Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

Oooooohhhh la la la la la laaahhh. There's a tune to that but your imaginations will complete it better than anything, but anything, that I might do or  write. It's no big secret that I wasn't wanted in grammar school glee club ... and they let everybody, well almost everybody, sing.



The cause of this uncharacteristic outburst is that it is now December, and today, on this December 3rd, I slipped another ride in, and it looks like tomorrow will provide one more.  No lasting snow yet, but it is cold enough now, and the weeks after Thanksgiving in this part of the world are deer hunting season. The guns allowed in Massachusetts are not as powerful as in NY State, so at least theoretically, if someone shoots you, they can see who they are shooting. Small consolation.

As best as I  know, and I checked with my husband, even on a cycle I look nothing like a deer. But I thought I'd play it safe(r) and anyway I needed to go to town grocery shopping, so I rode the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. I don't often ride it, though it is a fabulous community resource. I don't ride it because  I prefer to leave it alone for children learning to ride, families, and seniors getting some exercize (as if that isn't me!)


Today its 22 miles were empty. At the start I shared it with a local high school cross country skiing team training on roller skis. Bet they are pining away for snow. Saw two couples walking, and one fellow walking his dog while riding his mountain bike. Then three cyclists. That was about it.



And I'm thrilled that I was warm. Have recently, and also uncharacteristically,  spent measurable sums of money on warm cycling clothes .... and they work! I hate hate hate being cold, and they made cycling in temps in the 30s comfortable. That opens up a whole new world out there.



The real reason for this post is this bird. I was riding along, working reasonably hard, not stopping for photos, when I saw this heron on the trail. It was barely disturbed by me, and by making myself as small and quiet as possible I got pretty close. It is either a small, or young, Great Blue Heron, or it is a Little Blue Heron. I  think it's a little blue.  Larry????