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!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a restless night, finally fell asleep, then didn't wake up until after 9:30! Had a fascinating dream where we were together doing a lot of fun stuff, and it felt so real that I remember thinking, if my conscience is here with you, then where is my body? I was imagining I was in some kind of institution or old folks home or something, but mentally I was completely with you. Fascinating! I hope that's true, that at some point our consciences will intermingle, together forever. I guess I reached a deep dream state, huh? Anyway, I finally got up, and was grateful the forecast, in fact, said the rain was gone, even though it would be cloudy most of the day, and that was good enough for me! I got the horses out of the barn and put them back on their highline, and eventually saddled up Apollo and took him for a ride on all the remaining trails that were within reach, on this side of busy Route 41, just over six miles. He seemed a bit stiff at first, doing some strange stretching exercises when I was saddling him up, but he eventually loosened up. We mostly walked occasionally trotted, and once, when we came to close to a house that had a bunch of rabid dogs go crazy when we came close, (including one noisy Jack Russell that escaped the fence and came straight at us), when Apollo turned tail and started running away (from a Jack Russell, no less-how embarrassing!) He didn't go far, and I was totally relaxed so he stopped quickly, and we went down a different trail, which was actually the right trail on my plan anyway. We went by the Santa Fe River, which eventually dumps into the Suwannee River where we previously were, and through some very nice, old Florida type forest. We finally, briefly, saw our first bit of blue sky in days, it was glorious! When we got back to camp, I discovered Flash in a stall in the barn, evidently he escaped the highline and someone caught him and put him away. Once I got him and Apollo settled in, I went down to the only other camper in the place, thinking they had been the ones, but it turned out it was a day rider that did that. Regardless, I ended up having a lovely chat with Penny, who watched Flash's capture, until finally it was time to start my evening. I got the horses fed, then began my usual dinner/movie/Spanish lesson/shower routine, the last two of which still need to be completed. It was good to be back on the trail after so many days being cooped up in rain, but I was definitely in the right place, a place where I had a nice dry barn for the horses to stay in during the deluge! The universe is still looking out for me! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Well, for the second night in a row, I've had to wear earplugs because a nearby camper had to run their generator all night long. Different campers, same experience. Oh, well. The road is kind of busy so I'm probably better off anyway. Had a pleasant morning, then saddled up Flash for an excellent ride on a beautiful day! We once again headed out to see some new trails I hadn't been on before, as well as stopping to look at the actual "River Rise" site, which I don't think I've ever done before. River Rise gets its name from the fact that the Santa Fe River goes mostly underground a few miles away at O'Leno State Park, then pops back up again here at River Rise. There's a little place where I was able to tie up Flash and walk a short distance to where the water actually starts up again. Wasn't particularly flowing or anything, but there were a couple of fishing boats there, so I guess it's a popular spot. Anyway, once again, most of the trails here are lovely old Florida, though most are more park-like that the wilderness type that I prefer. Mostly double-wide, though there are a few that go down to single that are particularly nice. Flash had a lot of energy, he kept up his 4.1 mph walk for a long way, and we cantered a gaited quite a bit, so out 13 miles didn't take too long. Beautiful weather, though Flash worked up a good sweat because his winter coat has suddenly sprung out. Gave him a nice cool bath and put him back on the highline, then sat outside in simply gorgeous weather! Several more horse campers have come in, so it will be a bit busy this weekend, and they seem to have a LOT of day riders coming and going as well. I'm just going to take it easy for a couple of days until it's empty enough to take out Apollo and Lola again. I didn't take Lola today, I'm worried about a busy road we have to cross, but she'll be fine if we stay here on the west side. Settled down for the evening, the usual, dinner and a movie. Tonight it was Matt Damon in an interesting flick called Downsizing, about groups of people shrinking themselves in an effort to save humanity. A bit extreme, but a fascination concept. Just have my Spanish lesson and shower left before going to bed. Love you, darlin'! Good night!

Hi Darlin'!
Had a pleasant morning doing the usual, then decided to take Apollo for a short ride to start off our two weeks here. I plotted a route to take in some of the trails I've previously missed, and we ended up going about 5.3 miles at his mostly sluggish pace, but I think it was just right for him. I trimmed his feet a little before starting, and he was doing some leg stretches as well, so I didn't want to tax him too much, but this is the first time in a long time when he's been the first one I've taken for a ride, and I think he appreciated it! Lola enjoyed herself as well, so it was a lovely time for all! After I got him put away on the highline, I decided to do something I've been meaning to do for quite awhile and haven't had time, to get back to my Egoscue stretching exercises. I promised myself a long time ago that once I got my shoulder straightened out, I'd work on getting myself balanced, which is what this method is all about. My shoulder has been two steps forward, one step back this past week, but I expected it would take some time for everything to get back into place. I felt two definite shifts last week, so I know things are settling. I'm not worried that it will eventually work out, I feel totally vindicated that my theory of what was wrong is absolute correct, despite not being able to convince any medical practitioners of that fact. Anyway, it was a lovely hour plus of stretching and I feel all the better for it! Had my usual dinner and a movie, won't be long out of bed. Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Seems like my body clock is better adjusted to the circadian rhythm of the sun than the clock, I woke up at 6:00 at first, and ended up getting up around 8:00. I do like Standard time so much better than Daylight Savings Time! Last night Kaleigh said she wanted to retrieve markers with the side by side starting at 10:00, but then later she asked if I would do it on Flash. Despite it being a bit later than I had hoped, I agreed, saddled Flash and headed out on the trail to see how far we could get today. Turned out we managed to do the whole thing. She and a boy had gone out yesterday after the last horses were out and supposedly de-marked the pink trail, so I figured all I had to do was the green trail, but it turned out they missed a couple of sections of the pink trail so I ended up doing that as well today. Managed to finish up just after 3:00. Spent some time redoing the ribbons so they would be the way I like them next time. I asked Kaleigh is she want me back in March and she said yes, so I'll have another fixed stopping point in my calendar. Settled down for the evening to another Wonder Woman movie (1984), and the rest of the evening is as usual! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Well, Kaleigh, the Ride Manager for the event this weekend, has run into a few more problems that have delayed her arrival even more, so she didn't arrive until after dark. Since I hate leaving things that could be done ahead to the last minute, which then leaves time to actually do the last minute stuff, I decided to go out and make the changes on horseback. I was afraid Flash would see me coming and run away from me after yesterday's long and tiring ride, but he was perfectly still, even turned toward me when I came over! We got a late start, but we didn't have that much to do, so off we went. I left Lola home because I figured she had enough exercise yesterday. We made the two fixes on the trail, and noticed several markers that had gotten blown off by the wind, it's been a very chilly wind from the north the last couple of days. Actually felt guilty I didn't put blankets on the horses last night, especially Flash after all the work he did yesterday. Anyway, we checked out a couple of extra trails on that side of the road to make sure the markers were still okay, and since we were making such good time, not having to stop every 50 or 100 yards, I decided to check out the markers on the farm side, just to make sure they were still intact. That's what added all the extra mileage today. Happy to say most of them were fine, though I improved on a couple of sign and marker placements. Got back to camp right at 5:00, rinsed off Flash and after I scraped him, put his blanket on, even though it's not going to be as chilly tonight. Still, the breeze is still going pretty strong. Got everybody and me fed, K and I have decided to wait until breakfast to get together, so I'm done for the night! Just my tea, a shower and that's it! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Woke up to a chilly morning, dressed with four layers on. Intended to get out early, but once again, had a few complications that delayed me. The most unexpected was when I was all saddled up and packed and ready to go, stuck my foot in the stirrup, and the stirrup broke! The leather had worked its way through the rivet. At first I tried to find another stirrup that might work, then I decided to see if a Chicago screw would work, and it turned out to be the perfect answer. That killed twenty minutes, so I finally got out a bit after 10:00. I only managed to get a little over six miles done yesterday, so in order to finish it off, I had to do the other nineteen today. Of course, I made a few errors and had to backtrack a couple of times, I just don't have any experience in this forest (I've ridden this side only once before), but I managed to get it done, though it was a long day, made longer by the fact that I also had to take down markers from a previous event that were left behind. How rude and inconsiderate! Unfortunately, they were the same pink ribbons we are using, so I had to remove them as much as I could. I re-purposed some that were on the same trails, had to take a bunch of others done because they were on the wrong side, just a lot of extra hassle, as if I didn't have enough to do today! Oh, well, c'est l'avie! Lola came with us, and for the first time in a long time, she just plopped down in her chair and crashed when we got home, didn't try to bring me her frisbee or anything! It will take a couple of days for her to recover. Flash was his usual brilliant self, mostly patient today with all the stop/starting, and even stood still for me to staple signs on the trees after awhile. It was after 4:30 by the time we got back to camp, but it was a job well finished. Well, almost finished. As I started to coordinate all the information on my mapping program, it seems it might be a tad long (not unusual), but there are a couple of places where I can trim a couple of tenths of a mile, so with Kaleigh bringing her side by side tomorrow, we can fix those in no time. She's having a computer problem she had to fix, so will be later than normal, but no worries, if I have to, I can always go back out on Flash, though I'm sure he would appreciate a day off tomorrow. I would, too, though we'll have to see how late she's going to be. Anyway, that was my day, need to get to bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a good night sleep, at last, and had intended to get an early start marking trails but had a few things get in my way. I had to pick up the package Jo sent me with arrow signs in it and ended up in a long conversation with the owners here. Then I had trouble with my staple gun, spent nearly an hour working on that before I got it working properly. Finally got on the trail just before midday, managed to get about eight miles done. Had to come back and make up some more markers, I didn't have anywhere near enough, and spent the rest of the evening making enough for tomorrow, hopefully. I'll need to get more clothespins if we decide to do a third loop. That's one of the things I learned from the owners today, apparently that part of the forest I was told we couldn't use is actually being used, and was used by another endurance ride back in September! I hadn't planned on a third loop, but maybe we can get it done, if I can finish off the other two loop tomorrow. Lola had a good run today, and has been crashed all evening, hopefully she'll sleep through the night. Anyway, I'm running late, having my tea, need to finish off everything and get to bed, busy day tomorrow! Going to be a chilly one, too! Good night, my sweet! Love you!