Got Flash saddled up and off we went around 11:30. This time we did the entire Red trail, no stopping. I was a bit concerned about the lack of water on the trail. There was a tiny brook about six miles out that is considered a water stop (I wouldn't have thought of it that way, it was so small), another water stop at a lake about ten miles out, where I tried twice to get close enough to the edge to drink, but the first was too slimy and muddy, and the second had a very steep drop off about a foot off the beach, and I was afraid Flash would end up swimming there, which meant the next water was at 13.5 miles out, which I thought was way too long. He drank his fill there, and at another creek about another mile later, and skipped the final water by the railroad tracks which were only about 2.5 miles from camp. Suffice to say, I had both GPS systems, cell and satellite with me, and they both indicated the length I had figured was correct, 18.5 miles, more than a mile less than what Patsy had figured. Too late to do anything about it this time, but good to know for the future. Got back and put Flash away, sat in my chair for a minute and was dozing for a couple of minutes. Headed back over for dinner and the ride meeting, which went on a bit longer than usual. Got back to the horses at 8:00, fed them, made myself some tea and settled down for a short evening. Ready for a break from all this riding!! I'm sure Flash feels the same! Off to shower and bed soon, so good night, darlin'! Love you!
Thursday, October 24, 2024 – A Ride on Flash
Pix to come.
Hey Darlin',
Had another beautiful cloudless day, but the package with my mail, which was sent out priority on Saturday, still hasn't arrived. I had planned on going to the Post office this morning and getting it, but by 11:00 I called, and confirmed it wasn't coming. Saddled up Flash and headed out to finish off the section of the Red Trail that I missed the other day, which was indeed quite squiggly, then Flash found his own way home when he took a hard right off a road we were on, and he was determined to take a trail instead, so I let him. He wasn't quite as anxious to move out as much, and I didn't push him to, so it wasn't as fast, but still a lovely ride sixteen mile ride. Ran into Patsy just as we got back to camp, and invited her over to dinner. She came over after 5:00 and brought the ride managed Julia with her, both brought there own food, so we just chatted. Settled down after they left after 6:00, fed the horses, watched a couple of episodes of Terra Nova, ready for bed shortly. Just another day in the life, living the dream! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 – A Little Bit of Shopping
Hiya Sweetie,
Loving the quiet nights here, had another good night sleep. After chores and breakfast, I headed out to the nearby little town of Patrick, thinking that the package Jo sent me on Saturday would surely have arrived by now, but it still hadn't gotten here. Even the postmaster was surprised it was taking so long. After that I drove down to Hartsfield, the nearest town with both a Tractor Supply and a Walmart. I filled up three propane tanks, obviously I've been using a lot of energy running the furnace on these cold nights, though it's been warming up the last few days, so not so much now. Was happy to pay only $2.99/gallon! Picked up some horse feed, plus a couple of bales of hay just so I wouldn't have to crack open the stuff in my stud stall yet, and they wanted almost $13 for bales that were significantly smaller and lighter than the ones I bought from the haymaker last week. I would have bought more if it had been cheaper or heavier, but this will help. Then I spent some time running around trying to find a brake controller harness. My brake controller has been on the fritz again, and it's been killing my truck battery, showing a power loss when I hit my brakes. I've had the problem before and been able to fix it, but I think this time it's given up the ghost. I finally managed to find the right harness, and they were kind enough to let me try it out before charging me for it, but as it turned out, it didn't solve the problem. I'm thinking the brake controller itself has a short or something in it, and the guy at the auto parts store concurred. I had found another brake controller in a box during my deep cleaning the other day, so I may try wiring that in, just to see if it fixes it, though I don't particularly like that model, or I may just get a new one if I can find one I like. I think as long as it's not plugged in when I'm not using it, my truck will be fine, and I think the lights still work when it's plugged in, but I'll have to check on that. Anyway, once I came to that conclusion, I ran down to Walmart for a few things, then back to camp. I sat in my lawn chair in the screen room and actually dozed off! Don't know why I felt so tired, I wasn't that busy today! Tried to repair the broken leg on my solar panel again (the first time didn't take, not sure the second time will either, but it's worth a try!), then settled down for the evening. Patsy came by after she put most of her signs out and we chatted for a few minutes, then I watched a silly rom-com, now I'm ready for shower and bed. USPS Tracking says my package should arrive tomorrow (the postmaster said he would call me when it came in), so I'll go in and pick it up in the morning, as well as stop by and fill up my truck tank at the Forest HQ. Anyway, that's tomorrow, right now I need to finish off today! Good night, babe! Love you!
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 – Another Fast Ride on Flash
Hey Babe,
Another beautiful day here at Sandhills, it's amazing how many days of cloudless sky we've had since I've been here! Got a late start getting on the trail today because I spent over an hour on the phone with Cigna trying to secure a new health insurance policy. At least I found one that actual reduces the amount Medicare is taking out of my monthly Social Security check! I didn't know about it until one of the agents told me about it, not sure why anyone wouldn't want to do that! Once I finished that lengthy call, I saddled up Flash and we headed off on the red trail, picking it up where Apollo and I left off yesterday. Flash was full of beans again today, not only gaiting for most of it, but cantering and galloping as well! There were several miles when we were doing better than eight mph! Unfortunately, I was following the markers and not my GPS (since that was kind of the point, making sure the markers were sufficient), but I didn't realize that the red trail Patsy uses here isn't exactly the red trail as marked. It turned off at one point, but the markers were still on the trail, so I ended up missing the whole east section. As a result, my anticipated 16 mile ride turned into a mere 10.8 mile ride, which, at the increased speed we were going, we finished in just 1:45!! Of course, I realized something was wrong when we got back to camp that quickly, but it wasn't until I downloaded my GPS data that I could figure out went wrong. Guess that just means I'll have to go out riding on another day to pick up the rest of that trail. I am so impressed with Flash, he just seems indefatigable these days. If I weren't so ticked off at the AERC, I'd be tempted to actually enter him in some of the upcoming rides! But no, their behavior regarding Jo and the Goethe Benefit is inexcusable, so they won't be getting anything from me. Anyway, got back to camp and settled down for the afternoon and evening, watched an interesting film called The Good Traitor, about the Danish ambassador during WWII. I've been reading a lot of WWII historical fiction lately, it was a remarkable time. I have lots to do tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!