My people always told me to do something you liked on New Years day because you would be doing it all year….Last year I missed the new years day ride and low and behold……I only rode five or six times in all of 2013……

Determined not to repeat that pattern I was going to ride today even if was just a few laps around the house….

It was much better than that……We went to the annual PPRC New Years day ride at Lake Anna and had a ball….

I went with Stewart and in fact was priviledged to ride his nice his nice Rocky Mule, Dancehall Dixi….

Stewart and I had not ridden since mid summer….and Dixi had not been out in longer than that…But she was just like I had ridden her yesterday….well mannered and a joy to ride…

The deer were numerous and today we were riding right up to them…..must have seen a dozen and rode withing thirty feet of one….Dixi and I were both watching her and waiting for her to move, yet she stood stock still. When she did move it was so sudden that it still caused a little jump.

The weather was grand….started out cold as the devil but when the sun came out it warmed up nicely and the fierce wind of yesterday had laid down today….with all the rain of the last month the trails were a little sloppy but Stewart and I are seldom in a hurry…..We rode a total of 6.75 miles and got back in time for the nice pot luck lunch. Dixi breathed a great sigh of relief when I finally stepped down off of her….

while I did not get photos of them there were at least four other mules there today….One was David Oates on his nice mule and there were three more in a group that was not with us…..Peerkins would have enjoyed that as he always likes mules.

random photos below without narrative….