Hi Babe,
Another good night sleep, did my chores, then arranged with Julie to follow me over to Glenn’s house in the Buick. Made it okay, and tucked it into the back corner of his Quonset hut. Got back and decided to take Apollo for a long overdue ride. Can’t remember the last time I rode him, he definitely needed it! We took the 5-mile green loop, took us almost 2 hours (typically 2.8 mph!) so it was slow and steady. Hot day today, 85 again, shouldn’t be like this at this time of the year! Got back to camp, chatted with some campers, fed the horses again, then settled down for the rest of the day. My latest binge-watch on Netflix is a series called Bloodline, excellent writing and production value, great acting, too. Wonder if there are really families that stick up for each other like that. Grilled a burger and had a quiet evening. Won’t be long until shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Had a pretty nice day today, all things considered. Made it over to breakfast with the club, some very interesting fare, including duck breast, pork bellies with apples and Jack Daniel’s, and eggs with peppers and finely chopped brussel sprouts, hmm, hmm good! Plus some coffee cake, so no one went hungry. Eventually all the gals saddled up to ride, and we had a fairly short but very nice ride. We even went on one section of trail that they hadn’t been on before, or at least not for years, which was a nice change for them, since they’re such regulars here. All the horses got along and it was lovely. Wasn’t too long after that we had a lunch of leftovers plus some quesadillas, and we ended up chatting until 3:00. Several other riders joined us, so it was a spirited discussion on many topics. Everyone finally left, and I settled down to trying to work out how people can buy my book, since my website pay buttons aren’t working anymore. Finally settled on the Pay feature in Messenger, directing potential buyers to my Best and Worse Facebook group where I posted instructions on how to use that Pay feature, and by the time of this writing, I’ve already got a couple of orders in! Be nice to have a little extra money coming in. Anyway, I’ve already had my shower, and I’m heading to bed early so I can read for awhile, and hoping to get a better night sleep tonight, knowing I have so many horse friends trying to help me. Don’t know what will come of it, but feeling a bit more optimistic. We’ll see! Anyway, heading to bed. Love you, babe! Good night!

Hello my darling,
Three years have gone by. Hard to believe. Time sure is flying by. I miss you every day. I hope you came along on my ride today, I joined a camping neighbor and we took a very long ride all the way down to the sheep shearers’ shacks. Think it was a little much for his horse, who laid down shaking as soon as he got the saddle off, but he quickly cooled down and seems to be okay after awhile. Distance and speed didn’t faze Flash in the least, as usual. He didn’t even have much of a sweat on him! It was a beautiful day, perfect weather, couldn’t ask for more in January. Fussed with the neighbors’ horse for a bit, finally settled down to dinner and more Travelers, now it’s time for the end of another mundane day. I know I don’t live as exciting a life as we did before, but hopefully things will improve once I head out this spring. Just isn’t the same without to share it with Can’t believe I’ve been in the same place for almost a year, that’s a new record! Haven’t done that in at least 14 years now! Looking forward to getting back on the road in a few months though. Meanwhile, shower and bed and a rousing bit of gratefulness for all the years I had you, almost 34! It’s so true that when you find the right one, forever isn’t long enough! Wish it could have been so much more! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Woke up to the alarm expecting to ride this morning, but things got a bit out of hand when I was expecting a bunch of people to arrive around ten, which was after I was expecting to ride with Bev’s group, so once again, they went on without me while I stayed to manage traffic and newcomers. Finally did get a ride in with Carol and Jim Walter, big volunteers that will be helping to finish off the well shelter, they have two Arabs so it was a nice, comparable ride with Flash, Did about six and a half miles at a nice quick pace, with some nice canters and gaits in between. Once we got back and got the horses settled, we had a nice (albeit later than normal) dinner of filet mignon cooked over an open fire (lovely!) and had a nice evening with them, then as I finally headed back to the trailer I went to visit my closer neighbors, who are also very interesting, and ended up spending much longer there than I anticipated, so it was after 11:30 by the time I actually got back to the trailer! Took a quick shower, now I’m headed to bed, with an early alarm so we can get started in the morning. Busy day, nice day, productive day! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hiya Sweetie,
Despite the rain-free weather forecast that I went to bed on, it rained practically the entire night. Seriously? They couldn’t see this coming? Anyway, it was wet and chilly when I woke up and took care of the horses, and when my friends Bev and Maggie were finally ready to go, it was after 10:30. After breakfast, I just read and dozed until they called me, so as soon as I heard from them, I gathered up Flash and Apollo. Maggie’s friend Fred was going to ride Apollo, and I was happy that he was going to get some exercise. He does have one hoof that looks a bit odd that I’ll have to get looked at by a professional, but he seemed okay all day. We went on a ride about 8+ miles long, the green and yellow trail, and it was very nice. Maggie rides a Rocky Mountain that moves quickly like Flash, but we had to keep stopping and waiting for the rest of the quarter horses to catch up, even though they did a bit of jogging and cantering just to keep up. That’s how it works with stock vs. gaited horses! It was a good ride, though, everyone had a good time. Bev asked me to dinner but I begged off, it was too chilly to sit around outside to eat, so I’ll join them later in the week when it warms up a bit more. Settled down for the evening back at my trailer, now as we close in on 9:00, I’m ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Another good night sleep, though I was up at a more reasonable 7:30 this morning. Did my usual morning chores and breakfast before saddling up Flash and heading out to do the Red Dot loop. It went quickly and easily, though it was more gravel road than I remember, so I’m going to take a look at alternatives to see if I can find some. Went out to dinner with Jo and her hubby Jeff at Shrimp Landing, a little restaurant in the tiny town of Ingles about 20 minutes away. All you can eat shrimp! Delicious. I confess, I pigged out. Got back to camp and sat around the campfire with my horse neighbors, did my Snowy River, and am now writing this with my generator on and my fireplace going, warming the place up enough to get through the night. Some chilly nights, and calling for temps in the upper 30’s by the weekend, brrrr! Looking forward to heading south again next week! Already showered before dinner, so I won’t be long out of bed. Love you, my darlin’! Good night!

Hey Darlin’,
Even though I went to bed by 8:30 last night, I slept until 8:45 this morning! Really catching up on my zzzzz’s! After breakfast and chores and a little organizing, I saddled up Flash and headed out to mark the short orange loop. It’s a lot easier this year, as we’re using the same trails as last year, and all the ribbons were nicely hooked onto cardboard at the end of last year, so it’s a piece of cake. Flash was well-behaved for the most part, and it took me a good part of the day to accomplish, but it got done! Chatted with my neighbors, surprisingly, there are other horse campers here, then settled down for the evening. Finished off the nice turkey soup Jeff gave me Saturday, watched a little TV, had my shower, and now it’s off the bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Babe,
A bit of confusion this morning about the start time, so it was a little rushed when it was unexpectedly moved up, but we managed to get packed, loaded and saddled just before the cows started heading our way. It was another short, slow ride today, with enough stops to settle Flash down whenever he started getting antsy. Left camp about 9:00 and arrived at the Silver Spur Practice Arena in Kenansville at just about noon, pretty much on schedule. A good number of friends and family was there. Jeff arrived about ten minutes after we rode our groups through the arena, and it didn’t take long to collect my luggage, load up Flash, get Lola settled in the truck and hit the road. Jeff even brought me a container of turkey soup! Very nice! I needed fuel, but the first two stations were a bust, the first one had all the pumps covered with plastic bags, and the second one, I couldn’t fit it where the diesel pump was. Finally found one and managed to fill up okay. Probably should have taken the turnpike, I’d forgotten how bad 192 was leading up to Disney World, it would have saved me an hour. Didn’t want to be driving after dark, and managed to arrive at Goethe just minutes after the dusk was completed, and a few clouds made it lighter for a few minutes more. Put the electric paddock up for Flash, figured that would be faster than a highline, started the generator, made a quick dinner, and once I had hot water, luxuriated in a nice hot shower, which was truly magnificent. Watched a little TV, got my Spanish lesson done, now I’m heading to bed. Good night, darling! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Today was a much more relaxed day, much appreciated after a lengthy and tiring week. I slept an hour later, and woke up ten minutes before my 6:00 alarm. Breakfast was at 8:00 and what a luxury it was to be able to pack up in the daylight! I even left the tent up and it got pretty dried out before I put it away. Today, the cows are a new heard that haven’t had the horns cut, so I was glad we weren’t working with them. Apparently they also had a meaner disposition, too, so double glad. Found out at breakfast that we wouldn’t be arriving in the arena tomorrow until between 1:00 and 2:00, so my plans to leave for Goethe has changed, no way I’m driving at night. We only rode 6.5 miles today, but it took almost five hours, very slow stop and start. Flash was better today, likely because we stopped so often and for so long, he was never able to get any steam up. Didn’t even stop for lunch. We arrived in camp around 2:00, secured a decent spot, started setting up before taking a break for lunch. Time do dry out and relax. Then they suddenly announced the Seminole presentation was starting, but I though that was after dinner. Nothing like having no schedule. Driving me a little crazy. Frankly, too tired to walk that far more than once tonight, though I really would have liked to see it. Got all set up and finally sat down and relaxed. Hear tomorrow will be a late start, too, so planning on sleeping a bit later, if possible. But that changed by after dinner, to breakfast at 7:00 and ride out at 830-9:00. Wandered over to the food tent around 5:00 to look at the silent auction items and socialize. Dinner was at 6:00, a beautiful prime rib. The Space Station flew over again just as it was being served. A program of Seminole storytelling, lots of thank you’s, the auction, a bonfire with Indian dancing, but I didn’t stay for either since I knew I’d be getting up early again after all. Still have my Spanish lesson to do, then hitting the hay. Good night, Babe! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Got up at 5:00 (late by previous standards!) and still managed to get everything done on time. Got an efficient routine going now! Rode with the herd again today, had to do some real work keeping them from scattering. Last time we used the same herd, so they were too tired by now to give us any trouble, but this time, we’re picking up and moving different herds, so they were pretty fresh and troublesome. Flash stared acting up again for some reason, and I had to move away from the herd eventually, but we were once again in wide open fields, so we ran for miles. A lot more work than I was hoping for today, but fun nevertheless! Rode through some beautiful hammocks, really nice. About 14 miles today, but we dropped off the cattle at lunch so the rest of the day was just a nice trail ride, though Flash insisted on being in front and I was too tired to argue, and I wanted to get into camp first anyway to pick a good spot. We’re calling it “the land rush” because so many of us race to find our flags and claim our camping spot. We got in about 2:30, so we actually had time to dry out a lot of stuff, very grateful for that! No rain, just everything wet with dew when we pack up. Once Lynda and I got settled in, we took the horses for a swim in a nearby stock pond, really enjoyed that! Then we saw a launch from Cape Canaveral, which was amazing, and later the Space Station flew over as well, so a really “spacey” day! Dinner was really late, and I was sorry I gave Flash my PB&J sandwich, which he seemed to enjoy. Who knew? Finally got settled in, later than usual, but satisfied with another adventurous day! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!