Archives for May 2025

Hey Babe,
Had an excellent night sleep, up before the alarm, fed the horses and Lola and headed over to the volunteer area where breakfast casseroles were waiting. Literally ended up sitting around all day with nothing to do but eat the voluminous amount of snacks sitting around and talking to other staffers and volunteers, mostly with the vets. But in the case of ride management, an uneventful day (other than the completion of the horses and riders) is a good thing. No real emergencies, nothing that needed to be handled, all very well done. I did have one of the vets come over and check on Flash, who is still pinning his ears back and keeping his head against the tree, but everything checked out, no fever, good gut sounds, everything was fine, so I'm thinking maybe he's just depressed standing on a highline or something. Stuck around for dinner, the awards ceremony and the raffle (I won a nice bottle of body wash), then left as the band was starting, taking two young gals with me who wanted to see how my highline was set up. Now the day is done, I'm more than ready for bed. Weird, it seems sitting around doing nothing is just as tiring as having a busy day! Anyway, bed shortly! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a pretty good night sleep, still woke up early. It seems I'm settling down to just six hours of sleep instead of my usual eight, don't know if that's permanent of temporary. The morning started out slow as the ride managed didn't get to camp until about 11:00, but after that it was go, go, go, with a lot of odds and ends. We put up canopies and corrals and cleared a trail down by the river for the photographer, as well as a few other things. Sat through the ride meeting, had dinner after that (opposite what was scheduled, but it didn't really matter), gave a tour through my trailer to a lot of folks who are nearing retirement and contemplating going full-time on the road like me. I helped nurture some newbys who have not done much camping or endurance riding, and general tried to make myself useful. Even sold a couple of books! It was 8:20 by the time I got back to feed the horses. Flash is doing better, he's been under the weather for the last couple of days. I think he got overheated on the drive up, and even though he's been drinking, eating and pooping normally, he's had his ears pinned back and was rubbing his head on the tree unnaturally, and he had some heat on his muzzle and his ears. Took him for a walk today and he pooped again, and he seemed better by dinnertime. Very productive and satisfying day! Looking forward to another one tomorrow! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Maybe went to bed a bit too early, I ended up waking up around 3:30, and only dozed occasionally after that. I finally got tired of waiting for my alarm to go off, so I got up at 5:30, still in the dark but already 72 degrees with 99% humidity. I was sweating like crazy by the time I got everything done, but I was glad to leave early, since there was a lot of rain in the forecast. I managed to get out of camp by 7:10, would you believe! I have to say, I felt a lot more confident now, considering all the work and expense I've done on everything this year. The truck has two new batteries, four new tires on the back, new back brakes as well, and a new brake controller. The trailer has two new axles, which means new brakes as well. It felt a lot more sure-footed, that's for sure! Even drove a bit faster than usual, at least before it rained too much and we ran into traffic. OMG, it was stop and go from McDonough north all the way until I got through Atlanta and onto Hwy. 400, and 75 was chock-a-block north of there, so I was glad I wasn't going straight to TN or I would have stuck another half an hour or more. It was slow going, but I did manage to arrive at just before 3:00. They found a good spot on concrete for me, with all the rain I'm sure I'd get stuck on anything less than gravel or better. Quite a few of the folks I ran into I've seen at other rides, so it's nice to be back in the family circle again! As soon as I got the horses on their highline, I headed over to the fire station and got my truck tank full of water, since I hadn't bothered to fill mine up. I didn't want to drag any extra water weight that wasn't necessary. Then I was so hungry, I decided to pick up some dinner so I wouldn't have to cook, and since I'd never tried Chik-Fil-A, and there was one handy, I decided to do that. Considering the line at the drive-thru, they did a good job and moving everyone through, so I got my Chicken Club with fries (which turned out to be waffle fries, how cool is that!) and a lemonade. Headed straight back to camp, munching on a few fries and a couple of bites of sandwich before I put it back in the bag and got out to water the horses. They were definitely thirsty! As soon as the buckets were full, I went back into the truck, figuring I'd put on the generator for a minute and heat up the chicken and bacon a bit, only to discover that Miss Lola had decided to help herself, and had torn open the bag and helped herself to every last bit of my meal, lettuce and tomato included! So much for my dinner! I ended up eating a bowl of cereal just to get me through. Finally met Shannon and we worked out a schedule for tomorrow, not starting until about 9:00, which will be wonderful if I can actually get a decent night sleep. It seem strange that I can work myself into exhaustion, and then not be able to fall asleep. It's been that way for days now! I think that may have had a lot to do with the heat, and now that I'm in upper 60's with low of 60 tonight, I think it will be a lot better. Be nice to open windows at last! Anyway, it was a good day of travel, no drama other than Lola stealing my dinner, and I'm ready for shower and bed, though I think I'll have some sleepytime tea as well. It's been too late and too hot the last few nights, and I'm thinking that's one part of my evening ritual I shouldn't neglect, and may also be contributing to my lack of sleep. Looking forward to a fun weekend with good company! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
A lousy night sleep for the second night in a row, so I woke up tired, unfortunately. Which means I've been running on adrenaline most of the day trying to get everything done. Up bright and early, was on the road not long after 8:00, first stopping at Apex and Buck Pond trailheads to glue the plaques on the final two mounting blocks. Next stop was the DMV, where I sat for nearly 90 minutes (surprise, surprise), just to change the address on my license and registrations, only to be turned down because the insurance company has never gotten around to adding those three little digits I need to match the address the SS has. So that was a bust. I made it just in time to get my haircut, a nice short cut designed to get me through the summer, then filled up with diesel (glad to see it back down to a more reasonable price), then to my mailbox, then to Ace Hardware to the return the coax cable ends I couldn't use for the radio antenna, then to Advance Auto to pick up a battery for the Buick. By that time it was late enough to get down to Kelly's to have them look at the AC that's not working (it takes a long time to get cold), which took nearly an hour, and was told the reason was because it had been overcharged! I got the impression he didn't believe me when I said no one but his guys have touched it since I had the AC done, but whatever, it works much better now! It's been in the upper 90's with a heat index well over 100, so it's been pretty unpleasant trying to work outside. From there I went to Winn Dixie to get some chicken (only because I forgot when I went by Walmart), then back to the DMV because I THOUGHT I might have solved the problem by changing my banking address, but after multiple phone calls with multiple promises, turns out nothing will get to me before tomorrow, which will be too late. Grrrr! Guess I'll have to get it through the mail anyway. Finally left there, stopped at Jo's to give her my mailbox key, then to the folks who have the Buick to drop off the battery, then finally back to camp, where I moved all the remaining hay out of the way, put the last bale in the back of the truck, and got all lined up so I only have to drop it on in the morning. I finally had to take a break just to get a drink and relax, when I got an email about my Coggins and health certificates. I had forgotten about them, so I took the time to print them up. Eventually had dinner, fed the horses, put some more stuff away including the patio rug, and now, at last, I'm calling it quits for the night. I'm going to take a shower and get to bed VERY early, with my sights on getting up at the crack of dawn (or even earlier) tomorrow so I can have a more leisurely drive. It's about 400 miles, which is more than I typically like to drive, but most of it is freeway, so it shouldn't be bad. Looking forward to seeing how my new axles and brakes work. Whew! That's enough! Good night, sweetheart (even though it's not even close to being dark yet)! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
I'm exhausted! But had a great, busy day, got tons done. I had started the hot tub draining last night, so my first chore was to get that packed. I took down the screen room, and the skirting around the hay under the gooseneck, rinsed off the awing, which had lots of leaves and other stuff on it, I pumped up the trailer tires, which were all down a little bit, and had a little trouble with one that didn't want to take in air, but eventually got that worked out. Rinsed off the screen room rug and generally got the whole area cleared out, pretty much all done by noon! Amazing what you can get done when you get up early! Did some more chores for awhile, then finally stopped for awhile, took a shower because it was 97 degrees with a heat index factor of 104 and I was overheated, then relaxed in the afternoon. I finally heard from Angela and Reuben, the mechanic who is going to work on my Buick, and we made it down to Yvette's, where I found the gate locked for once, but managed to locate the key and get in. I was amazed that the Buick started pretty quick once we jumped the battery, but it was a challenge to keep it from stalling out. Of course, I know Panther better than anyone, so I finally managed to get him steady enough to drive, and I drove him back to their house rather than Helen's, because he wants to work on it on his own time, which I can appreciate. I'm so happy to find someone who likes to work on old cars! And he is intrigued by the fact that it's a very rare car, he'd never seen one before, and seems excited about getting it up and running more reliably! Whoo hoo! I'm sure hoping that when I get back in the fall, I'll have a nice reliable runaround car! Of course, that all happened late in the evening, so it was just about sunset when we got him parked. Then I took a respite over to Helen's, where she plied me with the first alcohol I've had in months, a glass of merlot, and we chatted for awhile, and I dropped off the hot tub and picked up a couple of things I had forgotten before. Finally managed to make it back to camp where I poured myself another merlot (why not, I'm hardly taking any painkillers anymore, and I feel great!), can't decide if I want to take another shower or not, but I'm definitely heading to bed early because I have so much to do tomorrow. Really looking forward to heading to cooler temps, can't wait to be able to open windows and get fresh air! Skipping tea, heading to be shortly. Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hiya Darlin',
Whew, another busy day today, but I got a lot done, adding and subtracting and checking things off my list. Put a lot of stuff away, got my tractor moved to its' new and more appreciated location, arranged to have the car moved as well, though we couldn't get it done today, but we're on the books for tomorrow. I think I may have found a mechanic who might actually be helpful in getting Panther back on the road reliably enough for me to drive it next season, whoo-hoo! Fingers crossed! After my hot tub tonight I started it draining, so getting that put away will be on the books for tomorrow, along with a a few other items. Making good progress, though. It's already brutally hot down here, in the mid to upper 90's, but it looks absolutely perfect where I'll be headed for the weekend. Granted, I'll have to get back to boondocking mode, and not living in luxury like I am now, but that's not really any hardship, that's just another way of living! Can't wait! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hey Babe!
Woke up before my alarm, got up and fed the animals and me, finished in time to get ready for my newest hoof trimmer, Jocelyn, to arrive just after 8:15. Gotta do stuff early before the heat gets to be too much! She did a fabulous job, and we had a great chat the whole time, and even chatted afterwards. Very nice lady, did a great job! Probably spent too much time, but we had fun. Then I got busy starting to check things off my list. Got my eight bales of hay moved into the front stall, check. Managed to sell of five bales of hay, leaving me with just enough to get us through departure, with maybe a bit leftover just in case, check. Put a bunch of stuff away, check. Took down the highline, check. And the list goes. Suffice to say it was a busy day. Then I spent an hour training a woman to drive my tractor (which I've already done twice this week with other folks), potentially to do Yvette's mowing, only to end up in a fight with Yvette which will likely call the whole thing off. Not the way I wanted to end this otherwise spectacular week. Tomorrow is going to be even busier than I had planned, for reasons I don't want to discuss right now. Anyway, I got a lot done, with a lot more left to do, but I'm well into "departure mode" right now! 'Nuff said! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin'!
With the fantastic news that I've been cut from the bonds of further PT, I've started to make plans to get out of Dodge asap. I managed to secure an appointment at my horse vet today at 2:00 to get the travel paperwork started so I can leave when it's ready, I had a brief interview with a gal who might possibly take the mowing job at Yvette's, and spent much of the morning reaching out to various endurance rides to volunteer for them if they needed it, just to help shape my summer schedule. Several that I had hoped for don't need anyone, so I'm still looking. Footloose and fancy free, I can go anywhere! I just need to get out of the deep South, it's getting ridiculously hot already. The vet appointment went great, got all that done, and I had my usual evening, nothing special, just very excited about moving on! Tomorrow, I'm going riding, so I'm very thrilled about that! Another busy day planned for tomorrow, trying to get this battleship moving. Off to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Baby!
What an unbelievable day! I went to see my surgeon today for my two week post-surgical appointment, and the impossible happened. He gave me a full discharge!! No more appointments, no more PT, I was free to go and do whatever I can handle, including riding! After 15 days! Unbelievable! When they took the bandage off, I couldn't believe it. I had teased him a little on the morning of my surgery about making sure the scar was just as good or better than the one the "boys" down at Cleveland Clinic had done on my right leg, and believe me, he took that gauntlet and ran with it. This is one beautiful seam. No puckering, no scabbing, it was lined up perfectly. It will be almost invisible in a year. Gorgeous! I left there a very happy camper indeed! Stopped at Walmart on the way home and picked up a few things, then managed to get them put away before Darlene, my night nurse from West Marion Hospital arrive with her daughter, and we proceeded to move the horses over from Chelle's back home. Great to have them back, and I can't wait to try to ride! They groomed and spoiled them for over an hour before they had to leave. Now that I'm free of PT, which I thought would keep me here until at least June 16, I can look at my schedule and see how much sooner I can get out of here. The temps are in the 90's now, definitely time to head north!! I managed to make a vet appointment for tomorrow to get updated Coggins and health papers, and glad I could get it because she's going on vacation all next week and it would be June before I could get them. Don't want to stay here any longer than necessary! Tried to do a little planning but ran out of time. Had a pleasant evening, and was thrilled to take a shower where I didn't have to wrap my leg up with cling wrap. It looked so much better when I finished my shower than it even does in the picture. SO HAPPY! Can't wait to get back on the road again! I have a bunch of stuff to do next week, but I could easily get out of here by the following week, maybe earlier. I have a few things to check on first, but it's all happening so quickly, which is just the way I like it! Finishing my tea and cookies and heading to bed forthwith! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!