After yesterday's all-day rain, but for a brief period in the morning when we were able to get out for an early ravine walk, the forest trees have been divested of their enchanted appearance that a covering of snow always gifts them with. They're now stark and bare. And will become even more so as this fresh day of continuous heavy rain progresses.

Once again, we embarked on a ravine walk before breakfast, because the rain that we've been warned will be coming down in buckets -- about 25 to 30 mm-worth -- aided and abetted by high winds, was to begin in mid-morning. Again, as occurred yesterday morning, before we were through our ravine circuit the rain did begin tentatively several times, but benevolent nature waited until we'd returned home before unleashing the day's anticipated full fury of wind and rain.

We were glad to have the opportunity both days to get out for our regular walk; good for our little puppies and good for us as well. In today's full-throttle rainfall-and-wind we'll stick around home. Yesterday's rain was lighter in nature, albeit penetrating and we'd gone up to Elgin Street in downtown Ottawa, to stop in at Mags and Fags for Irving's monthly arts&antiques fixes. Our usual magazine venue at Byward Market has been disappointing of late; though they carry a full range of magazines the regular deliveries of the particular papers and magazines Irv looks for haven't been arriving.

In the rain downtown people were everywhere aimlessly walking about, clutching coffee cups (the presence of coffee emporiums is ubiquitous; there's even one that calls itself 'The Ministry of Coffee', alongside all the Starbucks, Tim Horton's and other coffee shops) as they perambulated singly or in pairs or groups. Just to get out, doubtless, and especially on such dark, dismal, wet days, with and without umbrellas or rainjackets. People of all kinds of visible ethnic backgrounds can be seen; Ottawa has absorbed them all, and newcomers learn quickly to adapt to the prevailing atmosphere and weather, often with a little bit of encouragement from previous waves of immigrants.

This morning's ravine walk reflected the rain-ravages of snow melting in mild temperatures and moisture, our boots sinking deep into the trail, making passage difficult and certainly requiring far more of a physical effort. Jackie and Jillie on the other hand, just treat these situations as fun challenges because they are, after all, impish puppies delighted to be out and about in the woods. Rewarded when they come across other dog that they have previously met and befriended.

For the rest of this day, persistent, lavish amounts of rainfall, certain to further diminish the snowpack. Overnight, however, the temperature is set to drop significantly and that will result in a flash-freeze situation, alleviated, thank heavens, by the rain turning to snow and if enough of the white stuff does accumulate while it won't compensate for what we'll have lost, it can accomplish the good deed of covering up the icy conditions that would otherwise prevail underfoot.