Hebron Academy land

The sign says TRUST, which I thought was appropriate near the beginning of my ride. I was leading AhD at this point, because I don't have enough TRUST in him yet to ride him in traffic. I had it in my head that I was going to ride all the way over to Marshall Pond, which is a good jaunt. I didn't end up there, but I rode all around these AWESOME Hebron Academy cross country trails! The picture on the right shows "The Bowl" in the middle of the academy. Here's an interesting fact: about 10 years back, a mountain lion ran across The Bowl in broad daylight. I have spotted big cat paw prints since then, but not for several years now.

Here is the head of the county road which would have taken us to Marshall Pond if I had a better sense of direction. I stuck to the biggest trail. It was WONDERFUL riding. AhD was forward, on a loose rein. The black flies were out, but didn't bother us since we were moving. I'll take black flies over deer flies anyday. Black flies may get in your eyes alot, but deer flies have a vicious bite and hang in packs in the woods during the muggy, heavy days of summer. Here is the trail a little further down. For whatever reason, AhD tried to make me think he was scared of this puddle. He didn't fool me. He ended up drinking deeply out of it, and we relaxed here for awhile. It was very peaceful here. Even though this is technically an old county road, it runs through Academy land, so there were no turkey hunters! I couldn't have picked a better spot to ride today!! I never realized how much land the Academy owns; it must be hundreds of acres.

When I came to this spot, I thought, "Aha! This must be the tail end of Marshall Pond!" WRONG! I needed to turn off of the main trail at some point to get there, but was too chicken to do so. I am completely feeble at finding my way in the woods and know my limitations.

Here I am jawing with my neighbor about how I missed the trail to Marshall Pond. Hubby Dana snapped the picture, since he was the one jawing with the neighbor first. Since I dropped my camera just after I took the boggy pond picture, the pics are a little fuzzy now. AhD wasn't too happy about heading back towards the pond at the time; apparently he has a much better sense of direction than I do. Once I found the camera, we did some excellent trotting and cantering in the direction of home. And, I TRUSTed him enough to ride him up our road on the way home!! That is a big accomplishment for us because of my fear issues, and I am psyched! Our plum tree is in bloom. Next weekend, I'll try to get a shot of an apple tree. I saw a little on on the trail tucked in the woods that was all budded out. Lesly, this blog is dedicated to you.