Hi Sweetie!
So happy to finally get a ride in! I feel like I've been cooped up for ages! After doing my usual morning chores, breakfast, and some computer work on the trails I needed to check today, I got Flash loaded into the little trailer, and, after having to jump start the truck again (I really need to get new batteries!), we headed down to Apex to run through as many of the trails for the Taste of Goethe as we could. Turns out they've chewed up a number of them for firebreaks, and have burned some of the areas we want to use, so I'm hoping we have someone making a fire presentation before the trails open so people will understand why so much of the forest looks black. Looks like I might have to be rerouting a little, hopefully not too much. Flash was more than ready for a good ride, he did lots of gaiting and cantering whenever the terrain allowed, so we had a lot of fun! Met a couple of women with their minis pulling buggies (so cute!), I've seen them before out here, and we had another nice chat. They weren't happy about all the torn up trails either. On my way back, I passed them actually doing a burn, so I chatted with them for a couple of minutes, too. Got back to camp a little after 3:00, had to postpone some tree work I was going to do, then settled down for a quiet evening. Managed to get a nice hot tub in, but the wind is blowing and another cold front is coming through, the wind is already picking up. Definitely thinking I need to get farther south! Hopefully this too, will pass! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Darlin'!
Had a chilly start to the morning, requiring my Alaska parka, but fortunately it warmed up enough later in the day to finally get a ride on Apollo. Poor thing hasn't been ridden for a couple of weeks, and he was very sluggish for most of the trip, which was simply around the Steeplechase neighborhood, right up until we came to a farm that had pigs in their yard. Then all of a sudden he was stricken with the conviction that they were horse-eating pigs and he tried to turn around and run off. Fortunately, I was able to hold him back, turn him back around, and make him stay long enough to convince him it wasn't a life-threatening situation, and we were finally able to move on, though not before Lola became thoroughly bored and wandered toward the farm to get a closer look. Fortunately, the landowner was pretty laid back when I explained the situation, she was only concerned that my dog was a stray, I think, but was happy to learn she was mine. Anyway, we ended up going nearly five miles, which was plenty for both of them, and got back shortly before feeding time. I drained and stored the hot tub in the back of the trailer, fairly confident that after my discussion with the trailer repair place this morning that I will be getting my trailer back tomorrow. I had mentioned the plumbing issue to them again, which will require them to take off the basement cover (which I figured would be a problem with all the screws being rusty and having to be tapped), and found they hadn't started it yet. I was concerned that it would be more complicated and time consuming than it appeared to be at first blush, and was glad they were going to get to it today. Hopefully it works out okay and I'll still be able to get my home back tomorrow! I sure hope so, I miss having my own stuff around! Before my ride, I spent time researching Yellowstone pack trips, and have hooked into a potential outfitter, so now all I have to do is find five friends willing to go with me. I did a little outreach, so we'll see what happens. Enjoyed a dinner made by Chelle, and heading to bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
My chores are getting more streamlined as I figure out the most efficient way of getting them accomplished, down to about 35 minutes to get it all done. After breakfast, I loaded up Flash and headed down to Tidewater for multiple purposes. First, to meet the septic guy who was bringing the porta-potties for the event this weekend (with all the holidays, it was the best date we could get), second, to ride Flash on the purple trail once again. When I learned that completion of the re-route was going to be delayed until late January, I had to go back and put up purple dots in the old area, since I didn't put them up the other day believing there would be new trails. I was surprised to discover that the northern section had, in fact, been mowed, so I followed it to see if it was finished. It was a wide swath, and didn't follow my markers very well, but it was a decent trail with only a few scrub palms on it. I kept going down to see if the south end had had any work done, and none had, so I decided to go ahead and move the markers on the north end away from the road, since it seems most folks I talk to prefer being off the road even if the trail is a bit rough. I got it mostly done, but there are still a few spots that need to be finished off, which I'll do on Thursday. Finally got back to the trailhead, where I cordoned off the areas that needed to stay clear for the Gallivant this weekend. That done, I headed into Dunnellon for a stop at Tractor Supply, Walmart and Winn-Dixie for my final shopping before Christmas. I've decided to go whole hog and to roast a stuffed turkey and the whole holiday works. The smallest turkey I could find was 15.5 pounds, so I'll be eating turkey for a week! I don't mind, I love turkey! Finally got back home around 4:00, just managed to have dinner before it was time to feed the horses, then settled down for my usual evening, watching an old classic, White Christmas, just for fun. Getting used to getting to bed a bit earlier, it sure helps get the morning started! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Seems like things are going nonstop these days. After my usual chores, I made another attempt at fixing the fence. I cut out a few knots, and made sure there was very good contact on the others. Both ground stakes were in, but it still didn't make any difference. Halfway through that job, one of the rangers, CJ, came by. I had asked for a meeting because she's going to be fixing the purple trail the way I want it, hopefully, and I wanted to explain my methodology so she's know what to look for in my marking. After that, I finished working on the fence (still no change), then finally hooked up the little trailer and headed down to Tidewater. Today's job was twofold. The purple markers I put up last spring had completely faded to white and needed refreshing, and I wanted to take one last pass through the "new" purple trails to make sure my flags were perfectly clear for CJ to find. I managed to do both, which took me until well after 3:00. Then I stopped to see Logan at HQ to go over some of the questions that arose from the Taste of Goethe meeting on Sunday, then rushed home, put Flash away, dropped off the trailer and managed to get to Chelle's only a few minutes late for our 4:00 meeting that we had postponed from Sunday. It was after 5:00 by the time I got back to camp. Whew! Fed the horses, had my dinner, hot tub, and shower, and I am SO looking forward to bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Woke up before 4:30 this morning, I guess that's the curse of going to bed early! Not long after that, I hear Flash nickering, but not his "Apollo has escaped and I can't seem him so now I'm panicking" whinny, but his "Apollo has just escaped, I can still see him, and 'you're going to get in so much trouble!' nicker, so naturally, I had to get up and deal with it. At least he hadn't broken any fence posts, this was one of his more subtle escapes, no doubt pulling posts with his teeth and dropping them until he could move out escapes. After getting him back in and fixing the downed posts, I spent a few minutes trying to figure out why the fence isn't working properly, but I'm no further ahead. I'm definitely getting spark from the charger, and I can't find any ground problems, but it's still not working. Sigh... Anyway, I piddled around until about 8:00, including doing some more stretches on my shoulders, fed the horses, fed Lola and me, than got on with my morning. Had a few things to do on the computer, then hooked up the small horse trailer and took Flash down to Tidewater again. I once again went through the purple trail, seeking out the original trail I had marked with the help of previous GPS files, and put up markers about every five yards to make sure it couldn't be missed. Not sure whether anyone will get out to mow them anytime soon, but c'est la vie! On the way back, I checked another section of trail just trying to be thorough. As soon as I rinsed off Flash and loaded him into the trailer (he was tremendously patient with me today, with a lot of stop/starting as I marked the trails), I headed to Apex, and met with Logan for a bit, talking about what needs to be done and some other trail issues, finally getting back to camp after 4:00. I started my new routine of early dinner, watch a one hour series, then fed the horses. Today I added putting up a highline within the paddock, just to hook up Apollo. I'm tired of having to deal with his Houdini tactics, while Flash is free to roam the paddock. At least until I can figure out my fence problem! Took my hot tub, which was smelling a lot better today. I bought some chemicals for it yesterday, but I couldn't find a bromine floater, so I found an old pair of bath gloves I've had since the 80's and crammed a bunch of finger-shaped bromine tablets into them, then tied them to that little mini-rubber ducky we picked up at some fancy hotel like the Ritz in Orlando, and voila! Instant chemical release! So now the tub didn't small or have any slippery sides, so it's better. I'll check it with a chemical strip tomorrow and see what other augments are needed. Showered, did dishes, and finally settled down to a couple more Farscape episodes, and heading to bed soon! A long, busy day! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Another excellent night sleep, a good breakfast, then off to Tidewater to run the purple trail. I managed to mark the short, northern alternate route again, though I have no idea when anyone will get around to mowing it, and I ran the more southern route, and was very frustrated again at how far off the mowing went off my original trail. It's been used, but it has sections that I just don't like, and I wasn't able to figure out which route I want to change it to, so it will be a repeat of what I did last season, going up and down until I find the best route again, and hoping I can get it mowed again more to my liking. I wish I had left all my markers up! I found a few, but not enough to retrace my steps. I'll have to try again later this week. There's about a mile of the purple that's been really chewed up by the discers, a good 12 feet wide and about 2-3 feet deep with huge tire tracks, terrible! I don't know if anyone can get out there and tamp it down or grade it, but it's horrible. The rest of the trail was in good shape, though, so now all I have left is the blue trail, which is pretty short, so it won't take long, and to redo the purple again. Grrr! But it was a lovely day for a ride, low 70's and sunny, just perfect! Got back to camp around 3:30 and settled down with what will become my new routine. Having dinner early, feeding horses, taking a hot tub, taking a shower, watching a movie, and going to bed early! Loved being able to use my hot tub! So relaxing! Confirmed that it goes off after 20 minutes, though I can restart it after a ten minute rest if I want, but I find 20 minutes seems to be doing the trick. No problems with the heater so far, that was the most common complaint from the dissatisfied reviews, though most of them were good. We'll see! I'm going to make the most out of it, in any event. Living large and enjoying every day! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Another constructive day! After nearly a full eight hours of sleep for a change, I had Flash in the small trailer by 10:30, and on the trail at Tidewater by a bit after 11:00. We did the entire yellow trail, which looks pretty good, just a handful of places that need attention, and one big tree across the trail about head high. We also ran the short section of the purple trail and re-marked it, though I did find some of my old orange markers. Not sure I took the same route, but it's pretty similar anyway. Won't make much of a difference as long as it's an alternative to the trail along the road. Flash was full of energy, naturally, he's been running around the paddock every day lately, and he even got Apollo running around with him yesterday! So naturally, he was ready to gallop and gait today, and we did the 15+ miles in no time. Ran into CJ, the newest and only female ranger, chatted with her a bit, then made a quick stop at Apex to see if the event for tomorrow was ready. No one was there, and I could see some of the obstacles, so I guess they're ready! Got back to camp and much to my surprise, the inflatable portable hot tub I ordered had arrived! I didn't expect it until Tuesday, so I was really glad I got my sand patio up yesterday! I had already put my rug down, so I decided to go ahead and get it up, so I put it together, filled it up, and put it on, hoping that by tomorrow night I'll be able to use it. I put up the screen room as well, no sense advertising my little indulgence. I realize I'll probably have to take it all down again when I take my trailer in for repairs, but I figured it would be worth it to check it out, make sure everything works. The sun was setting by the time I finished, so I fed the horses and settled down for the evening. Another busy day planned for tomorrow! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Another pretty good night sleep, my usual morning routine, then saddled up Flash to do an inspection of the green trail. He was lovely and quiet for the first couple of miles, then the speed bug bit him and he was off to the races! Gaiting, cantering, and flat-out galloping was the order of the day for most of the rest of the ride! Loved it! It was another gorgeous morning, though the temps were getting cooler by the hour and rain came through later in the afternoon and evening, with temps in the mid-30's predicted overnight. Once we got back, we spent some time chatting with numerous riders that were coming and going out of the trailhead, then finally got Flash put away after rinsing him off. Not surprising, he had worked up a nice sweat. Went over to visit Margarita and George for the afternoon, tasked with helping them deplete their Turkey Day leftovers. Another friend of theirs, Bev, arrived, a delightful lady that had worked with George many years ago, and who travels a lot in her camper, and we all got along great. Fabulous conversation, delicious food, lots of lovely wine, a wonderful way to spend the afternoon! Left around 7:00, fed the horses and put on their winter blankets (after turning on my electric fireplace) and settled down for a short evening. Didn't even watch TV, I had some things to do on the computer. I expect that with the cold days coming up, I'll spend them doing some much needed and overdue housekeeping. Meanwhile, it's all about snuggling in bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Finally, a good night sleep! With no interruptions from Lola, and nothing else to wake me up, I finally managed to sleep pretty much straight through the night, thank goodness! Did my usual morning chores, with the addition of baking a frozen Dutch apple pie, I managed to saddle up Apollo and take him and Lola for a nice 4+ mile ride in perfect weather. A wonderful start to the holiday! Once we got back, we relaxed a bit in the afternoon until it was time to leave. I made a stop at Meg's house to pick up the end of my sewer hose which I had inadvertently left at her place in NJ (which finally made it down here this week), then on to Jo's for Thanksgiving dinner. Except I forgot the ice cream, so I had to run back home and get that! Had a lovely dinner, a nice visit, admired her new horse as it seem to have adjusted beautifully to it's new surrounding and Jo's other two horses, until it was time to come back to camp, arriving around 8:30. Watched a one hour show, and am ready for bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Flash made it very clear yesterday that he was ready for a ride, by running circles around the paddock for 10 minutes, so I felt I had to take him for a ride. I was ready, too! In the morning, though, I spent some time putting some more of the truck stuff away, things I had taken out to clean and were now ready to be put back in or trashed. Did a quick clean of the bathrooms, then saddled up Flash and away we went! Was alarmed and disappointed when I saw a truck coming out of the orange trail, passing a very clearly marked sign that said no vehicle traffic was allowed on the trail. Grrr! I don't object to hunters in the forest, there's enough room for all of us, but I do object to them blatantly ignoring the rules and endangering people and horses. There were a lot of hunters I passed, but most of them were perfectly friendly. It was a beautiful day, and the ride was wonderful. We only found a few trees down that were blocking the trail that will need big chainsaws, but I'm going to check all the trails out here first, then arrange a day with Rick to clear them all on the same day, hopefully. Flash was, indeed, ready to rock and roll, and we never walked less than 4 mph and he did plenty of gaiting and cantering as well, so the less than 11 mile ride went by pretty quickly. Had a great time, a beautiful day, only marred by my still not finding out about the parts for the brakes on the trailer and UPS still refusing to deliver my packages. Got back, rinsed off Flash and put him away (though he promptly rolled, of course!) before settling down for the evening to a great movie (The Tailor of Panama) and a couple of episodes of my latest series, Newton's Law, an Aussie show that's good for filling in the gaps. since it gets dark so early, it seems like the evenings are so long now! Anyway, it was a lovely day, spent just how I like it. Love you, my darlin'! Good night!