Hiya Sweetie!
Had another great night sleep, then a pretty lazy, though indulgent day. I had bought some smoked turkey drumsticks the other day, so along with that, I made some stovetop stuffing, and had myself a nice big Thanksgiving meal, including pumpkin flavored applesauce and a mini pumpkin pie, including an entire bottle of Taylor Port, so I achieved the usual feeling of being stuffed, though I'm likely to regret it all by morning. What the heck, it's only once a year, though I have to be careful not to gain my usual holiday five this year, hopefully. Took Lola for a couple of walks today, but otherwise had a very quiet day of reading and watching TV, along with my cooking. Won't be long out of bed tonight! Good night, baby! Love you!
Wednesday, November 26, 2025 – Lovely 14+ Mile Ride on Flash
Hey Babe!
What a great day! It started out with a much better night sleep, confirming my supposition that it was the overdose of aspertame that was preventing me from sleeping well. I had none of the previous afflictions after resuming a mostly water beverage diet today. After breakfast I had to fill up the water in my truck tank and refill the camper, then I finally saddled up Flash and headed out on the trail. We took the long perimeter trail, crossing 441 and riding all the way up to O'Leno State Park. I'd forgotten how beautiful it was on this side of the forest! Flash was brilliant once again, averaging nearly six mph for the day. We did over 14 miles in just under three hours, and got a tremendous amount of galloping, cantering and gaiting in. It was wonderful! About halfway around we went by a cattle or dairy farm, and we were sorry to see a dead cow in a copse of trees, and another cow, still alive, but laying down and not looking very well. So sad! Not far out from camp, there was a long rattlesnake crossing the trail in front of us, and when I stopped to take a picture, it started to rattle and curl up, so we moved along quickly to get past it. What a truly gorgeous ride! The weather is due to turn colder, so I wanted to get a good ride in before that happened, and I couldn't have asked for a better day, or a better horse. Flash truly is a wonder! Gave him a good rinse off with a brush before putting him away, and was happy that he didn't immediately roll in the dust, as he is wont to do. Settled down for the rest of the day to reading and bingeing on TV, and am looking forward to a quiet day for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 – Ride on Apollo and Shopping Day
Hiya Darlin',
Woke up pretty early this morning, not sleeping as well lately and I attribute that to my drinking more diet drinks with aspartame, which I've experienced before, so today I'm back to mostly water to see if that helps tonight. Apollo really needed some exercise, so I saddled him up and was on the trail by just after 9:00, wanting to get out before it got too hot, with temps in the low 80's today. It was a lovely ride, a little more than two and a half miles, essentially the nicest part of the red trail, though he was quite sluggish, as usual these days. Was spoiled a bit by a woman in the parking lot threatening to have her mule kill Lola because she wasn't on a leash (Lola was a long way away from her and heading straight back to the trailer, not even looking at her or the mule). Interesting that my dog is better trained than her mule, if it kicks at every dog it sees. Oh, well. Got back to camp and quickly headed down to the nearest Walmart north of Gainesville to do my Thanksgiving shopping. Got back around 2:00 and spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing, then bingeing on Bones. I noted that no one has moved into my old spot, even though I was told they would be arriving today. Anyway, it was a beautiful day, always a great day when I can get a ride in, no matter how slow! Off to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Monday, November 24, 2025 – Moved Sites and Hay Day
Hey Sweetie,
So happy to wake up to a quiet camp! There were still a few campers here, several came in yesterday but parked on the other side, but they were quiet, no loud generators, thank goodness. Once I finished chores and breakfast, it didn't take long to hook up the trailer and get it moved to site 13. One of the neighbors, Wendy, helped guide me into the spot. It has a bit more sunshine so I should get some solar energy out of it, but it slopes up a little in the back, so it's sitting high in the front, making the first step out of the trailer a bit steep. I managed to lower it a bit, but I have a slight slope to the front now. Next time I'll need to put some bigger blocks under my jacks to level it off better. Got the horses moved over and was completely set up by noon, with no issues. I had been messaging with someone about hay, but they suddenly stopped communicating, so I had to find another haymaker nearby, which fortunately, I was able to do. Not the best hay I've ever seen, but the bales are very tightly packed and not too big, so they fit snugly in the front stall, plus enough to last me this week and then some, so I'm good for awhile. I just hope the horses don't mind it, it's not very green, but then, they've been suffering a bad drought in the area for some time, so I'm guessing it will be like this all winter. Stopped at Winn-Dixie for some nuts and chocolate, and Tractor Supply to fill up one tank of propane, as it's due to get colder on Thanksgiving Day for a few days, with lows back into the upper 30's, so I'm hoping my furnace will work now, and wanted to stock up on fuel so I won't freeze. Fortunately, both stores are only a couple of minutes away, so propane refills and groceries are close. Settled down for the rest of the day once I got everything put away. Hoping to get in a quick ride tomorrow before I go to Gainesville for my big shopping. Binged on Bones, heading to bed! Good night, baby! Love you!
Sunday, November 23, 2025 – Laundry Day
Hiya Babe,
Woke up to the generator next door being turned on just after 7:00 (sigh), eventually got up and started my day, looking forward to when it finally quieted down here. I did a couple of loads of laundry and hung them out to dry, though I was a bit concerned about how much dust was getting stirred up every time someone drove in or out. I was happy to see my neighbors packing up, but then they saddled up and the whole family saddled up and rode off, leaving their generator on! I don't understand why anyone would leave a generator on when they're not even in camp. It was a few hours before they finally came back and eventually finished packing up and leaving, and I had an afternoon of quiet bliss. Didn't do much else today, just wasn't in the mood, so I mostly just read, and tracked down some hay. I didn't even do much packing up, other than filling up all my water tanks including the truck tank, so that I could put all the hoses away, since I'm only moving from one side of the campground to another. Shouldn't take me too long in the morning. Not much else to report! good night, darlin'! Love you!
Saturday, November 23, 2025 – Poker Run Day
Hey Darlin',
Up at the crack of dawn, got everyone fed, then met up with Ray, albeit 15 minutes after the appointed time, to head off onto the trails and put up the "markers," which were just paper plates with arrows and Dealer #'s on them. It took just about an hour, so gratefully, we were done well in advance of when the riders were released at 10:00, which I ended up doing because there was some confusion about who was supposed to do that. I hung around the pavilion with the other volunteers until the riders started coming back, though there was again some confusion about who was supposed to man the dealer post in camp at the end, which got sorted out just in time. Once a good portion of the riders were back in camp, I decided to saddle up Flash and take the signs down, which we managed to do in a short 45 minutes, working up a nice sweat along the way, as he gaited and cantered almost the entire way, which was slightly less than five miles. The raffle was still going on by the time we got back! I rinsed him down and put him away, helped clean up the pavilion, chatted with the ladies for a bit, then settled down for the night. I binged on some Bones, and my usual routine. It was a beautiful day, glad to feel productive and appreciated! Sorry I had to listen to the generator next door all day, but am grateful they turned it off before 9:00 this evening. Whew! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Friday, November 22, 2025 – Day of Waiting in Camp
Hiya Sweetie,
Got up a little earlier today, but ended up doing very little today, mostly waiting on others. I was invited to take a ride with a couple of the other gals here, but I didn't know when my volunteering job was going to start, so I declined. Turned out I could have gone and had hours left over. Was told the volunteers would be gathering at 2:00, but then the first organizer didn't show up until after 3:30, and the second organizer didn't arrive until nearly 5:00, too late to do much of anything, with the exception of marking arrows on paper plates for the trail markers tomorrow, and setting up tables and chairs in the pavilion. I arranged to mark the trails tomorrow with camp host Ray on his park Gator starting at 8:00, but other than that, not much else was accomplished, except I managed to finish reading my latest book. Settled down for the evening, listening to my new neighbor's generator all day and evening, and was beginning to think it would be on all night as well, but it was finally turned off around 9:15, thank goodness! Heading to bed soon, as I have an early wake up call in the morning! Good night, babe! Love you!
Thursday, November 20, 2025 – Lazy Day in Camp
Hi Babe,
Had to put my earplugs in last night because of the ongoing generator in the motorhome across from me. I have to say, I'm hoping their leaving tomorrow, and can't wait to enjoy the peace and quiet of this lovely preserve again! I had a quiet day in camp, about the only thing I did was waterproof my orange windbreaker, which, last time I wore it, got pretty soaked through. Not surprising, really, I've had that jacket for decades! Hope the Scotchguard will improve it! Mostly read outside, it was a beautiful day. Met a couple more of the folks that will be involved this weekend, but still haven't met the key players, so I'm not sure what it is I'll be helping with, other than checking the trails, which I've already done. I'm hoping to help mark them, but we'll see. Was thrilled when the motorhome finally pulled out after 1:00, with their generator STILL running, even as they drove off! Crazy! Heading to shower and bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 – Another Lovely Ride at River Rise
Hey Darlin',
Sorry to report that there's a motorhome here that runs it's generator all day and all night, though it was quiet enough (or I was tired enough) to be able to sleep through it. Not quite sure why people need to make so much noise in such a peaceful and quiet environment, and ruin it for the rest of us without any thought of wrongdoing. Sigh... Anyway, did manage a decent night sleep despite that, and had another wonderful ride on Flash, though he wasn't exactly a speed demon today. I think he may have strained himself a bit more than he realized with all the deep sand here, it's definitely tougher to get through than what we've been dealing with this summer. While yesterday he was moving very quickly as we did the perimeter trails, today we focussed on doing the interior trails, and he was much more reserved. It was only about eight miles anyway, so it didn't matter that we were going slower, it was still a lovely ride. We saw deer and squirrels, and at one point an armadillo crossed the trail right in front of us, and Flash completely ignored it! He's such a good boy! Another gorgeous day, though I'm glad it's shady here, because the temps are reaching the 80's now, and sunshine would definitely make it more uncomfortable. Settled down to my usual evening! Good night, sweetheart! Love you!
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 – Lovely First Ride at River Rise
Hi Sweetie,
Slept well, woke up to another beautiful, sunny morning, did all my chores and breakfast, then saddled up Flash for our first recon ride here at River Rise. We took the red trail first, which is the prettiest one here, in my opinion, then continued along the perimeter on the green and white trails. It was only just over nine miles, and it went quickly, since after the first couple of miles of warmup, he wanted to take off again, as usual. We gaited and galloped and cantered, and gaited some more, it was another great ride on this fantastic animal! We saw lots of deer, a flock of turkeys, and a bunch of squirrels that may have been fox squirrels. We had a black race snake parallel with us, almost like he WAS actually racing us, when we were gaiting at seven mph, and it was neck in neck! A gorgeous day! I rinsed him off and put him back on the highline, where he rolled immediately, of course! Settled down for the rest of the day, chatted with my neighbor Karen (not the same Karen that's running the Poker Run this weekend), then had a visit from the camp host, Ray, and learned his dog had almost the same exact experience as Lola did when she was victim to a surprise attack, and his dog's response has been almost the same, getting more aggressive with other dogs that show him aggression. He is also widowed, a veteran, and travels a lot, camphosting when he can, and like me, doesn't have a house. Had a nice supper, my usual evening routine, just waiting for the water to heat up for my shower, then off to bed! Good night, babe! Love you!