Today was a gift. Rarely is it 50 degrees and sunny on the first day of the year and I was determined to take advantage of it.

Work commitments, holiday celebrations, visits with family and an abscess (Freedom’s) have kept me out of the saddle for the past three weeks. Maybe I got in one ride but I know it’s bad when I can’t remember the last time I rode.

I saddled up Freedom and headed out on the trails. We had a very nice walk through the woods and out into the fields. There were Blue Birds flying in the meadows and landing on the branches of the bare trees. It’s pretty amazing to see those bright blue birds in what should be the depth of winter.

The ground was still pretty hard so we mostly walked but it was so nice to be out in the fresh air.

Despite his weeks on vacation Freedom was very well behaved. Except when we encountered the radio controlled airplane. That was a bit of a surprise for both of us. It was a lovely plane with a wingspan of close to 5 feet. We were hacking back to the barn and found a young man flying the plane in the field next to the riding ring. To Freedom, it must have seemed like a predator because we stopped, spun and would have taken off like a shot had I not had a firm grip on his reins.

Luckily they heard me shout and they landed the plane in the far end of the field. It took me awhile to convince him to walk by but in the end we got by with a minimal of prancing.

We have one more day of warm weather tomorrow before the temperatures drop into the low 20s. Just enough time for one more ride.