He doesn't mind, really being dressed for winter. He's quite well aware that snow equals cold. So that when we pull a winter coat over his little frame he's acquiescent. When Button, our little black miniature poodle was fitted out in really cold weather with a nice warm sweater she wasn't ecstatic about it. She used to try rolling in the snow in an effort to remove the sweater. Eventually she became accustomed to wearing winter coats as she grew older. And she adapted quickly enough and without objection to having to wear boots on those occasions when the cold was so severe she would be unable, without them, to walk any distance.

As for Riley, our marmalade-tufted toy poodle, adjusting to winter gear was always a breeze. Unlike Button he found wearing winter coats comfortable, and much to his liking. Not so, however, with the boots and he would make his annoyance over them well known to us. And this week, the cold has been so intense we've had little option but to gear him out with them, since otherwise he'd be asking to be carried constantly, his tiny footpads completely frozen.

We came across an energetically enthusiastic young whippet last week whirling its way through the woods, along with his human companion, on a neat pair of snowshoes. The whippet too, given its lean frame, short haircoat and frenetic romping, required a winter coat to keep it comfortable, and it didn't seem to mind the unaccustomed feel of fabric about its body. Certainly that didn't keep it from whizzing about through the trees to its heart's content.

It's lovely beyond mere words in the woods when everything has been sifted with newfallen snow, and there's a stillness, a hush over everything. An immediate contrast from the constant shuffling sound of our boots striding through dried leaves. The snow, in its abundance, seems to muffle sound, so that when we hear birds flitting about and uttering their little cheery chirps the sound seems tiny yet oddly sharper than it would be otherwise. Adding to the magical quality of the scenery.

The summer advantage of spontaneity is lost in the winter, of course. Our climate necessitating that we evaluate the daily conditions prevailing before embarking on a long woodland walk. But the exercise of doing so and dressing according to weather conditions to enjoy such an outing merits the attention given to the enterprise, considerably enriching our daily experience.