Cold here also - but Sun Again !!

Saturday - Zoe and I went for a long extremely pleasurable trot out - once again.. the sun was brilliant - and we had loads of fun.

We bundled up pretty well.. although by the end our feet were cold, so I am interested to hear what you others are doing to solve that. Here's what I have added to my riding wish list.

Saturday I had 2 sock layers.. one light, one heavy - and my heavy warm muck boots. Mid-way into the ride, our toes were cold. These cozy toes will solve that I think.

Zoe and I are also going to invest in the Balaclava, as we are often warm enough everywhere except our cheeks. As Denise said - winter riding is fun, but there is a bit more preparation and planning.. and that makes it more fun :)

Trot past the brook, all icicles and glaciers forming. You know it's cold when moving water freezes easily.

Nice view of Mount Ascutney. I'd love to ride up there someday.. but we'd have to trailer there.

The horses love to trot side by side.. Zoe often gives Keri a pat on the head as we glide along. Teasel likes to be a nose ahead. Keri usually accommodates his wish as they are best friends.

Dark well defined shadows have been a rare sight in the past months.

The sky is wondrous.. it's been too long and too seldom.

We reach our destination - the snowmobile trail. Back in the summer, we had to bound up the side hill to circumvent this gate- which is now open for the winter season. I can see there has been lots of traffic.. this is a highway - and we are able to trot and canter with the firm footing. FUN :)

Past the school bus graveyard :)

Through the woods and trot in back of our little industrial park - which is a bit creepy with that prison fence. Out through a large field.. where, as we look back, we were the first to leave footprints.

As we look across the vista.. we spot the cabin perched on the side of the mountain where we

rode during the summer... Keri had to stand quite still as I used my ZOOM.. We can't see this in the summer with leaf cover. (It's the brown dot in the clearing)

Sneak past the gate onto our newly found trail - Authorized Only, Where we find more brilliant sunrays -

I realize I am becoming redundant here -- but the sun is so overwhelmingly welcome :)

Duck into the forested trail to pick our way over the small mountain to the other side..

This will be the first time we have trotted this trail from this end. We found snowshoe tracks and lots of well trodden deer path - took one wrong turn requiring a bit of back tracking..

I snapped a quick self portrait of me and Keri.

We actually came out in a lightly different place than the way we entered the last time we rode this trail.. now we have a couple of alternative routes. We promised ourselves to ride this trail often enough to keep it open during the winter.

One last photo of the seemingly frozen sunrays - as we pass the arctic Siberian looking pond... we trot home on the road.

Just for fun I video'ed Keri's tired little trot up the little hill.

Another Monday.. and I am hoping to get out for a quick ride this morning if all goes well.

Enjoy ~