Friday all day

Most mornings, Charlie and I go up through the woods and take a round about way to go get the previous day's mail. We get out for fresh air and take our time following trails that the deer and other critters make.
Sometimes it requires rerouting because of the underbrush and low limbs. 

Charlie is on the look out for squirrels, he loves the chase but generally loses them in seconds.

Hey, I give the guy an A+ for effort anyway.

Later on in the day after doing chores and the usual stuff we went for a second walk. I get cabin fever if I am stuck in the house all day. 
I chose to hike across the snowy crop fields and down to the tree pictured below.

 

I was looking to get out of the thick woods for a bit and see just what it looked like from the huge dip in the field.

Charlie wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere. He was checking for mice, I think.

The walk was rather uneventful and by the time we got down by the old oaks, I was warm enough to take off my hat and scarf.
The hollow blocked the northeast wind and the sun was extremely warm. Things were melting all around us and in places I could see corn stalks and parts of the soy bean plants from last year.

The temperature when I left the house was 16 F.

This area of the cropland is called a 'waterway'. It is left with grasses and plants growing all year round and when there is a hard rain, the water runs through the grasses and trees which slows down erosion.

I marveled at how warm I was and after admiring the large twisted oak's shadows, we headed north and towards the top of the ridge to cool off.

We walked up the waterway in the shot shown above. By the time I reached the ridgetop, I had to put my hat, scarf, and gloves back on.

We crossed into another field that had been planted in corn last year. I hope they rotate to soy beans this spring. I love coming here in the summer to watch the sun come up.

It an was interesting hike. I plan to go back and explore more of the field to the east of this spot. If my memory is correct, the farmers who once lived here would park their old machinery in the the woods on the edges of the fields. 

I wonder what I might find?