Knowing I could not walk the icy and muddy paths of the state forest yesterday I came up with a better plan. I would walk a road which follows a local river. Good thought - park in a safe parking lot, walk a little through town, follow the road to the end which ended in another town and then back again. No problem. I drive this road all the time looking for photo opportunities. Well, obviously walking and driving are two different animals!
An hour and a half later with my cheeks feeling like I had run face-first into a porcupine fill of botox I had completed the 6.4 miles. I didn't know how far I'd walked until I measured it with the car on the way home with the heat blasting in my face. The clouds even snow flurried on me - twice! The nerve. I did get a couple shots. Nothing spectacular but I'll share them anyway.
I thought this was an immature White Fronted Goose but the habitat range is all wrong. Either way, he was very, very cute with everything moving but his little eye on my face (hence the interesting focus effect).
Being a river connecting to the open water, the tide works it's ebb and flow magic on the ice.
These two paddled right by me but I'm not taking it personally. People down the way were throwing bread into the water. People - no bread! It's nutritionally empty and just bulks up in their little tummies giving them a false feeling of fullness without any of the needed benefits. There are notices all over the place to NOT feed the wild life and water fowl but people do it anyway thinking they're helping the animals thrive.
The cemetary on this road hosts my most favorite stone angel of all time.
I worked with the horses and in the barn this morning for almost four hours. The temperature was 9 degrees F without the wind chill factored in. I got so cold I couldn't feel my feet clear up to mid-shin. My hands are still burning and I've been home for nearly two hours. Hopefully the cold will break but soon!