December Walks

I love December walks when it's cold, with a wind blowing light snow across the landscape and through the fencerows.  It's invigorating, and now that the ground is getting frozen and snow-covered rather than muddy, we've started our walks through the farm next door.  There's not a lot that makes a great picture on dark December days, but beech leaves in the woods have always been one of our favourites.  They tend to stay on the young saplings all the way until the next spring, rustling when there's a breeze blowing.

We walk part of our usual walk around the loop, but then we cut off through the woods down an old tractor trail, now partly overgrown with raspberries and young saplings.  There's no clear trail out to the old fields of the farm, but you can pick your way through the trees and over the fallen branches to get there.  They've recently stopped haying the small fields on this farm, but the owners mow trails down the old lane and around the edge, which make for great walking at this time of year.  Soon it will be on snowshoes.

In the meantime, I can let the dog run here, and try training her to return when called!  So far it's working.  And I'm sure her walks are more interesting than usual, as she runs here and there following the freshest smells.  A fair distance from any houses, I'm sure these fields and fencerows see lots of deer and coyotes.