We rarely, now, even get a glimpse of a fox rushing through the Bilberry Creek Ravine forest. At one time if a fox was around in our presence, it was unperturbed and simply would stand there awhile, gawking at us as we did the same with it. We would, decades ago, also often see foxes on the street, close by the ravine. Increased traffic in the ravine has changed all that, though people whose houses back onto the ravine still see them on occasion.

A week ago, in a local small newspaper there was a report of an eight-year-old small-breed dog being snapped up by a coyote. The little dog had been let out into its backyard (perhaps unfenced) and a neighbour saw a coyote make off with it. We do hear of these things happening from time to time. During our walk in the ravine yesterday we came across someone we'd never before seen in there. He informed us that he had, in fact, seen a coyote swiftly slinking from the dense confines of a gully in the woods past the trail he was on at an early morning hour.

Several years back, there were frequent sightings of coyotes at dawn and at dusk and the night-time hours in the ravine. Years back, we used to go out into the ravine at night, when we were still in the workforce and were unable to access it during daylight hours.

A soft pink or mauve light would illuminate the ravine, so it was almost as bright and clear as during the day. This is a phenomenon not seen from outside the ravine, on the street. Once we'd enter the ravine, that glow would be evident, lighting our way beautifully as we forged our way through the ravine's trails in the winter. It had something to do with atmospheric light pollution from the city centre illuminating the sky, emphasized in the ravine interior, by the prevailing snowpack.

The knowledge that coyotes are present in the urban forest is both thrilling in a sense, that we still share nature with these wild creatures, and alarming in another, in the sense that their presence presents a potential threat to the well-being of our beloved puppies. We try to ensure that they're in sight-distance at all times, but the trouble is when they hear or see someone else, or other dogs in the distance approaching, they're anxious to run over and make acquaintance. Annoyingly, they do their own approach noisily and assertively.

They do respond when we call them back to us, Jackie with far more alacrity than Jillie, but in the interim when they're a distance from us, anything can happen. Not only an episode where we wouldn't be able to intervene should a coyote view one of them as a snack, but possibly also coming across a large dog that is aggressive and inclined to be in conflict with the presence of small, nuisance dogs.

It's a toss-up; whether to give them the freedom to enjoy the environment and go where they will despite our concerns, or confine them to the leash, and sometimes the leash wins and sometimes the appeal to allow them to roam at will prevails.