Work is progressing apace in the ravine. Not fast enough for everyone eager to see it all done and the work crews depart, but on the other hand, in this weather at this time of year the hardy men working on the crew to complete the reconstruction of the ravine bridges are without doubt equally eager to be done with it and to move on elsewhere.

They've faced many challenges in the work they've set about completing for the contract signed with the municipality in which we live. Not the least of which being the tricky business of getting large earth-movers and steam shovels and other tracked vehicles in tight places, having to widen trails, take down trees, dump tonnes of heavy gravel and dig out strategic spaces to create greater stability in areas given to periodic shifting, based on layers of clay and sand.

We've seen the difficulties inherent in moving those machines during cold, wet conditions when the forest floor becomes a mucky morass, and at other times when freezing rain has turned the area into a slippery hazard of ice-covered ground, just as much for those machines and their operators as it is for trail hikers. We always have the option of using alternate routes to evade the worst areas, they have no such options, but were forced to struggle with the conditions until they were able to devise strategems to enable them to function.

We've have had freezing rain since yesterday afternoon. And since little Riley hasn't been feeling well, we thought it best not to expose him to the likelihood of getting too wet and cold during one of our regular outings, even with his winter snow jacket on. So, one of the rare times when we've had to eschew a daily outing in the ravine. The freezing rain will turn to snow overnight and perhaps we'll regain what we'll have surely lost in the snowpack.

And as well, another day will have elapsed where that hardy construction crew can exert themselves putting the finishing touches to the bridges to finally enable us to use them with ease once again. We can hear them hard at work from the house, the sound of the construction machines dully roaring on the overcast atmosphere.