Frosty Walks May Glow

I've managed to get really behind with my journal again so I've just decided to continue in a non chronological order and fill in the gaps when I can.

Today we decided to go for a walk instead of a run as it was one of those sublimely frosty and sparkling winter mornings that you only maybe get a couple of times of year - it almost felt like the ground beneath our feet was glowing in the glorious light.
We left the house just after 8 a.m with the hard frost still covering all the nearby roads and pavements, with some sections still being pretty slippery underfoot, and headed down to the village well wrapped up in at least four layers and gloves as the temperature must have still been below zero.
Once we reached the village we made course for our local recreation ground where we had, what would we prove to be, our first but not only encounter with friendly canines and their owners. This little spaniel was wearing his own bright red miniature puffa jacket and initially seemed quite surprised to see us as he started barking but soon calmed down as we continued on our way.
We decided to carry on our wintry walk around the wooded area next to the recreation ground in the hope of catching some frosty covered tree images but the frost did not seem to have settled as much here as elsewhere and it was only as we passed some open fields on the far side that I managed to capture my initial image of our equine friend that you can see in my first extra (who has actually been the subject of a couple of previous images on my journal) as it approached the boundary fence and you could see where the ice had clung to the branches and the frozen pasture in the background.
Once we had completed this part of our walk we headed back out towards the playing fields and I could see the light was casting some fabulous shadows and managed to capture my main image of my brother silhouetted as he scanned the horizon looking for his own photo opportunities.
I then had a lovely chat with a lady, also accompanied by her dog, who had spotted us taking photos and she said should could not believe how few people there were around and that they were missing out on such a beautifully sparkling winter's morning by still being in bed.
We then decided to take a longer route home by strolling along the riverbank where the golden sunlight was creating some wonderful reflections on the water and we encountered another dog walker who stopped for a quick chat to say that his wife had also been out earlier with her camera as couldn't believe how glass- like the surface of the river was. Our final dog walker appeared a few strides later and cheerily wished us all the very best with our photographic endeavours.
We must have been out on our arctic amble for a couple of hours and it really had felt wonderful to be out and about on such a beautiful winter's morning. I even had time to capture my last image as we crossed a bridge over the nearby railway line - I just loved the contrast between the tangle of vegetation and the lines of the frost covered train tracks. 
It was then time for a hot bath and a coffee before we had to head back out for our usual Sunday food shop and customary pint at The Horseshoes.