Hey Babe,
Well, after a slow morning, having a hard time getting much energy up for some unknown reason, at ten minutes to twelve and no sign of my package (which was originally scheduled for Thursday, then Friday, then today), I called the post office where they confirmed they hadn’t received it yet. Tracking has it leaving Jax at 4:30 this morning, so who knows where it might be! Of course, unless they miraculously deliver it tomorrow (not likely), I’ll be sitting in the post office lobby trying to catch it when it comes in and before it gets put in a carrier vehicle. I don’t really want to haul the trailer into town, so I’m just not going to hook up until I get back, which means a late start to my next destination. Well, it’s only 170+ miles, mostly freeway, so I should make it in around three hours, so not too bad. Then I started trying to figure out how the wireless fence works, starting with getting the training option working, and discovered that it makes a noise and vibrates, but doesn’t shock. I contacted Amazon and they agreed to replace it, I’m hoping that it also solves the inconsistent placement of the signal as well. Not sure I’ll ever need the shock part of the collar on her anyway, she comes running when she just hears it beep! That’s a good thing, so I might have to disable the shock part anyway! Spent most of the day reading, just couldn’t get any mojo going, until 6:30 when I went it to play some Farkle. Miraculously, I won the first game again! That’s three out of four now! Then we played a second game and I came in third, but, hey, that’s still best of 3 out of 5! Just got back to the trailer, put some laundry away, and am settling down for a short evening before shower and bed. Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Woke up to the sound of David pounding limestone rock into the wheel divots right under my bedroom, but it was close to 8:00, so I didn’t mind. After chores and breakfast, we hooked up the truck and pushed the trailer back far enough so he could do the same with the trailer tires, which had sunk down enough to make the trailer pretty unlevel, so much so I was rolling to one side of my bed during the night! After he filled them in with more shell rock, we tried putting my leveling boards down, but that ended up being too high, even with one board, so we just pulled in onto the shell rock and it was just about perfect! Looking forward to a level night sleep tonight! Then I went up on the roof to take a look at where I think the leak is coming in around the refrigerator vent, took the cover off (which looked fine), and cleaned around the old seal really well. Because of the cover, I had never really put another layer down, and it does look like it needs replenishing, so that will be my job tomorrow afternoon, assuming my delivery of lap sealant arrives on time. After that, I headed out with a borrowed shovel to hunt down some chaney root. This is an island plant I learned about last year, high in iron and good for just about whatever ails you, native to the Caribbean but now widely spread throughout the South. I started drinking homemade chaney root tea last winter and my cholesterol dropped 30 points in less than 3 months, so I’m doing my best to keep that up! Well, the first few roots I dug up were pretty small, then I started looking for bigger and taller vines (it’s essentially a bramble), and that led me to some bigger roots, until the last one I dug up was HUGE! Well, certainly the biggest I’ve ever seen, but David was saying he dug one up once that literally filled a wheelbarrow. One root! Well, in less than an hour I dug up about 10 pounds of roots, which should be more than I need for my annual supply! A happy harvest today! Then some friends of my hosts came over and we sat on the porch and chatted for awhile, snacking a bit on sandwiches and sides, then after they left, we eventually all got back together for another game of Farkle, well, two games, and I actually won the second game! Considering how poorly I’d been doing in previous games, that was a relief! I have to say, I do better with games that require some skill, this one is 99 percent based on the throw of the dice, so not much skill involved, but it’s nice to have the camaraderie. Had another serving of ice cream and cherry wine, then finally got back to the trailer about 9:00. I’ll soon be heading off to shower and bed again! So good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Darlin’!
Well, with the clocks changing last night, I woke up before my 7:30 alarm, and got more chores and breakfast done in plenty of time to get out to pick up my hay at 9:30. It was about a 30 minute drive to McAlpin, but it’s a big hay operation. The bales weren’t as big or as green as what I had before, but they were only $6 and it’s typical coastal, so I’m sure the horses will eat it. Made a quick stop at Walmart for some mineral spirits in case I need to strip all the old sealant off the refrigerator vent, or any other job where I might need it. I ordered some lap sealant today, so I can get the job done later in the week. Sheila arrived earlier than we expected, around 2:00, and she got her mule put away. Then we discovered that Linda’s young horse Sonny had gotten tangled up in the electric rope fence and really made a mess of his back legs, so we had to rinse those off and treat them a couple of times during the day. Then we gathered for a lovely dinner that Debbie had prepared, and afterward they introduced me to a dice game called Farkle, which was interesting and easy to learn. We treated Sonny again, then went our separate ways around the yard. I had decided that I need some kind of wireless fence for Lola, I’m getting tired of her disappearing on me and having to go get her, or having other people trying to adopt her. I met the guy that had her the other day, he claims he called several times, but couldn’t get through, but I checked and the number is working fine. Anyway, I did some research, and discovered an inexpensive system that actually works with a rechargeable battery on the transmitter as well as the receiver, which is a perfect solution. Most of them have to be plugged into power, and that means it would have to run off my trailer batteries whenever I’m not plugged in, and who knows what kind of a draw that would be. With rechargeable batteries, I can charge them every time I have the generator on when I’m boondocking, which means I don’t have to remember to turn on the machine every time I let Lola out. I hope it works as advertised, it’s the perfect solution. I ordered one, it should be here Thursday. Meanwhile she’s mostly going to be on a leash! After a nice quiet evening, it’s time to take my shower and go to bed! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hi Sweetie!
Took a few hours to fall asleep after I went to bed last night, so I ended up sleeping late this morning. I did indeed wear earplugs because it rained all night, and kept raining most of the morning, though it was starting to slow down by the time I fed the horses, so I changed out their blankets. The lighter ones are supposed to be waterproof, but even they couldn’t keep all the rain out, and it’s been in the 40’s all night and this morning, so I took off the wet ones and put on the heavier winter blankets. After breakfast, I decided to do a really thorough cleaning in the bathroom and utility room, that kept me busy for a couple of hours, then I settled down for the evening. Didn’t ride or even meet with Pistol today, guess they got busy. Was hoping she was going to bring me some hay, I thought that’s what we talked about, but she didn’t, so I had to find another source, which I did, but they’re only available tomorrow morning, so no riding tomorrow, at least not with her. Maybe I’ll go alone later in the day, or maybe with my new neighbor, another guest arrived today with a young Morgan. We’ll see. My hosts have invited us to supper, Sheila from Michigan, the co-owner, is supposed to be arriving in the afternoon tomorrow, so it will be all of us together. Meanwhile, I’m just about ready for shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Had a good night sleep last night, but woke up to the sound of a little rain falling, which turned out to be the theme for the entire day. Glad I put the horses blankets on last night! It was only 48 degrees when I got up, and it never got much higher all day long. Pistol arrived at the Music Park, and we all went into town for a few shopping items, but we all decided we didn’t want to ride in this weather, so she’s going to wait until tomorrow. Chances are, unless it gets sunnier and warmer tomorrow, I’m not going then either! You know me, I’m a fair weather rider, and this is definitely NOT fair weather! I found a puddle on the kitchen floor when I got back and I think I traced it back, there’s a serious leak down the back wall behind the refrigerator. I suspect that it’s not the ice-maker, which was my original concern, but in fact, the roof vent above the refrigerator. It’s either broken or the seal is gone, but it’s definitely bad because of the rain, and probably because I’m on a slight tilt, which must be letting the rainwater drip in. I’ve done some research and see that it’s not too much of a problem to repair or replace it (if it needs it), I’m thinking the seal is probably just gone somewhere, but I can’t check it until it stops raining. Anyway, I hope that’s it! Still doesn’t explain why the water pump keeps going off intermittently, but that’s a problem for another day! Meanwhile, I’ve put a little heater down there to hopefully keep it from pooling too much and ruining the wood. I didn’t feel like doing much of anything else today, so I just binge-watched this series I’ve been watching, Burn Notice. It’s like a spy version of MacGyver, based in Miami, which seems appropriate now that I’m back in Florida, and it’s pretty fun. Anyway, time for my Sleepytime tea, shower and another good night sleep, though I may need earplugs with the rain that’s still coming down! Good night, my darling! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Unbelievable! Since FedEx didn’t call me in the morning, I finally called them, explained the situation, got transferred to dispatch IN ATLANTA, who then gave me the number for dispatch in Jax where my tire was. She researched it and discovered the package was there, but it had been loaded on the same truck as yesterday! Yeah, the WRONG TRUCK AGAIN! Then she said she could get it on the right truck, but it couldn’t get here until between noon and 2:00! The hell with it, I told her to keep in on hold, I’d come pick it up! So I drove 40 minutes to their location, waited ten minutes for them to come out with it, then drove 30 minutes to Terry Tire, where he was able to mount it for me relatively quickly. I managed to get back to the house around 11:00, got the tire put on, got packed up and was heading out right at 1:00, and arrived at my new location, my Michigan friend Sheila’s Florida property, which is almost right next to the Suwanee Music Park, or at least within riding distance. As usual, the horses load right up and the trip, fortunately, was uneventful, though I’m pretty sure if I had tried driving on the old tire it wouldn’t have made it, it was in REALLY bad shape! Sheila’s partner Debbie met me at the location and showed me where to park, though it’s not exactly level (well, it’s Florida, so it’s only off a little), and I couldn’t move it to put a board under it because the ground was a bit too soft and my tires started spinning, so that’s a problem I’ll have to solve when I leave here. Always something! The horses have a nice big shady paddock, no grass, just some weeds, but I gave them a bunch of hay and water, of course, then after I disconnected and got all my stuff set up, I ran into Live Oak, the nearest town, to the Tractor Supply for horse feed and Walmart for a few groceries. Got back, grilled myself a nice thick steak and settled down for the evening, looking forward to relaxing, no more tire stress! Be heading for my shower and bed soon, it’s really quiet here so I’m looking forward to a great night sleep, fingers crossed! So I’ll say good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hi Darlin’,
What a wasted day! I got a text from FedEx this morning that my package was on the truck, out to be delivered, so I spent the morning looking for the right tire place to get the tire mounted, and had plans to go to Tractor Supply and Walmart all lined up, then packing up and being mostly ready to leave in the morning. All I needed was the tire. I waited, and waited, and waited, nothing. I thought about washing the truck, but didn’t want to be in the middle of that when the tire came, so I waited and waited some more. Finally, at 4:46, I get a text saying that due to “operational reasons” my tire now isn’t coming until tomorrow! Grrrrrr! I don’t know how they stay in business! In thirty years, I don’t think I’ve EVER gotten a package on time! So I call them to try to find out why, when the package is on the truck, it can’t be delivered. Turns out, it was put on the wrong truck, wrong route! Seriously?? It’s bad enough that the package that originated in Memphis went to Mississippi, two stops in Texas, a stop in Kansas, a stop in Gainesville, FL, and finally to Jacksonville, then gets delayed because it was put on the wrong dang truck?? Suffice it to say I am not a happy camper today! I’ve asked them to get it out to me first thing, but have no hope that will actually happen. They’re supposed to call me in the morning to let me know when. I’m still hopeful I can get to my next stop tomorrow, since it’s only 100 miles, but who knows at this point. Well, just to make the day not a complete waste, I came out and helped Travis and Pistol take down the Halloween decorations, not the mention I did laundry all day, but spent the rest of the evening watching TV just trying to get my mind off things. Oh well, into each life some rain must fall, but it seems WHENEVER someone sends something FedEx, it always pours on me! Anyway, enough ranting, I’m taking my shower and going to bed. Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hey Sweetie!
Managed to get to bed nice and early, then woke up around 3:30, but fell asleep after awhile, then slept pretty late, so fairly refreshed in the morning. As soon as breakfast and chores were done, I threw in with Pistol and Travis do to some more decorating, then went out with Pistol to do some last minute shopping, which included the nuts and bolts I needed to do the welding job on the steps. I also got the number of a welding company and called them to see about them coming out to weld my step bolts, but they wanted $100 just for the service call, and then the cost of the job on top of that, probably another $75-$100. Maybe I’m stingy, but $200 to weld four bolts seems like an awful lot to me! Anyway, we got some more decorating stuff and a nice little fire pit, and finished up when we got back. We took a break for a couple of hours, then folks started arriving. I was feeding the horses when a family with two boys came over to play with Lola, once they left I got dressed. I don’t have much of a “costume” for Halloween, so I just put on one of my split skirts that I got for the cattle drive we went on, my stars and stripes Western shirt we got for that cookware convention nearly twenty years ago (and I rarely wear), my black vest, black hat and black boots, and went as a parade-ready cowgirl, I guess you’d call it. If I’d had a couple of six-shooters, I guess I could have been Annie Oakley or Calamity Jane (though I think she mostly wore pants!), but sans irons, I was just a cowgirl. I think it was a great success! There were about 15 kids, and I’m sure they all made lifelong memories tonight! There was plenty of food, the kids threw the ball for Lola, we all went on a hay ride behind a tractor driven by Pistol through the neighborhood (Lola joined us!), they smashed a pinata full of treats, bobbed for apples (they had to empty and refill the tub because Lola had used it as a bath whenever she got warm from fetching!) and just had a plain old good time! The adults finished the evening with a couple of shots of Crown Royal and sitting around the fire pit for a bit. I finally called it a night around 10:00, returning to the trailer for a cup of tea, shower and bed, in that order! Won’t be long out of bed tonight! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hey Darlin’!
Had a hard time getting to sleep last night, so I ended up sleeping late this morning. Right after chores and breakfast, Pistol’s son Travis came home from running errands and we started working on decorating the carport for the Halloween party tomorrow. We hung up monsters and cobwebs and lights, pressure washed the tables, the apple dunking buckets and half the floor. Couldn’t do the other half yet because there’s a tractor there, but Pistol’s ex Cowboy and and finished fixing it and we got it moved out around dusk. I’ll finish it off in the morning. Meanwhile, Pistol came home from work, tried to take a nap because she’s got to go out and work a night shift until 2 a.m.! I also spent a little time in between decorating banging on my tailgate nob, trying to get it in a workable place. Seems like I’ve moved it a tiny bit, but it’s hard to tell. I’ll keep at it, maybe I can get some help from someone that’s stronger than me and my 2 lb. sledge. I ordered a tire to replace a bad one on the trailer, FedEx says it will be here Sunday now. Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it! So obviously I won’t be leaving here on Monday, but hopefully it won’t take long to finish it off. I’m hoping I can take a look at the brakes on the wheel when I take the tire off, just to see what kind of shape the shoes are in, figure if one is good or bad, the rest will be similar, and I’ll know what to do about it then. Anyway, I’m determined to go to bed early, I’m feeling really tired from these short nights, so I’m signing off early. Good night, Baby! Love you!

Hi Babe!
Woke up early just as it was starting to rain here, and it ended up raining most of the day. Pistol and I went out to breakfast at a nice little grill she likes, then down to a place called Pet Creations, which had the least expensive hay. Pistol wants some hay for her Halloween hay ride, and Tractor Supply was getting almost $11 a bale! Here we got it for about $8 for coastal, which I guess is typical around here. Couldn’t find any haymakers advertising, so it was the best we could do. Anyway, while we were waiting for the rain to slow down enough to load the hay, we wandered around her shop, where she had lots of critters, birds and fish. She was actually feeding the birds, and it was incredible. Apparently for the first year of a tropical bird’s life, the mother actually feeds it, so now the shopkeeper has to do it until they’re old enough. That entails mixing peanut butter with water and some powder, putting it into a syringe with a small rubber tube on the end, then putting the tube all the down the birds throat and squeezing the syringe. It sounds and looks a little horrifying, but the birds were more than willing, in fact, eager, to have their gullet filled that way. Amazing the things you can learn every day! As the rain started to let up a little, we took a quick trip down to a little family hardware store to get a plastic drop cloth to cover the hay (I forgot to bring my tarp), and chatted with the owners there for a few minutes before heading back. We had to wade through water in the driveway to get to the trailer box that had the hay, and it was still sprinkling, but we managed to get it covered before it got very wet. When we got back to the house, I put my tarp on top as extra protection, glad I did because there were numerous downpours through the day. Happy to report, though, that the sealing job I did on the awning apparently worked, not a drop underneath it, it was dry as a bone, yay! I spent some time on Pistol’s computer, showing her how to use Google Earth and giving her all of my data about horse camps that I have on mine. Then she went to take a nap and I came back and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening holed up in the trailer. The rain eventually stopped late in the afternoon, though the sun really didn’t make it out before dark. Watched a cute movie, have taken my shower, now it’s off to bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!