Freezin' Up!

Very Cold!

With all the blazing sunshine, I just had to ride!  It was just 40 when we left home & once we were up in the shade of the forest, it got very cold - very fast!  The ground is already freezing up - puddles now frozen over too - but Farah easily broke the crust for a drink.

Further along~

 I'd started out without any particular plan - thinking that I wouldn't be out too long.  It was just about 1:30 p.m. when we left - I was sure that even with the shorter days, I'd have plenty of time to go out north to our usual break spot before turning back.

The downhill ~

What I didn't figure on, was how much slower the going was - with the trails rock hard & icy in many spots.  At the top of our downhill - I dismounted & walked/slid down as Farah did the same.

Finding the green stuff~

At our break spot, it sure wasn't any warmer, especially with the sun sinking low to the west!  We turned back, I wanted to make sure that we'd get back before it got too dark, since it was so slippery.

Toward the power lines~

In many places - we'd hit a cold spot & I do think that the temperatures are variable dependent on the terrain.  I wanted to stop by the north wetland to see if it had started to ice up yet.

Wetland~

It hadn't - it's large & there was a lot of water flowing in from the creek.  Mirror smooth & as beautiful as I remembered.  Once we were back in our woods I decided to check out a trail that had been blocked by a gate a few years ago.

Gate & Mountain

Of course it still was, but it was nice to see the last of the sun on Deer Mountain.  This mountain had managed to stay forested until about 2 years ago.  Now it's being clear-cut at a furious rate.  As part of the original view out our north living room window.  The cedars we planted at the bottom of the pasture many years ago, are tall enough that they mostly block the view & that's actually OK ...

Temp inside the barn~

We got home at 5:10, & it was dark!  It was also Cold!  Farah hadn't even broken a sweat & really seemed to enjoy getting out.  We've worked out a bit of a deal!  I ask her to stop for photos & she gets to eat!  Works for us both!

 Joyce gave me a camera that is very similar to the Nikon I'd been using, but with a couple more pixels.  So far - it hasn't had the tendency to blur photos for absolutely no known reason!  Of course numb fingers don't help!  :-)