Hi Darlin',
Rain came in on schedule overnight, but still managed a good night sleep. Waited until about 9:00 before it stopped long enough to feed the horses, got my chores done, made Lola some satin balls, then got busy with my taxes. Fortunately, they're a lot simpler these days, so it only took me a few hours to compile it all, considering I already did the preliminary work. Had to submit it twice because of a missing health form, but got it accepted in the end. Finished the work day with catching up on the more recent bookkeeping. Flash turned 20 today!! I can't believe I've had him six years already! He and Apollo got a good shower out of all the rain we had today, and for dinner, I gave them both a bunch of carrots as an extra treat. Did a little work on the map for the endurance ride, then settled down to a nice dinner and a movie. Looking forward to getting some miles of riding in over the next few days! Going for another early bedtime! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Darlin',
Went to bed nice and early, but then I woke up around 2:00 and it took awhile to get back to sleep, and that repeated a couple of times before I finally got up around 8:00. Spent most of the morning trying to locate a battery for the tractor at a reasonable price, Tractor Supply wanted nearly $200 for one, though I found a one year one at Walmart for $67, but I thought that was a lot for a one year. I finally found one at Home Depot, 3-year for $109, which I thought was reasonable, but unfortunately, it was all the way in Ocala. I jumped in the car with Lola and we headed out, then straight over to where the tractor is staying and sent to work. Turns out the new battery is exactly the same brand as the old battery, so I'm guessing I did the same search last time! It didn't take me very long to get it replaced, but I was missing one 10 mm wrench to finish it, so Jo brought me one since she was coming over anyway to leave some boxes here. Then I ran over to the Post Office to change my address, and I'm hoping they'll do the same deal with me here that I did in TN as far as forwarding it to me goes. The clerk seemed open to the idea, but she has to get it cleared with the postmaster. Anyway, it was 3:00 by the time I got back to camp, so I was busy getting everything packed. I usually spread out that job throughout the day, but I had no time left, so I worked non-stop for a few hours. Managed to do a bunch of laundry, too, since I'll be out of electricity and a water spigot for most of the summer. Finally settled down to dinner, having done everything I could to get ready, watched a movie and will soon be ready for shower and bed. I should also mention that there was a partial solar eclipse today, but we had a slight cloud cover, so it was hardly noticeable. Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie,
Finally had a great night sleep last night, no ibuprofen, but I did put in my earplugs, slept almost a full eight hours again, then still laid in for a bit reading. Once I got the day started, I just started checking off my list again, and got everything done that I could. Got the little horse trailer moved over to Helen's across the street, so now that's safe and sound and under cover. Collected some chaney root to last me through the summer, did some mail stuff and other paperwork, washed the recliner cover and let it hang out to dry on this absolutely gorgeous day! Just chugging along, getting more excited about moving on down the road to new trails! Apollo is so bored he's been tipping over water buckets faster than I can fill them up. I don't blame him, I just don't have time to take him riding, though I did brush him yesterday, his winter coat is coming out by the handful. Flash hardly looks any different with a winter coat, not shaggy like Apollo, but his hair's coming out pretty well, too. Was pretty chilly this morning, got down to the mid-40's, but I think that's probably the last of it. Looks pretty nice in South Carolina, too! Settled down for a nice evening with a couple of Northern Exposures and a garlic shrimp burrito, heading for an early shower and bed! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Babe,
Took three ibuprofens and put in my earplugs last night, I was determined to get a good night sleep, and thankfully, I did! Slept nearly a full eight hours, then worked on my shoulder for a bit. My muscles were really crying last night, and it felt like my shoulder had had a serious setback, but once I got a good night sleep, and worked on it for a bit this morning, it felt much better! After my usual chores, I set out working on my first problem, getting my brake controller working. It was working last week, but then it started to not work right, maybe because I had to use a four pin adapter for Yvette's trailer, I don't know. Once again, the solution seemed to be to take off the connector on the blue wire and just crunch them together and tape them. Something about the connector just not doing it, but this just seemed to work. I wasn't sure it was fixed, but it seemed to be, so after that, I headed down to Yvette's to drop off the tractor. I had to take off the auger and put the bushhog on for her, and it was in pieces, so it took me awhile to get it all back together. Once I got it put in the shed, I took her trailer back to her old house and dropped it off (so grateful for her help!), then a quick stop at Forest HQ to drop off a winch that I thought I might need but didn't, thankfully. Back to camp, and checked the brake controller on the big trailer again, just to make sure, and everything seemed to be working okay. Changed out the bumper pull hitch, since I have to move the little horse trailer tomorrow. Finally settled down to get started on my long list, which kept getting longer every hour I couldn't sleep earlier this week, mostly doing computer and paperwork. I still have an awful lot to do before I leave, but at least I made a lot of headway today. Finally settled down to dinner and a movie. Lola is doing much better, she's been putting a lot more weight on her back foot, and the vet told me I didn't need to soak it anymore, but we'll keep up the antibiotics for at least another month, she said. Hoping for another good night sleep tonight, I still was flagging by the end of the day, not quite fully recovered. Of course, I've been fighting this cold, or whatever it is, for the last few days, so that hasn't helped. Ready for shower and bed soon! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin',
Well, I was well on my way to a good night sleep, having crawled into bed not long after 9:00, when Lola started barking at 2:30. That was followed by the sound of rustling outside my window, and moments later, whinnying from Flash. That's all a sure sign that Apollo has gone on walkabout, and sure enough, when I looked out the window, I saw the form of a horse heading toward the day parking area, lit by the bathroom lights. I jumped out of bed, threw on my robe and shoes and walked out to him. He stopped to eat some alfalfa that was evidently left by some day riders, so he was easy to pick up. I led him back to the highline and discovered a sort of freak accident had happened. Somehow, Flash's lead and pushed it's way onto Apollo's pulley fastener, and in the process, Apollo's ring slipped out of that fastener. Very weird, and not likely to repeat itself, thank goodness. I got him hooked back up, but of course, now I was wide awake at 2:45 a.m. having had over five hours of sleep, so I had a hard time getting sleepy again after that. I guess I was up a couple of hours when I finally nodded off, because it was the alarm that woke me up. Was on the road by 7:30, made one stop at Walmart in Okeechobee to pick up a couple of things I forgot and wouldn't have another chance to get before I leave next week, and arrived precisely at noon. I had to jump start the tractor, then it took about the same time as Wednesday, an hour and a half, to get the tractor loaded up. It took a long time because the auger was on the tractor, not the bushhog, so I had to use the tractor to drag that up onto the trailer, which was clumsy at best. Once I put that on first, though, I was able to pull the tractor right up to the front and lay the bucket on the bushhog, which made it pretty secure, and just fit inside the ramp. I put the old tire by the auger to keep it secure, tied everything down and away we went. Fortunately, the chain and the fuel can were there, only my ear muffs were missing, but I'm just glad I have everything else back in my possession. Did not like having the sword of Damocles hanging over my head, just waiting to be arbitrarily dropped on me whenever someone else felt like it. I'm feeling more free than I have in a long time. As soon as I got back, I serviced the battery, cleaning the terminals, topping it off with distilled water and putting the charger on it, hoping that resolves the no crank issue in the morning. Looking forward to getting back on the road again next week! Time for a cool change! Good night, sweetie! Love you!