Leaf in the Mist……and two types of riding

Don’t you just love back-lit leaves in their warm winter colours, I never could resist taking pictures of them. This was a beautifully sharp, crisp morning with a bit of mist hanging around in the air and I went out for an early walk to try to capture the atmosphere as well as the frost on the ground.

This year so far, I find myself grabbing every little opportunity like this to get out in the woods and hills in between the spells of rain because dry weather, and especially sunshine, seems to be in short supply. I find that if for some reason I am unable to get out, I very soon feel ‘stale’ and miss my outdoors time. I have managed to get out for some kind of walk most days though since I have got over my flu virus, which is good. Definitely lacking on the bike riding though so I’m looking forward to drier times!

Interestingly, part of the reason for cycling, in addition to the fact that I can cover more ground, is for the aerobic exercise it gives me. I read an interesting quote a few days ago though from Marie Murphy, Professor of Exercise and Health at Ulster University. She said, ‘Walking is probably the nearest thing to perfect exercise that we have’! Actually, I enjoy both walking and cycling so, God willing, I propose to keep doing both 🙂 ! Oh, and I’m really hoping to get my kayak out again this year.

One of the things I have done this year is to write out a bucket list of ‘mini adventures’ to go on in 2020 and some of those things are exercise related – one thing on the list is horse riding. I used to ride many years ago when I was in my teens but I didn’t keep it up. In those days I used to cycle 15/20 miles each way to get to the stables before having a two hour ride. I don’t think I will be doing that this year but it would be interesting to see how I get on with the horse riding now 🙂 !

I can still clearly remember my first ever ride which was meant to be a very gentle walking pace trip – it was at what we used to call ‘Mother Brown’s Stables’. It all went well until we reached an open, grassy clearing and the horse immediately took off with me hanging on for dear life! Obviously everyone gallops that particular section but no-one had thought to tell my hired horse that he had an inexperienced rider on his back. To make matters worse, it was a foul day when we rode in pouring rain! Somehow it didn’t put me off riding though.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings, and I hope you enjoy exploring with me.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

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