Archives for 2026

Hey Darlin',
Another hot day today, but the breeze kept it okay during the morning, so I took Apollo out for a ride, just under four miles. Tried to make the loop on Snyder Hollow, but got stuck at the bottom, which, when I overlaid it with my last trip here, I apparently had the same exact problem trying to find where the trail went! Then I went at it from the other direction, and got partially around. Could have gone farther except Apollo seemed to be struggling a bit today. There were a lot of stones on the beginning of the trail, and I didn't want to go too far with him, so I turned him around and headed back to camp along the manicured lawn rather than the rough trail. Spent some time in the afternoon finalizing my Hop On Hop Off bus schedule in Lima for next week (I can't believe it's getting so close!), then settled down for the rest of the day. Took Lola for a walk once the sun got behind the trees, just too dang hot to do anything outside by mid-afternoon! Otherwise a pretty quiet day. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Had a good night sleep, nice and quiet here, didn't even need earplugs for a change! After morning chores and breakfast, I saddled up Flash and headed out on trail, beginning with Big Beech, then Lakeview, then a bunch of smaller loops, and finishing off with Possum Ridge Loop back to camp. Even ran into a guy mowing the trail, and he wasn't the least bit phased by it. Was VERY glad I listened to my inner voice and put his breast collar on, the trails were much more hilly than I imagined! I should probably have put his boots on, it was a lock rockier than I expect, but I was afraid they would irritate the scab on his ankle, which he managed to completely rub off anyway. I treated it when we got back, and since I doubt I'll be able to ride him again before I leave for Peru, it should heal well over the next few weeks. He was brilliant, as always! Such poise and determination this horse has! Never flinched, even in the face of all those rocks. There were several deep mudholes as well, didn't bother him a bit. Man, I love this horse! Thoroughly enjoyed the day! Gave him a nice rinse off when I got back, and he ate and rested the rest of the afternoon. After dinner, I took Lola for another long walk, this time I remembered to measure it, and we covered over a mile and a half just walking around the other campground and back. Settled down for the rest of the evening, though I had a major spill and had to wash my clothes and the recliner cover. Glad I have electric and water! Headed to bed soon, so good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
A good night sleep, woke up to my alarm, got busy with packing, and was on the road well ahead of schedule, arriving at Taylorsville around 12:45 after an uneventful drive. Only a couple of other campers here, none with horses. Though they have hitching rails, I had already asked about putting up a paddock and was told it was allowed, so I put in a pretty good sized paddock around the hitching rail and up into the grass. Got that all set up with water and hay before getting the horses out of the trailer, where they promptly settled down. Took about an hour or so to get completely set up, as usual. Starlink setup was a breeze! I'm so much happier now, no struggling for an internet signal or live streaming, and the compass app on my phone makes it so easy to align the Starlink. Not much of a cell signal here, so I'm sure I would have been struggling otherwise! Settled down for a quiet afternoon, and just as the sun was going down, took Lola for a nice long walk. Looking forward to a long overdue ride tomorrow! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up to a much cooler morning, it felt wonderful after all this heat! I w as really hoping to get a ride in today, but Joyce made plans to go see a mule she was thinking about buying (and by end of day, she had!), and I thought Shawn still wanted to go, but she made other plans as well, so I missed my chance to ride today. As a result, I spent the day doing laundry and a little bit of packing (not that I have much to pack!), plus a quick drive over to Walmart, Tractor Supply, and into town to fill up with fuel (even with a nickel a gallon discount, it was $5.95/gal!!), then mostly having another lazy day. Looking forward to getting back to a trailhead where I can ride, though it's supposed to be getting hot again tomorrow, especially south of here where I am headed. I swear, next year I'm staying much farther north until much later in the year! My horses are getting quite the vacation lately! Had a relaxing evening, be off to my shower and bed soon. Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Another day just like yesterday, did nothing but walk Lola and tend to the horses before reading and watching TV. So hot again, at least until it rained late in the day and finally cooled things off a bit. Supposed to be cooler during the day tomorrow, really looking forward to that! Otherwise, a mundane and boring day. Guess I have to have a few of those every once in a while! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Finally had a good night sleep, slept through the whole night, and woke up refreshed. It was so hot today, though, that I never got the urge to go anywhere, not even to a horse event at the 4H fairgrounds just down the road where Joyce and some of her boarders were participating. I spent the day doing as little as possible, except I did do a little housework just so I can claim to have done something today! Mostly read, watched TV and otherwise hung out. Walked Lola a couple of times, but the heat was hard on her, too. Be in bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Got up late again, it's just so tough to get going when I know it's going to be in the 90's, but today, we had a plan to keep cool. Joyce's friend Shawn, whom I've met a few times at various outings, invited us over to hang out in her pool today, a lovely above ground version with a little deck and lots of floaties, so we headed over there for the afternoon, and spent over three hours just hanging around in the water. What a nice change of pace! Trish and Candy were there as well, so a good time was had by all! Got back around 4:30 and settled down for the rest of the afternoon and evening, trying to keep cool in the camper where the AC is barely able to keep up with the heat. Be in bed soon! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Slept through until 6:30, then tossed for a bit, then apparently fell back to sleep and didn't wake up until 9:00! Guess I'm getting caught up on sleep now! Had a very lazy day, spent most of it on the computer arranging for next week's travel, a La-Z-Boy repair on my recliner in Chattanooga, and finally a quick hay run, picked up some nice alfalfa/grass mix about 15 minutes away. I picked up more than I needed, hoping I can transport enough for next week at Taylorsville, where I made a reservation for Mon-Fri. I thought it was $25/night, but turned out to be $40, plus more for Monday since it's a holiday (although it will be almost over by the time I get there!) Not the cheapest stopover, but at least it's on the way and I'll have water and electric, and someplace to put the horses. From there it's hopefully an easy drive to Linda's in Tennessee, where we'll settle in for the weekend before I head to Peru! Didn't do much today, but I'm hoping I'll get a good night sleep, now that I'm a little bit more on schedule. Headed for shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Tossed and turned most of the night, I'm looking forward to getting back onto my usual schedule and diet, hopefully that will improve my sleeping! Spent the first half of the day doing laundry, arranging for my trailer drop off and recliner chair repairs in Chattanooga, and generally getting caught up on stuff. Settled down in the afternoon to more laundry and mostly brainless TV, just to veg out a bit. Can't believe my Peru trip is only two weeks away! I think I'm mostly ready for it, though. Anyway, I'm getting to bed early, hopefully, just waiting for a load of laundry before I shower and head to bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin'!
A restless night, not sure how much sleep I actually got, but I was up earlier than I planned. By the time I was packed and ready to go, my first flight from ROC to Chicago O'Hare was being delayed to the point that I would likely once again to miss my connection. I considered keeping the rental car and driving the 9+ hour, but instead ended up changing my flight so that it went through Washington Reagan rather than Chicago. I would come in about an hour later, but at least the weather was good, there was not "air traffic control" issues like they said was going on in Chicago, and I was still able to get first class. I could have taken a flight through Charlotte that would have gotten me in on the original schedule, but only had coach available. No thanks, I've been spoiling myself with First Class for too long for that! Anyway, arrived on schedule, managed to catch the shuttle bus almost immediately, and my stop was only the second one, so I was out of the airport pretty quickly. Drove to Cummins to pick up the trailer and was met with the unbelievable bill of $404 JUST FOR DIAGNOSING MY GENERATOR! No repairs, nothing but the diagnosis! I completely misunderstood them when I dropped it off, I thought it was $238 for up to two hours of diagnosis, when in fact they were saying it was $238 per HOUR, up to two hours! They apparently charged me for 1.7 hours (how many minutes is .7 hours?). Apparently they would deduct that if they did the repairs, but they may not be able to get them done in time for me to make it to my Peru trip, so I couldn't take the chance. Not to mention the fact, I've have to find housing for the duration! Though my friend Joyce offered me a guest room, I really don't want to impose like that. Besides, I can take it to the Chattanooga branch (where hopefully I'll get a second opinion on the Indy branch's $10,000 repair estimate!). and leave it with them while I'm gone, solving the housing problem. Anyway, after paying that exorbitant amount, I pulled the camper back to Joyce's and got set up in no time, gave my horses an apple, then got Lola out of her kennel and back home, where she eventually settled down for the evening with me. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, though the one at Tom's was pretty good. I've been running the AC ever since I arrived, and it's just about cooled down now. Unfortunately, the forecast is for much higher temps over the next few days (I left Rochester at a rainy 66 degrees, arrived to a sunny 90+ day), so I'm going to have to plan carefully. Anyway, off to shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!