No such luck.
Back to night-time lows in the minus-20 Centigrade range. Day-time highs now are extremely icy, all the more so given prevailing wind conditions. On the good news front, the sun is also frequently evident in between episodes of light snowfall. So beauty is there in abundance, and continued opportunities to venture out for daily ravine walks.
We hate to put boots on little Riley; while they keep his feet warm, they're impediments to his gait, and he often falls flat on his face, if there's a snow accumulation. About halfway through our hour-and-a-half circuit (that we managed in half that time a decade ago) he picks up speed and galumphs along with us. But on these cold days if we gamble that he'll be able to withstand the cold, my husband ends up carrying him half the way, warming his feet, then putting him back on the trail until he freezes up again.
Yesterday I was no little amused to see the beautiful little whippet that we occasionally come across, wearing a winter coat, and nosing about authoritatively in all the cache spots close to ground level where we usually deposit peanuts. And, for the first time, the svelte cosmopolitan fellow approached me, nuzzling my gloved hand with its peanuts, delicately extracting one, to gobble it down.
His companion, a truly sweet young man, informed us that the whippet is familiar with all the cache spots, and that in their walks, inspects each one to take advantage of the takings if the squirrels haven't been quick enough to claim them, at those times when our walks intersect.
He isn't, of course, the only dog we come across in the ravine who loves peanuts. Some of them recognize us and devotedly follow our progress, hoping to cadge peanuts from us. Fun for them and for us, as well.
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