Encircled by trees cutting off the force of the wind, it is a sheltered environment in the forested ravine where wind fails to penetrate as it does out in the open and the cold often seems less intense. And so it was yesterday, although from time to time the wind managed to sneak its way in and drive and fluff up the falling snow to a degree that caused that phenomenon known as a whiteout.

Which rarely, under these circumstances lasts for long. When snow has piled deep upon tree branches and wind whips in intensity, what results is often a long, sparkling-white veil collapsing from the tree branch gracefully through the air, as though the branch has casually shrugged it away, like a woman attending the opera, eventually to fall onto the forest floor. These diaphanous showpieces of natural events help to deliver a mystic quality to the experience of walking through a snowbound woodland.

And so it was yesterday when daylight hours of unrelenting snow brought a thick, soft accumulation of aquatic crystals to encapsulate entirely the forest arras, lending a air of mystery and overwhelming awe at the power of nature to transform her landscapes into luminous places of timeless beauty.

Jackie and Jillie were well insulated against the wind and the chill as they scampered about, re-acquainting themselves with the properties of newfallen snow, excited and happy to be there and obviously making the most of their happy exposure, leaping and bounding and challenging one another to champion-speed runabouts. We had dressed them in their winter gear to allow them to enjoy temperatures which would otherwise limit their exposure time due to the penetration of the cold aided by wind to make them miserable.

The landscape everywhere we looked, was an entrancing vision of a winter wonderland. Even though year after year we have seen this happen, it never fails to amaze us. Our visual memories recall what we've seen true enough, but never to the degree and with the detail eliciting wonder that it does when we are immersed once again in that white landscape, viewing it anew, directly confronted by snow falling on the forest, and becoming overawed by it.