Hiya Sweetie,
Had a good night sleep, woke up before the alarm, got my quick and easy chores done, feeling so spoiled here! What a luxury to have electric and water, and to not have to pick up manure in the morning! Feeding the horses takes no time at all, so I was raring to go to the Farmers Market. We headed out about 9:45, it only took about 15 minutes to get there. Patsy had some specific things she wanted to get, I wandered around a bit. The only thing that really caught my attention was a booth that had authentic looking British savory pastries, and I ended up getting a pasty and a beef and veg pie. I was hoping for a pork pie like they make in your home town of Nottingham, but they didn't have any. The guy there said he might make some at Christmas, but that won't do may any good. The pasty was still warm and tempting, but I resisted since I had just eaten breakfast, and both will make a great dinner one day this weekend. Got back just before 11:00, Wendy arrived moments later, and we got saddled up and headed out for what Patsy said would be a 8-10 mile ride. At first we went down a trail that led to a swampy area, and had to stop and let an ATVer and his dog go by, then we reached the swampy area, and the ATV was stuck. Exactly why I prefer my original four-wheel drive, aka Flash! Riders used to go through the swampy area, but then some logs and other windrow made it too treacherous, and they've been going around it, through a rather dangerously muddy and rooted area, and both Patsy and Wendy actually got off their horses and walked them through. We waited a bit to see if the ATVer could free himself, but in the end, I tied up Flash and went back to help until he was free. I rode Flash through the bypass area, because I trust him to find his own way, and we made it safely without any problems. Then we did a bit of road riding, but it didn't last too long, then we got into the woods where there was a lot of trails, though not very used, so there were a lot of branches hanging over the trail and several logs to cross over or go around. Lots of spider webs, too, so I had to find a spidey stick. Of course, Flash had to be in the lead, which worked out fine because it made their horses move a little quicker. As it was, we were going much slower than I normally would, and it took us nearly four and a half hours just to go under ten miles, so quite a slow ride. Of course, we had several stops along the way that slowed us down even more. When we got back to the swamp, Patsy wanted to have me lead so they could follow Flash's path, since we made it through fine under saddle on the way out (and they were tired of getting down and walking them), but as it turned out, it was a moot point. As we got there, there were a bunch of guys who had parked their ATVs at the other end, and they told us they had just cleaned out that whole stretch in the swamp of all the obstacles and that it was clear to come through. Not being afraid of a little water, Flash and I went through that stretch, with only one little trip, though the water did get up to belly high and even a bit more. I'm sure he would have been happy to swim it! I was so grateful I didn't lose my boots in that swamp! I had one come off earlier, but they stayed on after that, thank goodness! It was such a gorgeous day, and as always, it was great to be out riding. We did get back kind of late, and by the time I got Flash put away, it was almost too late to run my errands, but I had to go, so I hopped in my truck and drove down to Queensbury, stopped for fuel, went to Tractor Supply for feed, then Lowes for flooring for the bathroom. After considerable thought, I ended up buying one big piece of linoleum rather than the squares, I figured that would hold up better, though the one piece would have some challenges of its own. Didn't get back until nearly 7:00, but my hosts were kind enough to keep dinner warm (they've been graciously feeding me every night!) so I enjoyed that before settling in for the night. Nice not having to cook and clean, even nicer to have a variety in my dinners! Anyway, busy day planned for tomorrow! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
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