It was sunny yesterday, sunny today too. But even though the temperature dropped last night to minus-26 degrees and this morning rose to minus-21 when we took Jack and Jill out first thing before breakfast, with the absence of wind that yesterday made it a truly cruel weather day, today seems downright balmy.

By the time we took them out to the ravine after they'd had their lunchtime meal, the thermometer read minus-17, and rising, so we all dressed nice and warm, and made our way into the ravine. Cold, yes, but exceedingly beautiful, the sun full out in a wide blue sky and the trees laden with snow. What could appear more beautiful than such a winter landscape?

But since it was so cold and we planned to have them walk as long as they could without their little paws freezing, we ended up carrying them for the most part. They're too little and too young yet for mukluks, since they're having to cope enough as it is with the irritating unfamiliarity of collar, leash, coat and harness. So they trotted along a little bit on the snow-surfaced trails, until it became evident they really were suffering from the cold, and we ended up carrying them for the most part. Just as well they weigh so little.

We came across a ravine acquaintance walking her six-month-old, hugely excitable and energetic Irish setter, who leaping at us, wanting to make the immediate acquaintance of our two, gave us a few chuckles. Our friend kept ordering her charge down, and that worked for a moment until a split second later, up she came again. She's so rambunctious that she actually pushed our friend down a slope adjacent the trail, and that was good for a few more laughs, until we helped her regain her footing.

Our two, so new to life and the prevailing landscape, are extremely quiet in those circumstances. Curious as hell about all the activity, the other dogs they come across, and the necessity of learning to handle these new experiences. Their heads swivel back and forth, trying to take it all in. An observer might conclude these are sweet, innocent little creatures, and they certainly are, but they are also imp-driven madcaps, a side of their characters completely hidden on these outings. For the time being, at any rate.

Jack isn't as immune to the effect of the cold on his paws as Jill is. He's the one to whom the cold gets to first. And it is Jill who softly whines when she's being carried, because she wants to be let down, not Jack. And nor have they intuited yet that when they're in the ravine it's perfectly all right to perform their evacuations, but that will eventually occur.

When they're in our backyard, it's as though they're in a bit of an atmospheric anomaly. It is so protected from the wind, and the sun seems to shine brighter and hotter in our backyard with its micro-climate. There, they go berserk, and it is there that Jill takes the lead, rushing madly about in all directions, daring Jack to follow her, which he does with great gusto as they race about and we hop out of their way.