Hi Babe,
Didn’t get to bed as early as I hoped, and even though I felt fairly rested in the morning, it didn’t last, the exhaustion is just too deep. Being tired sometimes makes me testy, as you know, and then so many ridiculous obstacles were thrown in my path, it just made me feel more tired. First, I did three loads of laundry in the morning, and that went okay, except it got so windy later in the morning it practically blew my clothes away, and I had to rearrange them on the line to make sure they didn’t. Last week I ordered two bags of Balance from the local feed store, and they were supposed to call me when it came in and they never did, so this morning I called just to check and they said, oh, yeah, they it came it, they meant to call me on Friday but didn’t. Okay, fine, so I drive to the feed store, and when he rings up the sale, it is WAY more expensive that I had expected, so I asked to see the bags and it turned out to be the wrong stuff! Grrr! So then they call their “sister store,” Ranch Feed, which I already know has a couple of bags because I had checked last week, but nixed going there because I had already ordered it from the Okeechobee store, and they still had two bags. When I called later, though, to tell them I didn’t have time to pick them up today and could they put them aside for me tomorrow, they refused! After already driving an hour round trip to pick them up, and now having to drive ANOTHER hour round trip in the other direction to pick them up, they weren’t even willing to save them for me??? Seriously?? All I got was, “well, there’s not a lot of demand for that,” but no response when I said, so what if someone comes in and buys them before I get there? Another 50 mile round trip for nothing, really? Grrrr! Very disappointing. Then I went to Tractor Supply to get three propane tanks filled, which went fine, then I went to Walmart to shop. Despite it being two days after the weekend, there was a lot of things that were missing on the shelves, so I had to make do without some stuff I needed, or replacement stuff that wasn’t my first choice. Then, something unheard of happened. I had picked up some treats for Lola, a nice big twisty treat that she really likes. I had just bought some for her about a week or two ago and she’s been enjoying them ever since. So I get to check out, and I’m told by a rather snippety youngster that she can’t sell them to me because they’ve been discontinued. Discontinued, really?? Usually that’s the excuse I hear when they’re OUT of something I usually buy, but I’ve never heard that before with something that’s still on the shelf, in my hand, in my basket! I WANTED to buy it, and they REFUSED!! Who’s ever heard of a thing like that?? Crazy!! Because it had been taken out of the computer, no one could sell it to me. How absurd is that?? So naturally, I left Walmart in an even fouler mood than previously, feeling like I was progressing down a dark path to nowhere, feeling more and more tired as I went. It wasn’t helped by the really poor attitude of the cashier, either, she was a total bitch. A really disappointing day. The only high point was a brief visit to my neighbors while I was feeding my horses, the guy, Eddy, is a big Snowy River fan, even just bought a whip from Australia, though he has a locally made whip he likes to crack on occasion. Anyway, I finally settle down for the evening, immersed myself in some TV and now I’m headed to shower and bed. Hoping for a good, long sleep tonight, because I have a long drive to the feed store to hopefully get there in time to get my feed! Trying to get caught up on my rest before the big Cracker Ride next week, not sure it’s going to be possible. But I need to try, so I’m heading for shower and bed. Good night, my love!

Hi Sweetheart,
Whew! No surprise, it’s been way to busy over this past weekend to even write one word that wasn’t absolutely essential to the ride! Early mornings, late nights, tons of problem-solving along the way, hard to even recap everything we had to do! Thursday worked out very well, camp host Steve did an excellent job of parking all the trailers, seemed like there was plenty of room for everyone, and of course, Dupuis is such a fabulous facility with its 30 paddocks and 36 stalls, so no problems there. The ride meeting went well, but I forgot to give James of the SFWMD a chance to talk, so now he’s going to tease me about that forever! Once we got everyone out on the shuttles and moving trailers (convoy got off just 12 minutes late, which I thought was pretty good for our first morning,) and Jeff arrived at 8:15 as requested, and we quickly loaded up Flash and headed out to the halfway point so I could get in front of the pack. Only had to put up a couple extra markers, the trail looked really good. Everyone made it to camp just fine and in reasonable time, and they did a pretty good job parking the trailers with only a couple in the wrong place, but it’s a good lesson learned, and we even discovered we have enough room for quite a few more! No one got too lost (except for Augie’s group, again, he took them off the trail by a mile and a half, through water so deep the horses were swimming, exactly why I marked the trail as I did, to avoid that!). Nevertheless they were back in camp in plenty of time, and I headed back to Dupuis, where I did a bunch of paperwork in preparation for tomorrow’s ride. When I arrived back in Corbett on Saturday, the first crisis of many crises during the day was that four horses got loose in the night, and were nowhere to be found. Not sure why they would wander away from a grassy area filled with other horses and lots of hay laying around to go on a walkabout out in the swamp, but that’s what they did! They called the sheriff, who showed up a bit later, and they ended up getting some air support (helicopters) to come look for them. While that was going on, the rest of the trailer convoy got out at about the same time as yesterday, when one got stuck (a girl had a small trailer whose back bumper got caught in a bit of a dip, and instead of gunning it to get out, slowed down which made it get more stuck.) Several people had already come out to her rescue, and one of the Evergladies whose horse was missing brought her bigger truck over and got it out quickly enough for her to rejoin the convoy. I finally headed out on the trail, but only 15 minutes before 8:00, so it wasn’t long before two speedy endurance girls caught up to me and passed, which, of course, made Flash think we were in a race, so I had to fight with him for the rest of the way. I put up a few markings, but the FTA trail is really well marked, so there wasn’t much to do, thank goodness. I kept getting texts and calls about sightings of the missing horses, so they were getting tracked down, fortunately. Apparently there was an incident of horses escaping during another event some years back, and they were never found, so it was a relief to hear they had been spotted. Then I got a call from one of the folks in the Miami group, one of their horses was colicking, laying down and evidently in serious trouble. They were only three miles in, but despite instructions from Anita to turn around and go back to camp so we could pick them up, they didn’t want to go back through that section of Cypress swamp and insisted on keeping going, even though it was another 11 miles! Crazy! When I finally reached the Beeline (with Flash still trying to catch the two horses in front of us), we arranged to get my trailer, which was the emergency trailer) back out into Corbett to recover two of the four lost horses (the girls they belonged to had another two-horse trailer for the other two), so Jeff headed over there to pick them up and take them to Riverbend. Then I called James so we could unlock a gate at the Beeline so we could take another trailer driven by Scott into the park as far back into the woods and as close to the trail as possible. He was at another event, but he drove up and joined us in getting the trailer back as far as we could. Of course, it took hours for the group to reach them. They finally managed to reach the trailer and get them out. Meanwhile, the rest of the group decided it was too late to ride the rest of the way and they all wanted to get out at the Beeline, so we had Jeff and Scott and another trailer mustered at the Beeline by the time they got there, and they were all taken out at that point, which was probably good because it would have been dark by the time they got to camp if they had tried to ride it. Phew, what a day! I finally headed back to camp with a near empty fuel tank, so I stopped in Indiantown for diesel as the sun was going down, then got back to camp and did all the paperwork for tomorrow’s ride. Then I started getting calls from Anita about the guy with the sick horse, who at first didn’t want a vet, then the horse went down in camp again so they brought out the vet, then they apparently didn’t do what the vet told them, including taking him to the PBG animal hospital, and it got worse, and then apparently a lot of heated words were exchanged, and in the end, Anita called to cops to force him to leave and take his sick horse with him, she didn’t want it dying there, and when they tried to get him up the owner was all, “don’t touch my horse”, but finally, they got him in the trailer. One of the other riders offered to drive him there because apparently when he got back to camp he had three beers and a shot of whisky, so not in any shape to drive, and off they went. Unfortunately, despite Anita’s insistence they not come back to camp, the rider brought them back, but Anita was home by then, probably a good thing. But the horse was doing better, which was the most important thing. So naturally with all the phone calls, it was another late night for me! Then Sunday rolled around pretty quick but without the drive down into Corbett, it seemed like a breeze of a day, from a riding perspective, but then we had lots of rain in the forecast, and we did get some rain, though it cleared up in the afternoon. But that’s why I hav a slicker! The guy with the sick horse avoided Anita, and somehow they managed to slip into the convoy and do the ride, despite being thrown out the night before. Later in the day at the end event, though, he apparently came over and apologized profusely to Anita, and I guess that meant something, but he’s still banned from future rides for disobeying a Ride Manager’s orders, so we won’t be seeing him again. Pretty soon it was all over, Awards Certificates and raffle prizes given away, everybody packed up and leaving. I took my volunteer Kathleen back to her car and drove around Riverbend, the only manure not scattered was where the Miami folks had been parked, which seems to be the case with a lot of them. Anyway, I got back to camp, and found a bunch of the OTL riders had come back here as suggested, so I spent a little time with them, and checked all the stalls for cleanliness, found two in the big barn dirty, though not the one I had expected, surprisingly. Finally made it back home, too tired to do much of anything, so I made a bowl of popcorn and watched a little TV, which I fell asleep through, and was in bed by a little after 9:00. So overall, it went well despite all the challenges. We had nearly triple the riders on Friday and Saturday from previous rides, put a lot more money in the coffers because we charged more, and almost everyone was saying they had a great time and would do it again next year. So it looks like a success, and that next year it will be growing, so we’ll have to fix some of the issues we had this year so that it runs more smoothly next year. We certainly learned a lot! Went to be with a sore throat and the beginning of a cold sore, so I made it a point to stay in bed as much as possible today. I did have a Flex-boot fitting this morning with Lindy, I’m trying to find an alternative to the Cavallos on Flash since the last ones rubbed his bulbs too much, and Lindy said I could have a trail pair for the Cracker Ride, which I thought was very generous. That took nearly an hour, and afterward I got back into bed and was reading, then napping, until well into the afternoon, when I got up and stayed in my recliner watching TV most of the afternoon. Did a little social media, but really, mostly just tried to rest today. I have a busy week getting ready for the Cracker Ride, so it’s good that I have a recovery day. Been a long time coming, glad it all worked out, but ready to get another good night’s sleep tonight! Good night, my dear! Love you!

Hi Babe,
More stall mucking, picked up troughs, then distributed them, which took all afternoon, then scrambled to get paperwork done before the 7:00 volunteers meeting, computer screwed up and slowed me down so I didn’t get that done, got to the meeting a few minutes late, it seemed like chaos, didn’t get home till after 9:30, fixed the computer problem and printed what I had hoped to print before the meeting, now I’m exhausted and going straight to shower and bed! Whew!! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Had a good night sleep, got up a little early because I had the farrier scheduled for 9:00, then he started out early and was here by 8:20, so I was glad I was up early! He trimmed my guys in no time, as he always does, and was on his way before 9:00. I finished my chores and had breakfast, did some work designing all the forms we’re going to need to get everyone through the registration and check-in process as quickly as possible, then I took a walk around to the barns, just to see what kind of condition they were in and to count how many there are here, something I hadn’t gotten around to doing yet. Turns out there are 36 stalls divided between the three barns, and I was disappointed to see that very little care had been taken by the previous occupants when it came to cleaning up. I decided they all needed cleaning, and set about mucking out all the stalls. I also checked for loose boards and protruding nails and hammered them all back in, on two of the three barns. James came by to discuss with me where we can locate a couple more manure piles, since the central one is too far from two of the barns to be practical, and even got it worked out that he’s going to obtain three utility carts, three manure rakes, and enough hoses to reach all the stalls in each barn, a real bonus! We’re going to have to lock them up between events, but at least we’ll have them when we need them. He’s also agreed to let me come back after the Cracker Ride and work with me on getting this place really shipshape. I’m so glad he’s so willing to work with us! I told him I didn’t think I wanted the campground host job, just because it seems like it’s practically full-time and requires a lot of chasing people around for their permits, but I did say I’d keep volunteering to really get the trails, barns and horse-related stuff in good shape, and he seemed prepared, even enthusiastic, to let me do that. Anita’s happy because that means I’ll be around for the Poker Run in March as well. She and I spent a long time on the phone trying to get everything coordinated, but I think we’ve got it all in pretty good shape. All heck will break loose once the ride starts, I know, but at least we’re laying the groundwork to avoid a lot of potential problems. Barely just managed to settle down, and now it’s bedtime. Busy day planned for tomorrow, even without mucking out the big barn, which is still on my agenda, too! So off I go to showers and bed, early morning tomorrow! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, then got busy with chores and a couple of loads of laundry. I cleaned out the inside of the truck today, in preparation for the passengers we are likely to get during the ride this week, just a few more days away! The numbers seem to have settled down now, so I worked on logistics of getting the shuttling organized. I sent out an email about the Dupuis reservations, which opened this morning at around 9:30, and I worked on the FINAL Ride Information document, which I was going to send today but decided to send tomorrow. It will be my last general correspondence, and I wanted to make sure it was just right. Other than that, it was another pretty quiet day, so I’m catching up on my rest, which is a good thing! I’ll need all the energy reserves I can get come Thursday! I’m attempting to get to bed reasonably early, so I’m heading off the my shower and bed soon. Love you, babe! Good night!

Hi Babe,
The day started cloudy but ended up being beautiful, but it was too late to do any laundry. I wanted to rest Flash, so didn’t go riding. I did send out an email to all the participants, trying to get a handle on how many trailers we’ll actually have coming, but for some reason, people don’t really read or comprehend mail much anymore. I had to send several emails to people who just didn’t answer the questions for some reason, despite how clear I made them and the reason for them, so I’m only slightly less in the dark about it than I was before, so a lot is going to be done on the fly, which I don’t like to do because someone is going to be left behind somewhere along the line. It’s probably good that I had a fairly relaxing day, but I have a feeling it’s the calm before the storm! Anyway, I spent the afternoon on the computer, finally taking a break to read for awhile, then finally settled down for the evening. All of my neighbors left today, so I’m pretty much back on my own again, and it’s nice and quiet here once more. Watched a bit of TV, now I’m off to my much needed shower and fresh sheets! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Darlin’,
Well, once again Anita and Scott went trail-marking, so I got another day off from that job. I feel like I’m doing a lot less this year, at least on the trail end of it, though I have been keeping busy with all the computer stuff, the social media and the file upkeep. I felt sorry for Camp host Steve today, he had several campers that overstayed their permits and he had to kick them out, not fun! Part of the problem is with their computer reservation system, which allows them to request a second permit that’s effective the same date as the expiration of the previous permit, even though it’s clearly stated that you can only stay seven nights, and have to leave for 24 hours on the eighth day. When I was at another WMD on the other coast, their system wouldn’t allow you to make a second reservation, which, if this place did that, would be a lot easier on Steve. Might be something worth suggesting to James next time I talk with him, since I sure don’t want to be a camp host if I have to deal with that kind of stuff everyday! Anyway, after chores and breakfast and some more OTL work, I finally decided to take Flash on a conditioning ride today. it was hot and muggy in the morning, but then the wind switched around to the north and it cooled down and got a little cloudy, so it turned out to be a perfect day for riding. I planned a 15 mile loop, and we kept up a good pace, even doing several long stretches of cantering, so we ended up doing just under 16 miles in about three hours, getting back to camp just after 4:00. It wasn’t long before it was feeding time again, and then I settled down for the evening. Now it’s coming up to shower and bedtime! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Not much going on today for me. Anita and Scott went out trail-marking on their four-wheeler, so I didn’t have much to do today, except run into Okeechobee for hay, feed, propane and a few groceries. That killed most of the day, along with a few OTL registrations and a bit of computer work. Seems like the calm before the upcoming storm next week! I’ll take it! I was planning on marking JD next Monday, but Anita said she got permission to do it on the four-wheeler, so they’re going out Sunday, which means I have more time to get registration organized, which is a good thing. I have several ideas about getting more information that we need for things to run smoothly and I need to work through them. Anyway, settled down for the evening as usual, now I’m ready for my shower and bed before long. Love you, babe! Good night!

Hey Darlin’,
Got up with the alarm this morning, had a 9:00 doctor’s appointment, just my annual physical, was back in camp before 11:00. Did some OTL work, then spent some time pressure washing the water tank in the truck, since we’ll b using that to fill water troughs next week and it’s been awhile since it had a good cleaning. Between putting out OTL fires and working on that, it was suppertime by the time I was finished. Got the horses fed and settled down for the evening. Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that my bad neighbor inexplicably moved to another spot! Haven’t learned exactly why yet, though James camp through camp late yesterday afternoon and it’s possible he said something to them. I was glad to be vindicated, even though I never spoke to James about it, that just came out of the blue. Great minds, though! Chatted a bit with my other Canadian neighbors, I haven’t had much time to be sociable with all the late night work hours I’ve been keeping lately, and they’re leaving tomorrow for a bit. Guess they’re coming back in March, don’t know if I’ll be back here then or not, but it’s possible. Anyway, managed to watch a little TV, then put together the OTL weekly report for Anita, did my French lesson, now I’m done and heading for the showers and bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
Stayed in bed a lot longer than usual, probably because I was so snug and warm and the outside was in the 30’s, you think? Finally warmed up enough to get out of bed, got my chores done, then started doing some odd jobs, then some housework, and, of course, some OTL work, having to revamp the Ride Information document now that we’ve decided to offer early take-outs on the first two days, so I wasn’t exactly idle today. A pretty relaxing day, at least until a friend of my neighbors showed up and behaved so completely inconsiderately that it made my blood boil. This guy shows up, parks on the road to get his horses out, puts a hose on the spigot without a splitter (which should have been my first clue of his selfishness), then decides to park between me and my neighbor, despite the fact that it completely blocks off anyone from being able to get out from either side of him. We’ve been keeping that space clear so that people can turn around on the road, and get in and out of the field behind us, but no matter what was said to this guy, he refused to even recognize how inconsiderate and downright unsafe his actions were. So HE’S able to turn around and back up, but now, NO ONE ELSE can! It’s people like that that give the rest of us a bad name. I just don’t understand how some people can be so selfish! Even the woman that was with him, and his neighbors, all tried to tell him it he shouldn’t do it, but he did it anyway, the rest of us and all of those who follow be damned. A whole field was wide open for him to get into, but instead he blocks the whole damn egress. Grrrr! And now I have to put up with this guy for at least a week! I guess it’s a good thing I’ll be gone a lot this week, it’s just so irritating to be around someone like that. Just as I was about to call it a night, I got a call from Anita and was on the phone with her for nearly an hour working on more stuff, now I’m exhausted and I still haven’t done my French lesson! I was going to trailer out to Riverbend or JD tomorrow to mark trails, but that’s both been put on hold for now. Anita’s trying to get Riverbend to let us put up permanent markings, so there’s not point in putting up temporary ones if we can do that instead, and she said it’s too early to do JD, plus we’re trying to figure out whether volunteers and trailer drivers have to pay the entry fee or not, and she’s going to have to call about it tomorrow. So I guess I’ll probably just take ride tomorrow and see how the mowing went last week, and maybe put up a couple of pink paint marks here in Dupuis just for fun. I just need to get on my horse and ride, I’ve been sitting in front of my computer too long! Anyway, it’s really late, so good night, my sweet! Love you!