Wednesday, October 1, 2025 – Hay and Shopping Day

Hiya Sweetie,
Finally had a day that required some physical activity! Though it was a quiet morning, I headed out around noon and stayed busy the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't able to find a haymaker (well, one that responded to my communications), so I went to a feed store for hay. First, I went to Bubba's, all they had was coastal for $10 a bale, and it was okay, but I was hoping to give them something better than coastal until I didn't have a choice. Then I went to another place north of Union called Down South Outdoor Supply, and they had really heavy bales of nice green fescue for $12 a bale. While that's more than I usually pay, the size and quality convinced me to get that instead. Besides, I'm trying to not be so skimpy on certain things, it's not like I can't afford it! Next stop was Tractor Supply for propane and horse feed, then Walmart for a few things I missed the other day, and finally, two auto parts stores to get fuses (which Walmart quite carrying for some reason) and the second because the first, like Walmart, didn't sell Rotella oil in quart sizes. Note to self, O'Reilly DOES carry quarts of Rotella oil. I had ordered a new oil and air filter for the generator, and I needed the oil so I could do an oil change, hopefully this weekend. With all that done, I headed back to camp, and put everything away, which took some time and energy. Putting the propane tanks away is always good arm exercise, and putting those heavy bales in the front stall was even more challenging. I wasn't sure I would be able to get the last two very heavy bales on top, but I finally managed. With everything put away, I was finally able to settle down. Sorry to see that the government shutdown started, but the gates here are still open, and I figure, if they're not working, then they won't be able to come around and kick me out, right? Fingers crossed they get it resolved soon. Binged on some more Hart of Dixie's, be heading to bed soon! Good night, baby! Love you!

Tuesday, September 30, 2025 – Another Lazy Day

Hey Babe,
Managed to get to bed a bit earlier, but still slept late, guess laziness is starting to take over! Without a riding schedule, I really don't have much else to do but read and do a few odds and ends before I settle in for the evening. I ordered a few things from Amazon, hoping they'll follow my instructions to send it USPS, since I'm having them sent to General Delivery. About the only other thing of note is that I met the Rec Director here, who was off last week, when she came out to finally empty the trash bins (they were so full, I haven't been able to put anything in them for a week!) We chatted for a bit, then she informed me that there's a possibility that they will be ordered to shut down the campgrounds because there is an impending dispute in Congress about the budget, and the Federal Government may have to shut down! So I spent some time looking for a Plan B, which were state-operated campgrounds, but they were either full or ridiculously expensive, state forests, which might be a possibility, or possibly to a friend's farm, which I haven't reach out to yet. I'm hoping either the shutdown won't happen or won't last long, or the rangers will just not show up and law enforcement will leave us alone. Worst case scenario is I'll get ticketed, hopefully not even that considering the circumstances. Fingers crossed it doesn't screw up my plans, considering the next three weeks were all supposed to be in national forest campgrounds! I did take Apollo for a walk around the campground, but didn't get much more exercise than that. Sigh. Can't wait to get back to riding! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Monday, September 29, 2025 – Lazy Rainy Day

Hiya Darlin',
Yup, another lazy day! I went to bed too late last night and read much later than I usually like, but the rain came in this morning and made it easy to nod off in my recliner despite that. So I spent the day reading, took both horses on a walk around the campground loop, and finally bingeing on Hart of Dixie for the evening. Not much else to report! Good night, Sweetie! Love you!

Sunday, September 28, 2025 – Laundry Day

Hi Sweetie,
Been having some good nights of sleep here, despite my neighbor running their generator into the wee hours. I did have to close a window last night to cut out the noise, but slept like a babe after that! They left in the morning, so I imagine I'll have a quiet night tonight. I did some laundry, including, Lola's bed, which has taken on a rank smell since she's been on some medication, but she's finished that now, so hopefully it will stay smelling clean for awhile. I let the horses graze most of the day, and enjoyed the peacefulness here, mostly reading again. Temps were fine most of the day, until the sun really came out late in the day, but I'm trying to not be so stingy using my generator for luxuries like air conditioning, so I managed to cool it off as the sun went down. I had a little problem with the generator again today, I'm convinced it's overheating a little, because once I let it cool, then leave it open, it works fine. I checked my maintenance schedule and saw that it was time for an oil and air filter service, so I ordered those from Amazon. I only hope they follow instructions and send it USPS, otherwise the post office probably won't accept it. It was a nice day, can't complain about enjoying the peace and quiet! Well, except for the two trucks that just drove in and parked in the site across from me, hopefully they'll respect the quiet! Good night, baby! Love you!

Saturday, September 27, 2025 – Rainy, Lazy Day

Hiya Babe,
And the theme continues, except today I didn't even really do a small job! Rain came in last night and persisted off and on through the night and into the morning, so I lazed around a bit, put the horses out on anchors, let one of the neighbors' kids say hello to the horses, played video games, read, and watched TV all day. I took Apollo for a walk around the campground loop just to get him moving a bit more, but other than that, had a totally quiet and lazy day! Trying not to feel guilty about not doing anything, and so far, I'm succeeding! Hoping it will be nice enough tomorrow to hang laundry out, but other than that, have no plans for anything else tomorrow, either! I'll be busy soon enough, so I'm enjoying the peace. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Friday, September 26, 2025 – Bookkeeping, Lazy Day

Hey Darlin',
Starting to sense a theme here? One fairly small job followed by a lazy day? That's becoming my pattern for the time being, which is fine with me, I needed a little "retirement" quiet time before I get busy with my winter events. In addition to doing some bookkeeping, I let the horses out on their anchors (though Flash kept escaping, so whenever Apollo started to whinny I knew I had to go find him, though he was never far), filled the water tanks (glad that I have enough hoses to reach the spigot, so much easier than filling the truck and using gravity feed), read for a few hours, watched TV for a few hours, filled out a form for another volunteer position farther south for January and February, and otherwise had a normal day. Flash is still favoring his right hind foot, so I'm not going to try to ride him here anymore, I'll wait until we get to the next place, which actually has some nice trails, and only if he seems better. He's got me a bit worried, not sure what to do about it, except give it time to heal, which I hope won't be months! Had a nice evening, we finally got some rain in, which has cooled things down a little, thank goodness! Heading to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Thursday, September 25, 2025 – Housekeeping, Lazy Day

Hi Sweetie,
Didn't do much today except finish off my housekeeping by wiping down all the wood more thoroughly than yesterday. I put the horses out on their anchors for the afternoon so they could much on fresh grass and move around a bit, but otherwise has a pretty lazy reading day. Flash is definitely favoring his right hind leg, so I'm going to just let him rest for awhile, since there's not much in the way of trails here anyway. The generator cut out once again today, not sure why, but it feels really hot, so I guess the heat is getting to it. Need to do some research on that. Trying to sort out my schedule for the winter, now that my usual wintering place has decided not to have a camp host anymore, which frees me up for other things I want to do, which is a good thing. Other than that, a pretty lazy day! Didn't get the rain yet, so it's still pretty warm, though I did put up the front panel of my screen room to keep the direct sunlight off the trailer, which helped, as did the bit of cloudiness we had. Hoping for rain overnight to cool things off! Heading to bed shortly! Good night, baby! Love you!

Tuesday, September 23, 2025 – Laundry, Housekeeping, Productive Day

Hiya Darlin',
A good night sleep, so happy I'm back on track since all my back pain has disappeared! Had a busy day doing laundry and a lot of serious housekeeping, long overdue! I brought out Lola's swimming pool because it's been really hot the last couple of days, and tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter before a cold front brings in some rain, if you want to believe the weatherman. I also extended my reservation for another week, so I brought out my hoses to see if they would be long enough to reach the spigot, and was very pleased to see that they do, at least to the trailer. I need to confirm it will reach the horses' buckets tomorrow, but I think a still have another section of hose I can use if I need to. I had a little problem with the generator, though, it ran fine for my first load of laundry, then a few minutes into my second load it quit. I checked all the usual suspects, put some oil in, turned on a new propane cylinder, but it kept doing it, running for a few minutes, then quitting. Of course, I looked it up online and most responses had to do with the coils, but I noticed that some oil had spilled, so I cleaned everything up, including some of the wiring connections, and I managed to keep it running long enough to finish my second load. It also came on fine when I needed it for the microwave, so I may have solved the problem for now, I hope. Settled down for the my usual evening, ready for bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Monday, September 22, 2025 – Travel Day to Sedalia Camp near Union, SC

Hey Sweetie,
Woke up to another foggy morning, but it cleared out pretty well by the time I was on the road just after 9:30. I was a bit surprised to see a bear near Deer Park on my way out of the Biltmore this morning! So cool! I stopped at a truck stop just south of Asheville and was thrilled to pay a mere $3.16 a gallon for diesel! I was down to nearly an eighth of a tank and it still only cost $100 to fill up! Whoo hoo! Love it when my biggest expense gets so much more reasonable! Arrived safe and sound at the Sedalia campground. This is my first time here, and it didn't take me very long to get set up. A little tricky getting into my site, but it's perfect for what I need. The trailer is mostly in the shade, but I have a clear shot for my solar panel most of the afternoon, I have trees that are perfect for the highline and a laundry line, and I'm next to the treeline so cleanup is a breeze. The one water spigot has threads, so I was able to fill my truck tank, and I might even be close enough for my hoses to reach, but it's just as easy to fill my truck tank anyway. It was paved all the way here, too, so very easy to reach, and the cell phone signal, though weak, is good enough for live streaming on Prime, so I'm thinking about extending my stay for another week. Good to be back on the road again! Good night, babe! Love you!

Sunday, September 21, 2025 – Quiet Day of Prep

Hiya Babe!
Another good night sleep and a pretty lazy day. I invited Steve and Cam for a pancake breakfast, though they slept in later than usual today, and it was almost 1:00 by the time they finally headed home. I only had a few things I could put away, which I did, so it should be an easy exit for me tomorrow. Since I don’t have any trees to hang clothes on, I didn’t do my usual Sunday laundry ritual, so that will have to wait for a day or two, depending on weather. Watched some of Charlie Kirk’s funeral on CSPAN, then binged the rest of the day on Hart of Dixie. It’s not quite as empty here as usual, my friend Jenny is still here, though she’s all the way down at the other end, and her new friend and riding partner is close to me, so I don’t have it to myself as usual, but that’s okay, I’ve been sleeping so well when it’s been busy, I’m sure I’ll do the same tonight! Won’t be long out of bed, of course, just need my tea and shower! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!