It has now become seriously, pre-winter cold in our environment. A few days ago while we were walking our additional new-but-temporary on-the-street circuit, we were introduced to the first brief flurries of the season. Little wonder, with the bellowing winds we've been treated to, alongside the cold.

We have now experienced a series of hard frosts, whiting out rooftops and informing foliage that they'd better get a little more serious about dropping from their host trees.

Our own mulberries have received the message, their foliage is now steadily falling and for some reason Jack and Jill appear to find them irresistible to nibble at. Guess their daily vegetable salads don't fully satisfy their peculiar appetites.

So now that it has become so cold it's time to recognize it by finally putting protective sweaters on our two puppies. They seemed dimly to recall wearing them through last winter, helpfully lifting their paws to get them through the leg-holes of their sweaters. And they don't seem to mind wearing the sweaters, interim garments until it gets relentlessly icy-cold and we switch to winter jackets for them and for us.

Despite the sweaters they run about as freely enthusiastic as they always do, determined to enjoy their ravine walks to the absolute fullest. We're seeing fewer people and their dogs in the ravine lately, perhaps responding to the plunging temperatures and fierce winds. Those who hesitate to continue their woodland walks are missing spectacular scenes of the forest in its final colour stages before all the deciduous trees are free of their foliage.

There are all those glorious shades of the colour spectrum to see and admire, both above on the trees and fallen below, on the forest floor, a feast for the eyes.