Hey Sweetie,
Had trouble getting to sleep early, so ended up getting up late. The day was cloudy for the most part, with a few showers in the afternoon. I had already decided not to go riding today, so I just spent most of the day puttering. I'm returning the camcorder I bought, the quality is just too poor, but it finally occurred to me that maybe the reason my old Sony camera wasn't working was because the battery finally gave out. Considering how long I've had the camera, I'm amazed I think of it sooner! So I've ordered two new generic batteries with a charger, figured I'd give that a chance before I spend hundreds on a new camcorder, or just decided to use my phone anyway. I like the separate camcorder, though, always have. Anyway, it was a day spent mostly on my computer, with just one quick venture over to Karen's to pick up my mail and a couple more pacakges, so got some more stuff to check out over the weekend. Not much else going on! Settled down to dinner and a movie, which I realized after about three quarters of the way through I had seen already. Guess it didn't make much of an impression the first time! Anyway, won't be long out of bed. Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Woke up even before my 6:30 alarm and got busy, so much to do. Took longer than usual, since I had two different horse containment setups to remove, and for my fence, I had used nearly every post I had, so there was a lot to undo. Fortunately, I had no problems moving off the grass onto the gravel, maybe because I put the tarp down to keep it dry, but whatever the reason, it worked. I finally managed to get on the road about 9:20, a bit later than I wanted, but it couldn't be helped. I took a different route, going straight up along Seneca Lake rather than across the southern tier much easier, at least until I got to Syracuse, where there was so much construction everywhere, it slowed things down. Then my stupid map program started taking me on all the back roads when I wanted to go on I-81, so I ended about nearly half an hour out of my way before getting back on track. Managed to arrive at Otter Creek a little after 2:00, and found the entire campground empty. I got into the same spot as last year with no trouble at all, got myself nice and level and started getting set up. Much cooler in the shade, which is nice. Took my time setting up, finally finished and settled down for a bit. Called Tractor Supply, talked to the guy who said he'd be fetching two bags of Balance from Watertown for me, only to learn he hadn't, so I'm glad I didn't stop when I passed them (their parking lot is a bit small for me anyway), but I did learn that the TSC near the next place I'm going has a whole palette, so I can wait until I get there. My friend Karen came by with the first of many packages that I'm having shipped to her house, I'm trying to get everything I'm going to need for the Yellowstone trip in time to make sure they work, in case I have to return anything. Settled down for the evening, looking forward to getting to bed early tonight! Had some trouble getting a good enough signal for live streaming, had me looking at Starlink again, but apparently my Prime program was updating, which was slowing everything, and seemed to eventually kick in, so we'll see how the rest of our time goes here. It has been better since I upgraded my plan, until today, at least. Anyway, shower and bed forthwith! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Just another Sunday before a move! Did a couple of loads of laundry and hung them out to dry before it rained, got some stuff packed up, laid down the tarp to try to keep the ground dry in front of the trailer, read, watched TV, and generally had an overall quiet day. I was glad to see Flash starting to run around the paddock a bit today, the rest this week had likely done him some good, and I'm hoping his energy level will improve next week when we have some nice trails to ride. The thunderstorms came in late in the afternoon, freaking Lola out as usual, then cleared up for a bit, then came back again. I'm hoping once this current one passes it will dry out a bit and I won't have any trouble getting out tomorrow, considering I do have a bit of a pull uphill on grass on the way out. Fingers crossed! Fortunately, they do have a big tractor here in case I need help, but don't think it will be necessary. Looking forward to getting back in the saddle again next week! I forgot to mention yesterday I ate my first home grown tomato! It had been pulled off a few days ago so I waited for it to finish ripening, and it was delicious! I already have several more that are looking nearly ready, and one came off during the storm today, so I'll probably had that one tomorrow. Nice to have my own "garden" on the road! Anyway, not long out of bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
It's really amazing how much time I have on my hands when I decide not to ride and I don't have any pressing repairs to do on the trailer or the truck! I can't remember ever having so much free time! Again, I spent the day reading, playing a few games of computer Scrabble, watching a couple hours of TV, ordering a bunch of stuff from Amazon that I need since I have a friend at the next place willing to accept my packages, and just settling down for the evening. It was another warm one, though nice enough to go riding, I just don't like these trails very much, so I decided to let the horses rest for the week. Apollo keeps nickering at me every time I come out of the trailer, I think he's bored. Even Flash looks like he might welcome a ride, but I'm not worried, because next week I'll have him on the trails as often as possible! It was pretty busy in camp today, lots of new neighbors, though I kept to myself. I'm surrounded camp campfires, but thankfully, the breeze is sending their smoke away from me, so no problem. Won't be long out of bed again, enjoying the book series I'm reading, so despite not having a lot of demands on my time, I'm enjoying the quiet and solitude. Heading to bed shortly! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had another good night sleep, didn’t get up until nearly 8:30, then before I was able to finish my chores, young Brandon came by to chat once more. It was after 11:30 by the time we completed out exhaustive discussion on our differing philosophies of the universe, and he went to pack up and leave while I continued my chores, including filling up the truck tank so I would have enough water for laundry (though the weather on Sunday isn’t looking too promising at the moment, though that’s likely to change as always!) and finally got around to breakfast (well, now lunch!), then spent the afternoon mostly reading and doing research on Amazon. It’s the last “Prime Day” and I wanted to get a few things while the sale was going on, though I have a bunch more to order tomorrow. Finally settled down to a new series and a quiet evening. Quite warm today, but it still seems to be cooler here than where I’m going next, which is surprising as it’s further north. Oh, well, we can only find 70 when we can! Good night, Babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
Despite my napping yesterday for several hours, I ended up having an excellent night sleep, and woke up really refreshed. It was a beautiful day, except for one thunderstorm that passed through rather quickly, as they all seem to be doing lately. I did a few chores, including mending the border around the exterior rug, but it was mostly a very quiet day of mostly reading. My neighbor for the past ten day, Brandon, was going to stay until Monday but had overstayed his two weeks and was asked to leave, even though he had received permission from the assistant ranger, but someone else complained, so he's leaving tomorrow. He came by and we chatted for a couple of hours, and we finally had clear enough skies to watch the ISS flyover. I've been looking for it for the last few nights, but it's been too cloudy, but after today's storms, we had a perfectly clear sky tonight, and it came through so early, it was even before the stars came out, so easy to spot. Sorry to see him go, but I imagine I'll run into him at some point. Which reminds me, I forgot to mention that yesterday at Tractor Supply, I actually ran into someone who had stayed at the Goethe Trailhead and immediately recognized me when I went in! Small world! It took me a bit to remember where I knew him from, but he mentioned they had a bus that didn't make it back to NY, and I remembered him and his girl stayed a few extra days, too, because they were waiting for paperwork and parts for their bus or something, that was delaying them. Amazingly small world! Anyway, it was a beautiful day, albeit quiet, but I'm sure I'll make up for it at Otter Creek next week, where the riding is much better. I can't remember sitting around doing nothing for so long, except during the time leading up to my knee surgery, and I'll be glad to get busy again. Anyway, good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Had trouble getting to sleep, read until after 2:00 before I was finally able to drift off. Got up and did all my usual chores, then decided to take a drive down to Painted Post to get some supplies. I had two tanks of propane to fill at the Tractor Supply (still the best place to get tanks filled!), plus some horse feed, then Walmart to get a few groceries, managed to escape with paying just under the usual $100 cover charge :-)! After I finished putting everything away and settled in my chair, I dozed off for a couple of hours, much to my surprise! Hope that doesn't mean I won't sleep tonight! After dinner, feeding and walking Lola, I stopped over at a campsite near Brandon's to meet some folks he met, and we had a nice chat. They were Russian, and had a lot of questions about traveling with horses, which, of course, I was more than happy to answer. The least I can do with living this dream is to share it as much as possible! The matriarch's name was Vera, and I gave her the grand tour and she asked to buy a book, which is always nice! Anyway, won't be long out of bed, though I hope I didn't spoil a good night sleep with too much napping today! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Nothing much happened today, again. Took a few walks and did my PT exercises, which I've been doing intermittently, and spent the rest of the day mostly reading. It was very foggy this morning, and it didn't even clear out until nearly 2:00, with a couple of short drizzles (right when I was feeding the horses, naturally!), but otherwise a mundane day. I had to run the generator for a bit since I didn't have any solar power, but I've really used my generator so sparingly since I've been here, I have no complaints! Just killing time until I get to Otter Creek, where at least there are good trails to ride on. Not sure I want to go out again here. Forecast is more rain this week, so that will solve the issue anyway. Not much else to say, relatively boring day! (Which I know you hate to hear, but I don't mind the occasional boring day) Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Had a good night sleep, then eventually got around to doing a couple of loads of laundry, hanging them on the line for the first time since I left Florida for a change! Did some housekeeping, mostly read, then finished the day with a fun little movie called Heads of State, and again had a perfect picture, HD and no buffering! What a pleasure! I did put Apollo out on a line for awhile just to get him out of the paddock, and otherwise just enjoyed a quiet day. Not much else to report! Love you, sweetie! Good night!

Hiya Darlin',
Spent most of this lazy day reading and doing some overdue bookkeeping, as well as some research and online shopping for my upcoming Yellowstone trip. It was a gorgeous day, perfect weather, right up until the storm hit. I received a warning about thunderstorms, which didn't bother me, but when it hit, it came in fast with straightline winds that gusted well into 40+ mph, and brought huge hailstones, which I was NOT expecting. The horses ran down to the end of the paddock and put their tails to the wind, but thank goodness they didn't crash through the fence, though it looked for a minute like they might! It only lasted a couple of minutes, but several tents were swept away and ruined, and there were hailstones on the ground. I was very happy that I didn't have any dings in my truck, I was afraid it would get damaged! The radar showed a couple more bands coming, so I ended up putting the horses in the trailer just to be safe, but they both petered out to almost nothing, so I brought them out again. The temps got cooler, but it soon cleared up and turned into a beautiful afternoon and evening. Should be good sleeping weather tonight! Of course, lots more people came in, and they all have a campfire going, so it's pretty smoky out there tonight. Glad it will be cool enough to close my windows and keep the smoke out! Other than that, a pretty mundane day! Good night, sweetie! Love you!