Not to be repeated

It was -4 deg. when I went to the supermarket this morning but gloriously sunny with not a breath of wind, so l decided a walk was called for once everything was unpacked.  

My decision to walk across the fields and up onto the ridge was a bad one, I thought they would be frozen solid.  I hadn't walked more than a dozen paces before the mud was creeping up the sides of my boots and heading for my laces., but it was too late to turn back so I ploughed on.  There were a few dog walkers about and horses and riders coming towards me on the ridge, so others had thought it was good to be out and about as well.

This is the view just as I set off across the first field.