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!

Pix to come.

Hey Babe!
Another morning up with the alarm, chores and a few odds and ends, feeling tremendous relief at the election results, then saddled up Flash to check on the Red and White Trail. Today was just about GPSing distances, rather than trail cleanup, though there was a stalk or two I clipped along the way. Flash was in a considerably more sluggish mood today, and the predicted rain came in an hour early, so we ended up getting wet before we got back. Thank goodness for my slicker! There's more rain coming in, so tomorrow it's more likely to be a full rain suit and Wellies! So we did just over 10 miles, confirming the length, then I worked on my computer a bit doing some post-ride production. Then I figured I had better refill my water tanks before the camp got too crowded tomorrow, so I topped off my trailer and the horse buckets, then drove over to the stalls to refill it. While I was waiting, I decided to take a look at my radio, which had stopped working the other day. While I was fiddling with that, I checked the fuses, and there was one fuse that broke when I pulled it out. It was marked as Radio Amp, and I couldn't get it out without my needle-nose pliers, so I decided to wait until I drove back to the trailer. Then, after the tank was full, I went to start the truck and nothing. I mean, the lights came on, but the battery gave me nothing! I don't know if I shorted something out or what. Of course, that's when it started to spit with rain. I walked back and got my jump starter and little pliers and came back. I put the radio back in (which was now working) and replaced the fuse, and, using the jump starter, thankfully, it started! Whoo-hoo! I don't know what's going on with it, it might just be the batteries are due to be replaced, but I also think there's a power issue, considering my radio wasn't working. Oh, well, another think on my list to look at when I get back to Florida! Thank goodness for my BeatIt jump starter! Best $100 I ever spent! Was happy to get a great bump in my investments as a result of the election, and I have high hopes those will continue to grow (and maybe one of these days I'll actually starte spending some of it!), then finally settled down for the evening as more rain came pounding on the roof. Earplugs tonight, for sure! At least it's a warm rain. Anyway, time for shower and bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Whew, what busy, tiring day! Was up with the alarm at 7:30, got my chores and breakfast done just in time to head out with John on one of the side-by-sides, and we took a leisure, though wet trip around the trails they are evidently losing for the next ride in January, to see how much they have to make up. There was no windshield on the quad, so we ended up getting pretty wet in the 10 minutes it rained. Then got back to camp, saddled up Flash and headed out again, following John and Becky to a point on the Black and Gold trail where we separated. They were putting out some signs and clearing a section of trail, and sent me off to clear another section of trail. And what clearing it needed! Nothing heavy duty, just tons of some long-stemmed frilly thing that bends down into the middle of the trail, especially with the weight of the rain on it. I couldn't do much from Flash, so I ended up having to walk a good couple of miles (at least it felt that way!), trimming with my (well, Jo's) folding loppers. It was a much bigger job than I figured. When I finished the first section and it ended in an open field, I figured that was the end of it, but on the other side of the field, it started all over again! I was exhausted from walking and bending over and snapping my loppers and alternating between dragging Flash and keeping him from running into me or running off. At one point a critter scrambled in the bushed and Flash started to bolt, but thankfully there was a muddy creek he didn't want to go over again, so he stopped right away, thank goodness! Once we finally came to the end of it, I mounted up and let my patient horse pick his own speed, and he took off like a bat out of hell. We managed over 9 mph on the next mile, and over 8 on another one after that. He was ready to go! Made it back to camp and rinse him off, though I could barely make it to the host by the stalls, I was so tired. Finally got a chance to sit down and relax a bit, have some juice and grapes and gather myself, before going off to dinner with Becky and John and one of Cheryl's other volunteers to Hampton, where I had a great margarita and Mexican meal. Got back around 7:30, watched the pilot of a TV series, and a little election coverage, being that it's election day. Since I quit watching news after the last election, I won't be staying up late for this one, since it seems what happens overnight might change everything. Anyway, heading for desperately needed shower and bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!