Mostly Recalcitrant, Slightly Sheepish

So, yeah.  Pretty much a slacker when it comes to updating my blog lately.  You'll have that.  I'm tempted to give a smattering of lame excuses, but instead I'll go with the honest truth:  It just hasn't been a priority because I'm a little pissed over having lost my camera.  Disenchanted, if you will, with a side of 'Screw it.'

BUT - here's what's been happening in RoadQueen Country.

First, there's been a ton of this:

Storm clouds rolling in

Which has made doing fun outdoor things spotty, at best.  We've had so much rainfall, that Mom and Dad's hay fields JUST NOW got cut for the first time this summer.  That's unheard of.  They should have been baled about 2 months ago, and the second cutting should be about ready.  Needless to say, the first cutting was so far overdue that the crop is basically useless to feed, so we still don't have any hay.  Good thing our horses are relying 100% on pasture at this point, otherwise we'd be in some deep trouble.  Here's to hoping that the second cutting is useful and timely.

The first weekend in June, I went to Will's Creek for my first horse camping trip of the year.  Normally I start camping in early May.  Again - see the picture above.

Ready to hit the trails 

The above picture is one of only 2 crappy cell phone pictures that I took of that ride.  I took well over 100 pictures on my cute little pink Canon Power Shot point-and-shoot camera.  When we arrived back at the farm that Sunday, I set my camera on the trunk of my car, forgot it was there.....and DROVE AWAY.  Needless to say, I walked up and down the road that I was on and searched the ditches and posted "Lost" messages on Facebook, etc.  The camera, case, all of my memory cards, etc. has not been seen since.  

Next adventure was Salt Fork State Park.  It rained each day that we were there, but we got a couple of rides in.

Campgrounds

RoadQueen and Guinness selfie!!

The Wednesday after camping at Salt Fork, I had my wisdom teeth removed.  That was fun.  I kinda wish now that I'd taken some pictures of my chipmunked face, but I was too high on the Percocets to think of that at the time.  Luckily I'm extremely blessed, and had a WONDERFUL caretaker while I was down.  

The weekend following my wisdom teeth removal, was RCT's AARL Field Day.   There was a little rain spattered throughout the weekend, but nothing serious.  RCT lives within 10 minutes from the remote location that Field Day was held, so we were able to go back to the house to sleep at night, rather than camping out the whole time.  Field Day was fun, as usual, but I was greatly relieved for the comforts of home at the end of each day with my newly surgically-altered mouth.

W8MDE/W8BAE Field Day Station - Operational

That brings us current to this past weekend - which was the 4th of July holiday for all of us Americans.  As I have for the past several years, I spent the holiday weekend at Mohican-Memorial State Forest with my riding club, the Wayne County Chapter of the Ohio Horseman's Council.

The weather was beautiful, and the event was a success, with the rain holding out until Sunday morning.

Taking a selfie on horseback - harder than I make it look

"Are you ready to go yet?!"

Happy Ears  :-)

So, yeah - I've been having fun.  So much fun, I haven't bothered to stop long enough to blog about it.  But, now that I'm all caught up, I'll try to keep it that way.  Also, I need to get another camera.  Someday.

As for bicycling, I've actually been doing quite a bit, although not in epic proportions.  My nature is extremely practical - and as I've become acquainted with my cycling-self, have discovered that my absolute favorite type of bicycle riding is commuting.  I've had many, many totally awesome rides in RCT's hometown.  Making trips to the grocery store, going out to dinner, and any other errand that pops up.  I still go on longer rides with RCT if invited, and I do enjoy them as well, but riding around town is my absolute favorite way to cycle right now.

I still want a recumbent trike (REALLY BAD!) so that I can go on all-day-long excursions without getting saddle sores or bruising my seat bones, but my Giant Hybrid is perfectly fine for sub-20 mile rides and will have to make due for now.

Ride safe, and don't be recalcitrant.

~The RoadQueen