Tuesday mornings are tight for hunting.

First thing in the morning I hitch the trailer.

Next I drive my daughter to school (without the trailer, that would be way too embarrassing for the high school, although I did occasionally pull the trailer to the middle school).

Then it’s off to the barn to feed, groom and load up for hunting.

Most of the hunts are pretty close to the barn, but this past Tuesday, it was an hour away which gave me 20 minutes to get the horses fed and Zelda on the trailer.

It was worth it, though. It was a beautiful fall day and the hunt was at a lovely venue — Surrenden Farm inGroton — a 265 acre parcel that has long been a site for foxhunting

and agriculture. Surrenden Farm is now part of the Conservation Trust. The “General Field” where the hunt started was first named in 1670 when several landowners banded together and created a large feel for their mutual advantage. Set high up on a hill there are views all the way to Mount Wachusett.

It’s a great place to start a hunt, but a challenging one too. The General Field is huge and the big open space and the gusts of wind amped up all the horses. I was so proud of Zelda! She managed to hold it together during the gallop and there was no bucking.

The fields offer great viewing of the hounds working and then we were into the woods, along the river and riding through a grove of rhododendrons that must look spectacular in the late spring.

At this time of year it’s the trees that give the land the color. It’s prime foliage season in Massachusetts.