Yesterday turned out a peculiar weather day in an area of the world where the weather is always a topic of fascination. The temperature was unseasonably moderate at ten degrees Celsius, but there was nothing moderate about the suddenly-changeable atmosphere. Not that we weren't forewarned since a weather advisory warned of the potential for afternoon thunderstorms.

Which led us to venture out for our daily ravine hike earlier than usual in the day in the hopes of avoiding being drenched, optimistic that we could beat out the rain. And while we were out hiking the woodland trails we were treated to episodic appearances of the sun brilliantly lighting up the snow-bedecked forest floor, so bright that I regretted not having taken along sunglasses.

Wearing them in the winter months always seems so pretentious to me, but there's a good reason to do so; glare of sun on snow and ice is extremely uncomfortable, and has the potential to distort vision. In the high Arctic indigenous people know the symptoms of snow blindness very well. Their technical skills in coping with their environment included the fashioning of Inuit-style glare-protective eye coverings in such conditions.

There was little wind on our circuit, and no other people out with their dogs, which was unusual, though not rare. Jack and Jill took the opportunity to dash about madly any time we stopped briefly to catch our breath after one of the many ascents we regularly come across. Just as we were approaching the last part of the usual hour-long circuit, the glimpses of sky through the bare canopy displayed breaks in the clouds where the sun shone, and also, further on the horizon, dark clouds looming ahead. Very painterly.

By the time we emerged from the ravine, we could hear the first rumblings of the new season, the always-thrilling sound of approaching thunder, and above, those dark clouds were assembling much closer. In fact, close enough so that by the time we had entered our house, rain came pelting down with enough force to convince that had we been caught out while in the ravine we would have been very uncomfortable. That's the kind of luck we appreciate.

Rolling thunderstorms and episodic rain events described the remainder of the day. Particularly sudden, unexpected cloudbursts. Beautiful, when you're not caught out in them.