Nature, it seems, has ordered February to correct what January failed to produce; abundant snowfall. So not only did it snow all day yesterday, great big fluffy puffs of snow dappling the atmosphere and piling into soft white pillows everywhere, but it did so with ascending temperature. Instead of the usual minus-17-degree high for the day it was minus-7-degrees. Which meant we were able, after a hiatus of being shut out of long ravine rambles, to gather ourselves together and plunge into the snow-laden trails.

And since the trails were generously smudged with snow to cover all the detritus that had fallen over an extremely frigid, windy several weeks whose presence continually detained Jack and Jill, fascinated with anything that seems alluring as chewing bait, this time they forged ahead with few interruptions. They really did very well on that outing. The snow was deep but they weren't deterred, and so as a result, nor were we.

There wasn't much evidence of ravine walkers out before us, since the trail was heavily covered, with scant footprints to begin the tamping-down process, although there was a relatively new set of ski tracks offside the trail. It was tough going in some places, and because the snow was dry and of a silky quality it was also slippery. We no longer wear our cleats pulled over our boots since we've been taking the puppies out with us in case we should ever happen to step on one of them; they do have a tendency at times to get underfoot.

And since they'd had their final puppy shots we were no longer concerned if they came across other dogs and in aid of their socialization process, welcomed it. There is one part pitbull dog whose owners we're very well acquainted with, and the dog, a female, is one of the gentlest dogs you'd ever hope to meet. Jack leaped in joy at being able to sniff her face to face on the ground and the dog while curious paid little mind to Jack's constant, jittery leaps to her flanks as she stood stolidly, a giant in contrast to his minuscule size. Jill is a bit more conservative.

But when we came across a man we'd never seen before walking a beautiful five-month-old white Labrador as we were finishing our circuit, the Lab puppy was enthusiastic about coming across other dogs to play with, but hadn't yet arrived at the realization that size plus enthusiasm don't always equal a good match. So its attempts at play with Jack where its paw seemed a formidable size and weight against his slight body seemed to frighten Jack, and he pulled back and decided this was no playmate for him.