Hey Babe,
A decent night sleep, chores in the morning, did a little bathroom cleaning in camp, then finally saddled up Flash around 11:30 to go pick up the markers for the white trail. Lola came along and managed to get back to camp without limping, though Flash seemed a little gimpy again after about ten miles, but he made it back to camp okay. Everything's done now except the bottom half of the fifty, I need to check to see if the gals that marked it for me will be picking up the markers or if I need to do it. I think I need to give Flash the day off tomorrow, though, just to make sure he's not gimpy again. Got back around 4:00, and promptly settled into my evening routine, with one addition. I've been carrying around an unopened bottle of dry vermouth for years, promising myself that one day I would get a bottle of gin so I could use up the vermouth making martinis, and yesterday, I bought a bottle of gin so I could finally do that. So tonight, I splurged on making myself a martini (something I learned at an early age to do for my father), and I enjoyed it so much I had two! Watched another Christmas movie, then switched over to bourbon and eggnog (with both the ice cream and the liquid carton combined!), so I'm expecting a great sleep tonight! It was a lovely ride, Flash did a brilliant job, even though he did get a little impatient at the end when I took him all the way down to Helen's when he wanted to cross over the street home 1/4 mile earlier, but it had to be done! Lola, thankfully, didn't seem to get limp today like she did the other day, so she's apparently on the mend. A beautiful ride, with lots of water, and thoroughly enjoyable. Love it here! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Woke up to another chilly morning, so I cuddled in bed as long as I could before getting up to feed the horses and do my chores. Had a leisurely morning waiting for it to warm up a bit, then finally started saddling Flash around 11:30, and got on the trail by noon, with everything piled up on him like a pack mule again. Lola's leg seemed to be okay, so I let her come along, though by the end of the day she was limping again, so no more walking for her for awhile! I couldn't believe how wet it was out there, even though it quit raining on Sunday afternoon. Places that were dry last week were ankle deep in water, and knee high water was up to nearly Flash's elbows! It was a wet day! On time I lost my trash grabber and had to go back through about 200 yards of deep water to retrieve it, and another time, Lola somehow lost her orange safety vest, and I had to go back about 50 yards, again through some deep water, to retrieve that! We managed to get all the markers and signs down, so it was a productive day, though we didn't get back to camp until 4:30. Nice to be back in the saddle again! It's been longer than I thought. Wasn't long before I fed the horses and did my evening chores, then settled down to a nice chicken Alfredo and asparagus dinner, another Christmas movie, and soon to be early night! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
My body clock is off again. I felt tired all evening, then when I went to bed, it took me hours to go to sleep. Don't know what's up with that. By the time it warmed up and I got my chores done, plus giving Flash enough time to have enough breakfast, it was nearly noon again by the time we got going. At least I didn't have to do any trail clearing today, since I did it all the other day. It was just a matter of marking the trails, which went pretty smoothly. We did over 14 miles for this loop. The only thing left is the bottom half of the long orange, and I have a couple of girls that have volunteered to do that. I got all the stuff they need sorted, they just need to come get it. It was about 4:00 when we got back, so it wasn't long before I settled down for the evening. Lola is really enjoying these walks in the forest, and Flash was brilliant again today. He even seems to know just how far to go before we have to put another marker up, and knows to hug a tree and stand still while I staple an arrow to it. Such a good boy! Relaxed for the evening, hoping to get to sleep earlier tonight, but it doesn't look like I'll be doing that, since it's already 10:00. Headed for shower and bed soon, anyway. Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hi Darlin',
Woke up to a chilly morning, did a few things first, but eventually got everything ready, saddled up Flash with so much stuff hanging off him he looked like a pack horse, and headed out to mark the first half of the first loop of the upcoming ride this weekend. Most of it was pretty clear, though there were some spots I had to clip with the loppers, and one tree for which I had to break out the little chainsaw. It took us well over 4.5 hours, but it was a job well done. Just have a few signs to put up across the street from the campground and that should do it for that trail. Fed the horses and put blankets on both of them, it's supposed to be in the 30's tonight! I left the fireplace on all day so it was nice and toasty when I got back to the trailer. Lola had a good time, too, though she wasn't sure about the slow pace of it all. Flash did a brilliant job all day, except at the very end when we were across from the camp, he wasn't thrilled about riding away to do the last half mile. All good, though! Settled down for the evening, ready for bed soon! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin'!
Another busy day, working on plans for tomorrow's cleanup day, the a ride out to check the short orange trail and do the necessary trail cleanup. Had to use my little chainsaw several times on some of the bigger blockages, though no trail was impassable, but I did make them a lot better. Flash seemed a bit tired at first, not surprising considering the long ride yesterday, but he got to rest a lot while I was cutting and clearing. Got the short orange trail completely done, thank goodness, though we didn't get back to camp until almost 5:00. Helped a couple of campers cut up some wood with my little chainsaw, then settled down for the evening with a cute RomCom. In the morning I checked my lab account and was delighted to learn my cholesterol levels were down quite a bit, the best since I've been getting tested, so I guess I've been eating right! Just trying to avoid going on any pills if possible. Anyway, had a pleasant evening, ready for shower, bed, and an early morning tomorrow. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe!
It was a cold night as predicted, and even with the fireplace going all night it didn't get too hot in the bedroom. Slept well, did chores, worked on a few computer things, then, once it warmed up enough, I saddled up Flash and headed out to do a recon of the trails for the south trails for the 50 mile course. I've never ridden over there, so it was very interesting to find out just how many trails are out there. It's a lot! I kept taking wrong turns, though, it seems like every other intersection had me picking the wrong way, and there were a couple of times I wasn't paying attention and went a long way before checking the GPS, only to discover my mistake. It was supposed to be about 16 miles, but it ended up being 20.5, but none of us seemed any worse for the wear, though Lola has crashed for the night. I did a tiny bit of trail cleaning on the way back, there's really not much to do, the main trails are in great shape. We averaged over 5 mph, he was full of energy today. Got back around 4:00, got him rinsed and settled in, then proceeded with my usual evening routine. A fabulous day! And now I have a whole bunch more trails to explore! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Not surprisingly, I had a good night sleep, and set my alarm so that I would be up for an appointment with a couple to come look at the recliner. I love Facebook Marketplace! They arrived just after 10:00, and we had all the usual discussions about the chair. The wife sat in it, but it was hard to get a real feel for it on the uneven ground of my screen room, so I suggested we carry it out to the porch overhang on the bathrooms, which had a cement floor. We did that, and, of course, it felt much better. They ended up buying it, for a girl that's staying with them for awhile that is apparently very petite, so this smaller chair should be perfect for her! Even better, they paid me a little more than what I paid for it, so I even made a profit! I was just glad to get it out of the elements so quickly, sitting in the screen room would not have done it much good if it stayed out there very long. Anyway, with that done, and after doing some other trail planning, I finally saddled up Flash and we headed out for what ended up being 16.6 miles of reconnaissance around the trails, and we didn't even complete the plan I had made because I went off exploring just about trail and path we came across. It's good, though, I'm really getting to know where everything is, and where all the roads lead, but that means another ride to hopefully finish off the last few roads I haven't quite checked out yet. Good news, though, nearly every trail I took today is passable, just some are not going in a direction that will help in the endurance ride. I'm certainly figuring out some interesting options! We got out late, so it was 4:45 by the time we got back, and once I rinsed him down it was feeding time. I finally was able to settle down for the evening, feeling very tired tonight, it's been a busy few days! Another busy one tomorrow, too, I imagine, so much to do! Love you, sweetheart! Good night!

Hiya Darlin',
Another late morning, and after chores and few other things, I saddled up Apollo for a quick ride. Probably would have been a bit longer, but Jo's electrician husband decided to come over and look at a couple of things on my trailer that have been bothering me. Apollo and I (without Lola, as she was still zonked from yesterday) just took a shore one hour loop in the blue trail. The trail was in lovely condition, just a few wet spots, so it was very enjoyable for the most part. Just after we waded through the spring that perpetually runs across the trail, though, Apollo must have decided there were pigs nearby (he hates pigs!) and spun around so quick I almost came out of the saddle. I was pretty proud of myself, considering I was barely hanging on, but managed to get upright. Then, of course, as we carried on, he did it again, even worse, and despite my best efforts to stay on board, ended up on the ground, silly horse! He only took a few steps further and stopped, thank goodness. I usually don't let go of the reins no matter what, but did today, and was glad he stopped. I then walked him past the offending area on the ground, until I finally was able to mount him again. It was slow motion, though, and wasn't even sure what I landed on until the evening, when it became clear my left butt cheek and my left ankle needed some ice, which I took care of. Anyway, after we got back and Jo and her husband arrived, I spent awhile explaining the system to him (it's pretty convoluted), he realized it was going to take a bit more to figure out than he had time for, so we'll have to revisit it another time. The weather forecast here was for rain tomorrow, but clear further south, so I entertained the idea of running down and picking up my two-horse trailer, and as I pursued that, learned that it wasn't at brother Jeff's any longer, it had been moved to brother Glenn's in Indiantown, which means the trip will actually be a bit shorter. All that gelled in a way that convinced me making the trip tomorrow is a good idea, even though I don't have a place to store it confirmed yet. I'm pretty sure I can find one, though, and I really need to get that trailer up here. So that's the plan. Now that that's settled, I'm having my usual evening, though ending much earlier, since I want to be on the road by the crack of dawn tomorrow so I can get back before dark. Off to my shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
After chores, I called La-Z-Boy and they assured me that the chair only feels this way because it's new and needs a little time to break in. They offered to replace it with one off the showroom floor, but I figured if what they said was true, I'd rather stick with a new one and break it in myself. I can already feel the seat starting to sink down a little, and once it does that, everything else should line up. I listed the old chair on Facebook Marketplace and covered it with a tarp to keep it dry and safe. Wasn't long before I was saddling up Flash and heading out on the trail with Lola, where we did another recon ride to explore some of the more distance open trails. Once again, found some great ones, also ruled a few out, so I'm making progress! Didn't quite get to all of them that I had planned on today, so I'm not finished yet, but that's fine, I just like having a purpose to ride (besides my own entertainment, that is!) I also want to check out the ones we used last year to see what kind of shape they're in. I finally had the chance to use my little pruning chain saw on a pine tree that had fallen over the trail, first time I've had to use it! Horses could have easily gotten over it, but it would have been problematic when they mowed the next time. Anyway, that took up most of the afternoon. Lola was well and truly bushed by the time we got back, but Flash was speedy all day, averaging nearly six mph today. Settled down for my usual evening, heading to shower and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Woke up to clear skies at last, and after a morning of computer work and phone calls, I saddled up Flash and headed out. It's the last day of hunting season with dogs, but since I've seen plenty of riders going out all week, including this morning when there were riders and a wagon with two Clydesdales, so I figured it would be okay. I desperately needed to get moving, I feel like I've been in limbo too long! Lola was very happy to get some exercise, and Flash had plenty of energy, too. I had planned a good 16 mile recon ride, but we got such a late start I didn't get the whole thing done, plus I went on a few side trips just to see where certain trails went. I found some good trails that I should be able to use, and ruled out a good number of other ones that are just too swampy and impassable, or at least it wouldn't be very good riding for an endurance race. Left about 1:00 and got back about 4:00. Ran into a group of hunters on my way out, they were coming in for lunch it seemed, then again when they were still at the trailhead when I got back to camp. Chatted a bit, then gave Flash a nice rinse and put him away, feeding them both at 5:00 these days. I'm now convinced that this recliner is adding to my pain. I was find standing up, walking and riding for nearly 14 miles, yet after sitting down for ten minutes, the muscle that I pulled was full-on painful again. Can't wait for my new chair to arrive on Thursday! Had a little soup for dinner and settled down for my usual evening, head to bed soon. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!