Despite Friday's early morning freezing rain followed by an all-day event of plain, cold rain, we discovered on Saturday that the snowpack in the ravine hadn't been much reduced, and the creek, while no longer ice-bound and now running free, wasn't that swollen with runoff. Presumably, much of it had taken place throughout the night on Friday.

Because Saturday turned out beautifully weather-benign, with the sun brightening the atmosphere and the temperature hovering at the freezing mark, there were quite a few people out rambling through the ravine trails, including those we are familiar with and those we saw yesterday for the first time. Most people who tend to frequent the ravine are there because they have companion dogs requiring exercise, benefiting both dogs and people.

As always occurs in that surrounding when people come across one another, particularly in the presence of our canine friends, introductions of a casual but warm type are frequent. And though we may not see again those new to our acquaintance, it does in a manner, broaden one's casual circle of acquaintances since most people are given to relaxing under such circumstances, some going so far as to practically reciting their life history in a capsule of extended conversation.

One man we came across halfway through our daily excursion was walking a rather shambolic looking dog. This was a cross between a Labrador, German Shepherd and Husky, a dog with a shaggy coat and the most beautiful face imaginable, with a gentle mien that would break your heart. Her companion was a corpulent man likely in his early 60s, with a pronounced limp, moving along with the assistance of a cane.

We, so accustomed to being in the ravine, knowing its contours and the difficulties surmounting them with advancing age, thought he would be like many others we see on occasion venturing into the natural confines of our neighbourhood, taking care to use only those trails that remain on high ground, not venturing beyond to those that dip and rise, following the lay of the land which is, after all, an extensive natural forested ravine.

We were more than moderately surprised to see him gaining on us after some twenty minutes had passed; he had been walking in a direction opposite to ours, but at some point had diverted onto a trail where our paths crossed again, when he was walking in the same direction as us. And though he certainly had a decided limp and required the use of that cane, he was no slouch in his advance.

Moreover, as we approached the area where the trail diverted, forking off in opposite directions, each of which required a long uphill clamber, he never hesitated but embarked on conquering the challenge of the ascent and seemingly with little trouble.

He had wanted to stand and chat, and we obliged, spending a considerable pause listening to him speak about the Winter Olympics in Sochi, and we obligingly discussing with him our shared perceptions about the event. Proud Canadians all. We chatted about many of the events and our amazement at the athletic prowess, the endurance, the amazing ability of the human body to perform manoeuvres that appear quite impossible as feats of agility resulting in exquisitely realized actions that took one's breath away.

We discussed the matter of all four judges in the final men's hockey event for the following day featuring Canada and Sweden, being Canadian, and how odd that seemed under the circumstances, when absolute neutrality is a requirement. Particularly in view of the claims that Russia and the U.S. had conspired to deny Canada a gold medal in the pairs short-dance skating performance; under that cloud of suspicion Sweden had every reason to feel uncomfortable about the outcome, despite assurances even from the Swedish hockey players that they had complete confidence in the judges since they knew them as NHL trusted referees.

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 23: Chris Kunitz #14 of Canada celebrates with teammates Drew Doughty #8, Marc-Edouard Vlasic #44 and Sidney Crosby #87 after scoring a third-period goal against Henrik Lundqvist #30 of Sweden during the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal match on Day 16 of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 23, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

As for perceptions about the less able-bodied, our brief acquaintance with this man surely represented a demonstration that not all is as it is assumed to be.