Hi Babe,
Had a busy day helping out at another endurance ride, this one over two days, run by Cheryl V.D., and with all kinds of different lengths including 100 miles, though only about 30 riders each day. I didn't mark the trails here, but I did help with some gofer stuff, like parking trailers and helping with registration, so the day flew by. Cheryl organizers her rides very differently than Jo, generally waiting until the last minute to do things because they seem to be in a constant state of flux, whereas Jo is a planner, everything done as much in advance as possible, so that was quite a challenge to try to change methods. The first rides are tomorrow morning, but I don't need to be there too early, which I'm glad about. Lots of faces are starting to look very familiar, it's a lot of the same crowd at these endurance rides, and I'm even finally starting to learn some names, though most folks have seen me at two or three rides now, so many of them seem to know me now. I stayed for the dinner and ride meeting, finally getting back to camp about 7:30, settled down for a short evening, and I'll be heading to bed here shortly. Love you, sweetie! Good night!
Wednesday, December 27, 2023 – Busy Runaround Day
Hiya Sweetie!
What a busy, productive day! Got up by 8:00, did my chores, made arrangements to pick up 15 bales of hay at an actual haymaker rather than a feed store, for the first time in quite awhile. I've been buying it at Tractor Supply in town for $11.50 a bale, which is the cheapest I've been able to find, but this haymaker was selling bales for just $8, and the bales were at least 30 percent bigger, and it was nice hay for coastal, so it was a much better deal all around! Went to Walmart after that and did a little shopping, didn't need much, then Tractor Supply for feed and another couple of washers to finish fixing Apollo's hay bag, then a short walk over to Publix where I succumbed to temptation and got not one but two little cartons of my favorite eggnog ice cream, since it was on sale. Jo happened to see my truck while I was at Tractor Supply, so she came in and found me and we chatted a bit. finally got back to camp and spent some time putting everything away, surprised myself by fitting all 15 bales under the gooseneck, thought I would have to store some in my usual place in the front stall, but didn't have to, thank goodness. Be tough to get it in since I can't reach it with the truck. Well, that took some time to do. Once that was done, I finished sorting the last of the ribbons so they're ready to go, and then went about mending Apollo's feedbag, again. He keeps chewing through the bottom! I sewed a patch of material once before, but it was just cotton and he chewed through that as well, so this time I bought some faux leather vinyl, the strongest thing I could find in Walmart, and sewed that into the bottom. Hopefully that will last a long time. I decided to make my favorite chicken recipe again, but this time I had a deep pan, and instead of a whole chicken, I took a package of boneless chicken thighs and spread it all over them, then covered it with aluminum foil. I don't know how it did it, but somehow it boiled over in the oven, again, making a huge mess, again!! I can't understand how it did that, the chicken with the sauce didn't even fill the pan halfway! Anyway, that took time to clean up, and I'll still need to do it again tomorrow, and some of it dripped into the drawers below, again, so that will take come cleaning as well. But, I have to say, the chicken was delicious! Settled down to another Christmas movie, a modern holiday version of Groundhog Day, which was okay. Just need my shower before I get to bed! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Tuesday, December 26, 2023 – Retrieved Final Ribbons
Hi Darlin',
Finally managed to get down to the south end of the 50 mile endurance trail and pick up the rest of the orange ribbons, which took most of the afternoon. Flash was once again brilliant, stopping at starting at every ribbon, which only the occasional heavy sigh. I was a bit disappointed to find that the trail I had planned and delegated to be done wasn't the trail that was marked, making the trail short by nearly a mile. Good information to have for the future, though. Once we finished picking up markers, I let Flash pick a pace, and he decided he wanted to gallop all the way home, though I kept him more at a canter, with the occasional puddle that needed to be walked. The last few miles were a record pace, though! Exhilarating! Settled down for the evening, watched a Frank Campra movie, Pocketful of Miracles, which I can't believe that I've never seen before! Not exactly Christmas, but very heartfelt nonetheless. Had a nice dinner with the movie, and an eggnog ice cream and bourbon dessert just to top it all off. Heading to shower and bed, just have shopping planned for tomorrow, so no hurry getting up in the morning. Good night, baby! Love you!
Monday, December 25, 2023 – Rainy Quiet Christmas
Hiya Babe,
Slept in a little bit, then after chores I went back to bed and read for awhile, because it was raining out and it just felt like the thing to do! Spent most of the day reading and watching Christmas movies, had a nice dinner with breaded chicken and stuffing so it almost felt like a holiday, then settled in for the evening. The rain quit in the afternoon, but it's still quite warm so not feeling real Christmas-y. Ate too much, sat too much, but otherwise enjoyed a quiet day. Should be getting a bit busier later in the week. Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Sunday, December 24, 2023 – Challenging Christmas Eve Ride on Apollo
Hey Sweetie!
Started out as a fairly lazy morning, did some computer work on the trail marking system here, and got a couple loads of laundry started before finally saddling up Apollo for what was supposed to be a quick ride today. It seemed, however, that a whole lot of elements came together to create quite an adventure today. Maybe it was the little treat of alfalfa I've been giving the last week (just a few handfuls with each meal), or maybe it was just because it's been awhile since we went riding (well, not THAT long), or maybe there really ARE horse-eating hogs out here, whatever, there was a conspiracy to frighten Apollo, so today's ride was more like schooling a three-year-old who'd never been on a trail before, rather than my 26 year-old usually bomb-proof senior horse! This forest is FULL of wild pigs, even close to camp, but Apollo was convinced they were all out to get him. I had to change my trail plan in the beginning just because I couldn't even get him down the first trail. We went down the road for a bit, until we finally turned into the woods, but even then he was hesitant. I was holding the reins tight in one hand and hanging onto the horn of my saddle for dear life with the other, not knowing when he was going to spin around like a cowpony, which usually ends up with me on the ground, but not today! He got really stubborn in a couple of places, but I just let him stand there trembling until he finally got past it. I was actually quite happy when we finally did see a big black pig meander across the trail in front of us, so he could see it, and hopefully realize it wasn't after him. A few minutes later, several younger ones passed by even closer, and he watched them fiercely until they disappeared. He stood stock still for awhile, and when they didn't come back, he finally moved ahead. Eventually he settled down a bit, the last mile of our 4+ mile ride was a bit more relaxed, thank goodness, but I stayed vigilant. I was determined not to end up on the ground! So it was not a very relaxing ride, but I'm glad we made it through, four and a third miles that took us nearly an hour and three quarters with all the stops, starts and standing. Regardless, I was on the back of one of my horses of Christmas Eve, so I'm still a happy camper! Got back and everyone settled, then settled myself for the evening with another Christmas movie and a couple of Eurekas before heading to shower and bed. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!
Saturday, December 23, 2023 – A Quiet Day in Camp
Hiya Darlin',
Mostly just rested today, mended my saddlebags where one of my ties had come off, and sewed a couple of other weak spots that were soon to go. A stitch in time, as they say! Mostly read and played games on my computer, not really up for much else for some reason. It was a gorgeous day, and sitting on the porch was delightful. Settled down to another Christmas movie after dinner, and am making it another early evening. Good night, babe. Love you!
Friday, December 22, 2023 – White Polka Dot Trail Unmarked
Hey Babe,
A decent night sleep, chores in the morning, did a little bathroom cleaning in camp, then finally saddled up Flash around 11:30 to go pick up the markers for the white trail. Lola came along and managed to get back to camp without limping, though Flash seemed a little gimpy again after about ten miles, but he made it back to camp okay. Everything's done now except the bottom half of the fifty, I need to check to see if the gals that marked it for me will be picking up the markers or if I need to do it. I think I need to give Flash the day off tomorrow, though, just to make sure he's not gimpy again. Got back around 4:00, and promptly settled into my evening routine, with one addition. I've been carrying around an unopened bottle of dry vermouth for years, promising myself that one day I would get a bottle of gin so I could use up the vermouth making martinis, and yesterday, I bought a bottle of gin so I could finally do that. So tonight, I splurged on making myself a martini (something I learned at an early age to do for my father), and I enjoyed it so much I had two! Watched another Christmas movie, then switched over to bourbon and eggnog (with both the ice cream and the liquid carton combined!), so I'm expecting a great sleep tonight! It was a lovely ride, Flash did a brilliant job, even though he did get a little impatient at the end when I took him all the way down to Helen's when he wanted to cross over the street home 1/4 mile earlier, but it had to be done! Lola, thankfully, didn't seem to get limp today like she did the other day, so she's apparently on the mend. A beautiful ride, with lots of water, and thoroughly enjoyable. Love it here! Good night, sweetie! Love you!
Thursday, December 21, 2023 – Dentist Appointment
Hiya Sweetie,
Had to get up early for a 10:00 dentist appointment in town, and just as I sat down to breakfast I got a call from them that there was a problem with my insurance. I ended up on the phone with them for a bit trying to sort it out, and didn't make a lot of headway, but I didn't want to miss the appointment, so I went in. Somewhere along the line they got it more or less straightened out, but it's so inconsistent! First the dentist was going to make me pay for the entire visit, then bill the insurance, and have them reimburse me for whatever they didn't cover, which seems to be completely arbitrary, but by the end of the visit, the only charged me for an upgraded x-ray and an office visit (which I'm pretty sure was covered), but it was all only $40 so I just paid it and hoped for the best. Who know what will happen once it gets billed? Such a convoluted system! Anyway, after all that, everything is fine anyway, so that was good news. I stopped at Tractor Supply for horse feed, Walmart for fuel, Winn-Dixie for liquor and groceries, and finally Publix for a quart of eggnog ice cream, then back to camp around 2:00. Too late to ride out and collect the ribbons off the white trail, so instead, I fixed Apollo's new slow feed hay bag. I bought it a few weeks ago, and it does seem to slow him down, but the design is so poor because the drawstring is the same material as the rest of the bag, and it has no rings for the drawstring, so I've been having a lot of trouble making it work. At Tractor Supply I bought a bunch of washers that I then used to create loops for the drawstring, so it was much easier to use. I was short one or two washers, but overall it works a lot better! Ranger Rick came by and we chatted for awhile, then I settled down for the night to another Christmas movie, this time with Kelsey Grammer, had a nice dinner with an eggnog and ice cream dessert, and am ready for shower and bed! Good night, darlin'! Love you!
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 – Orange Marker Retrieval Day
Hey Darlin',
Woke up to another chilly morning, so I cuddled in bed as long as I could before getting up to feed the horses and do my chores. Had a leisurely morning waiting for it to warm up a bit, then finally started saddling Flash around 11:30, and got on the trail by noon, with everything piled up on him like a pack mule again. Lola's leg seemed to be okay, so I let her come along, though by the end of the day she was limping again, so no more walking for her for awhile! I couldn't believe how wet it was out there, even though it quit raining on Sunday afternoon. Places that were dry last week were ankle deep in water, and knee high water was up to nearly Flash's elbows! It was a wet day! On time I lost my trash grabber and had to go back through about 200 yards of deep water to retrieve it, and another time, Lola somehow lost her orange safety vest, and I had to go back about 50 yards, again through some deep water, to retrieve that! We managed to get all the markers and signs down, so it was a productive day, though we didn't get back to camp until 4:30. Nice to be back in the saddle again! It's been longer than I thought. Wasn't long before I fed the horses and did my evening chores, then settled down to a nice chicken Alfredo and asparagus dinner, another Christmas movie, and soon to be early night! Good night, baby! Love you!
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 – Cold and Quiet Day
Hi Babe,
After a good night sleep and a bit of a lay in this morning, I was very glad I put the fireplace on all night, as it was quite a chilly morning! Managed to get the horses fed and my chores done, but there was no way I was going to ride today, as the wind chill was keeping temps in the low 50's, and even cooler, so another rest day for me! I did take one trip out to go to the office to get keys and learn where all the supplies are, as well as to be apprised of my official volunteer duties, with a minimum of 20 hours a week, which won't be a problem! Did a load of laundry and a little housework, but otherwise it was a "chill" day, which is the Florida equivalent of a snow day in my book. Feeling a lot more energetic after these couple of days of rest, so I'll be ready to hit the trails tomorrow and start retrieving ribbons as well as doing any trail work. When I went out on Sunday to get the water tubs, I had to move a tree off the road, so I'm expecting that some of the trails will need work as well. Had a quiet and pleasant evening, another Christmas movie, and I started watching another series off the old SciFi channel called Eureka. Another early evening, and hopefully another good night sleep! Love you, sweetie! Good night!