Hiya Babe,
And the theme continues, except today I didn't even really do a small job! Rain came in last night and persisted off and on through the night and into the morning, so I lazed around a bit, put the horses out on anchors, let one of the neighbors' kids say hello to the horses, played video games, read, and watched TV all day. I took Apollo for a walk around the campground loop just to get him moving a bit more, but other than that, had a totally quiet and lazy day! Trying not to feel guilty about not doing anything, and so far, I'm succeeding! Hoping it will be nice enough tomorrow to hang laundry out, but other than that, have no plans for anything else tomorrow, either! I'll be busy soon enough, so I'm enjoying the peace. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Friday, September 26, 2025 – Bookkeeping, Lazy Day
Hey Darlin',
Starting to sense a theme here? One fairly small job followed by a lazy day? That's becoming my pattern for the time being, which is fine with me, I needed a little "retirement" quiet time before I get busy with my winter events. In addition to doing some bookkeeping, I let the horses out on their anchors (though Flash kept escaping, so whenever Apollo started to whinny I knew I had to go find him, though he was never far), filled the water tanks (glad that I have enough hoses to reach the spigot, so much easier than filling the truck and using gravity feed), read for a few hours, watched TV for a few hours, filled out a form for another volunteer position farther south for January and February, and otherwise had a normal day. Flash is still favoring his right hind foot, so I'm not going to try to ride him here anymore, I'll wait until we get to the next place, which actually has some nice trails, and only if he seems better. He's got me a bit worried, not sure what to do about it, except give it time to heal, which I hope won't be months! Had a nice evening, we finally got some rain in, which has cooled things down a little, thank goodness! Heading to bed soon! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Thursday, September 25, 2025 – Housekeeping, Lazy Day
Hi Sweetie,
Didn't do much today except finish off my housekeeping by wiping down all the wood more thoroughly than yesterday. I put the horses out on their anchors for the afternoon so they could much on fresh grass and move around a bit, but otherwise has a pretty lazy reading day. Flash is definitely favoring his right hind leg, so I'm going to just let him rest for awhile, since there's not much in the way of trails here anyway. The generator cut out once again today, not sure why, but it feels really hot, so I guess the heat is getting to it. Need to do some research on that. Trying to sort out my schedule for the winter, now that my usual wintering place has decided not to have a camp host anymore, which frees me up for other things I want to do, which is a good thing. Other than that, a pretty lazy day! Didn't get the rain yet, so it's still pretty warm, though I did put up the front panel of my screen room to keep the direct sunlight off the trailer, which helped, as did the bit of cloudiness we had. Hoping for rain overnight to cool things off! Heading to bed shortly! Good night, baby! Love you!
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 – First Ride At Sedalia, Shopping Day
Hey Babe,
Another good night sleep, did my chores, then saddled up Flash for our first ride out of Sedalia. Turns out the trails look like they haven't had any TLC in a very long time. It was marked well enough, but I was covered in spider webs in no time. Once I hit the road, I started down a forest road, but that was so gravelly, we ended up going cross country into the woods for a bit before finally getting back on the trail, which was actually along the road for about a quarter mile. We headed back into the woods, and that section was also not in very good shape. We followed it as far as Johns Creek, which was only a couple of miles, before I decided the day was better spent going shopping rather than going any farther on that trail. We followed the road back, except for the last short section which Flash opted to take, and were back in camp in less than 90 minutes from when we left. I sponged him down and put him on the highline, changed clothes and headed out to Tractor Supply for propane and MSM for Apollo, and Walmart for the rest of my shopping. Got back to camp shortly after 3:00 and settled down for the rest of the day. It was over 90 degrees, so I'm thinking I came a bit farther south a bit too early, but there's a cool front coming in, so this is supposed to be the hottest day. I was glad I put out Lola's pool yesterday, she's been able to cool off occasionally. Binged on some TV, read for awhile, heading to bed shortly, though I think I'm going to skip the Sleepytime tea tonight, don't need a hot drink right now! Good night, darlin'! Love you!
Tuesday, September 23, 2025 – Laundry, Housekeeping, Productive Day
Hiya Darlin',
A good night sleep, so happy I'm back on track since all my back pain has disappeared! Had a busy day doing laundry and a lot of serious housekeeping, long overdue! I brought out Lola's swimming pool because it's been really hot the last couple of days, and tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter before a cold front brings in some rain, if you want to believe the weatherman. I also extended my reservation for another week, so I brought out my hoses to see if they would be long enough to reach the spigot, and was very pleased to see that they do, at least to the trailer. I need to confirm it will reach the horses' buckets tomorrow, but I think a still have another section of hose I can use if I need to. I had a little problem with the generator, though, it ran fine for my first load of laundry, then a few minutes into my second load it quit. I checked all the usual suspects, put some oil in, turned on a new propane cylinder, but it kept doing it, running for a few minutes, then quitting. Of course, I looked it up online and most responses had to do with the coils, but I noticed that some oil had spilled, so I cleaned everything up, including some of the wiring connections, and I managed to keep it running long enough to finish my second load. It also came on fine when I needed it for the microwave, so I may have solved the problem for now, I hope. Settled down for the my usual evening, ready for bed! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Monday, September 22, 2025 – Travel Day to Sedalia Camp near Union, SC
Hey Sweetie,
Woke up to another foggy morning, but it cleared out pretty well by the time I was on the road just after 9:30. I was a bit surprised to see a bear near Deer Park on my way out of the Biltmore this morning! So cool! I stopped at a truck stop just south of Asheville and was thrilled to pay a mere $3.16 a gallon for diesel! I was down to nearly an eighth of a tank and it still only cost $100 to fill up! Whoo hoo! Love it when my biggest expense gets so much more reasonable! Arrived safe and sound at the Sedalia campground. This is my first time here, and it didn't take me very long to get set up. A little tricky getting into my site, but it's perfect for what I need. The trailer is mostly in the shade, but I have a clear shot for my solar panel most of the afternoon, I have trees that are perfect for the highline and a laundry line, and I'm next to the treeline so cleanup is a breeze. The one water spigot has threads, so I was able to fill my truck tank, and I might even be close enough for my hoses to reach, but it's just as easy to fill my truck tank anyway. It was paved all the way here, too, so very easy to reach, and the cell phone signal, though weak, is good enough for live streaming on Prime, so I'm thinking about extending my stay for another week. Good to be back on the road again! Good night, babe! Love you!
Sunday, September 21, 2025 – Quiet Day of Prep
Hiya Babe!
Another good night sleep and a pretty lazy day. I invited Steve and Cam for a pancake breakfast, though they slept in later than usual today, and it was almost 1:00 by the time they finally headed home. I only had a few things I could put away, which I did, so it should be an easy exit for me tomorrow. Since I don’t have any trees to hang clothes on, I didn’t do my usual Sunday laundry ritual, so that will have to wait for a day or two, depending on weather. Watched some of Charlie Kirk’s funeral on CSPAN, then binged the rest of the day on Hart of Dixie. It’s not quite as empty here as usual, my friend Jenny is still here, though she’s all the way down at the other end, and her new friend and riding partner is close to me, so I don’t have it to myself as usual, but that’s okay, I’ve been sleeping so well when it’s been busy, I’m sure I’ll do the same tonight! Won’t be long out of bed, of course, just need my tea and shower! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!
Saturday, September 20, 2025 – Volunteer “Work”
Hi Darlin'!
Generators and activities started early in camp this morning, as expected, so I woke up early, but laid in bed for awhile before getting up. After all my morning chores, I got my marching orders for the day. I drove over to the main bridge, met up with Steph and Ann, and they guided me to the top of the hill in the vineyard (with a beautiful view), with instructions to warn the approaching riders of a particularly rambunctious young Great Pyrenees sheepdog and his partner that went a bit over the top doing their job. They would bark and lunge at every horse that went by, and it was decided that for safety's sake, the riders needed a special warning, which I was happy to provide! From 10:00 to about 4:00, I diligently did my job, taking Lola for the ocassional walk, and mostly read a book or Facebooked on the phone in between. A storm came up just as the gals came by to tell me I was done for the day, surprisingly early, but we waited a few minutes until it quit raining before we took down the shelter and headed out. I took the opportunity to pick up my chucker from Meg's truck, and just as I was pulling in next to her semi, spotted a gal wearing the same Moonshine Run t-shirt that I had on, and realized it was Jenny, whom I met at that ride. I had just messaged her a few minutes earlier to try to locate her and hadn't heard back yet, and there she was! We ended up chatting for an hour, getting caught up, then I headed back to my trailer, where Cam and Steve were hanging out. It wasn't long before Steph and Ann showed up needing help to put some glowsticks together, apparently an odd oversight that it hadn't been done earlier, considering they have 75-milers on this ride. Anyway, we threw those together as quickly as we could, then Steve and the gals raced off to put those up. They weren't back by dark, so I'm not sure how much help they'll be for some of those riders, but apparently there is one particularly slow person that I guess will benefit. Cam and I tried to watch an ISS flyover, but there was too much fog. We said our good-nights, and I'll soon be off to shower and bed! A fulfilling day! Good night, my sweet! Love you!
Friday, September 19, 2025 – Two Rides and Ride Dinner
Hiya Sweetie,
Another good night sleep, foggy this lazy morning, before I and my neighbors saddled up for a short ride. I took Apollo, since it's been a long time since he's been ridden, and I was still a bit worried about Flash, though he seemed to be fine this morning. Apollo was the ultimate slug today, and felt pretty stiff most of the way. We only went a couple of miles, and, of course, we ended up way behind them, so when we passed by camp, I pulled in to switch horses. The plan was to ride down to the main tent to see if they had our volunteer packets, but I was hoping to have one of the vets look at Flash anyway, so I figured there was no time like the present. I put Apollo away and quickly saddled Flash and rode him down, only to meet my neighbors already on the way back. No problem, I kept going, and it turned out there were no packets for us anyway. I had a vet look at Flash, but I couldn't get him to gait (he hates running beside me, and I just haven't taken the time to teach him to do that very much, since I hate running beside him!), so it was pretty pointless. But on the ride down, he was full of energy, and kept that going all the way back to camp, so I decided to see how far we could get, and headed out on the orange trail backward, which is the trail we were going to do yesterday. He acted perfectly fine! We went as far as the intersection just before the carriage barn, and turned around to make sure the markings were clear going in the correct direction. I did some trimming, and reported one intersection that needed a marker, but otherwise it was in good shape. Once we were clearly heading home, Flash picked up speed, and we even cantered for half of what used to be the finish field, and fast gaited (largo) most of the rest of the way, without any apparent detrimental effect. His ankle possibly felt the tiniest bit puffy, but otherwise, he seemed fine! With a few more days off, and if I'm careful not to overdue it, I think he'll stay fine. Got back to camp and rinsed him off, which turned out to be moot in time, then rode up to the tent with Cam and Steve for dinner and the riders meeting. We no sooner got there than another torrential rainstorm rolled in, drowning out the presentation that was going on before dinner. That lasted a good half hour. Yesterday the forecast showed dry for the next week, today it shows rain for all of next week. Sheesh! It stopped by the end of the riders meeting, but another black sky was to the north, so we hurried back to camp (which is now full of trailers, tents and cars), walked the dogs and settled down for the night. Rain started again about an hour later, looks like it's going to be another soggy night, and a soggy ride tomorrow, darn it! Watched an hour of TV, had my Sleepytime tea and shower, and off to bed! Good night, baby! Love you!
Thursday, September 18, 2025 – No Ride, Flash A Bit Lame Today
Hey Babe,
Had another good night sleep, got my chores done, but when it came time to saddle up Flash, he just wasn't moving right. I had given him bute last night and this morning, but there was a little puffiness on his right rear fetlock, so I decided not to risk further injury. Fortunately, the trail we were supposed to do today was shared a lot by the trail we did on Tuesday, and Steph had run around most of the same trail with the FEI folks, so she was okay with me not finishing it off today, thank goodness. So it turned into a pretty lazy day, beautiful weather, read and did some research, finally deciding on going to Sedalia Horse Camp in SC on Monday, someplace new and easy to get to. Shared dinner with Steve and Cam, visiting with them until dark, then managed to watch an hour of TV. Something really weird is going on with the cell phone signal here. Typically it's pretty bad here, though I was hoping that after all the destruction from the hurricane last year, they might have upgraded the towers. Well, it's mostly still bad, except when my phone is inside the trailer (usually it works better OUTSIDE the trailer), when it suddenly pops into roaming mode and jumps to four bars! No idea why that's happening! Glad, though, because it's a lot easier to get stuff done when I have a good internet connection, which I did. Then around 8:30, it suddenly started raining, an isolated storm that was not predicted in the forecast even as it was happening! So everything's wet again. Anyway, tea's on, shower next, off to bed soon! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!