Finally, winter preparation tasks are mostly completed. Yesterday morning because of the plentiful rain the night before, most of the snow acquired two days earlier in the first snowfall of the season melted. We were awaiting an opportunity when a milder temperature day would come along to melt the snow but the rain and milder overnight temperatures did the trick.

And so my husband, using his handy little 'truck' was able to move those large ceramic garden pots, to assemble them all for winter storage. They used to be tucked under the deck in the back, but since most of the large pots belong in the front we decided it made more sense to position them in an area of the garden that wouldn't interfere with snow-shovelling the walks in the winter. Once assembled, they were covered with a tarp.

And now, when we look out the front door first thing in the morning at what was once a vibrant, brilliantly-coloured and multi-textured garden, we see a bleak, dark landscape instead. Architecture and texture gone, colour disappeared. The garden has retreated for the next too-long months deprived of its presence.

When the snow had come down overnight Sunday and we were greeted with a white landscape the following morning, there was a flurry of activity; digging out hats and gloves, hauling winter boots upstairs from basement storage, looking for accoutrements that had been set aside once winter was over last year, and exchanging the light rugs at the door entrances for heavy, waterproof and much larger floor coverings that will remain in place throughout the winter.

Then, an appointment to have the truck sprayed with oil to prevent salt-dusted icy road spray from rusting the body; it works like a charm. Several days earlier my husband left the truck at the Canadian Tire garage to have the ice tires put on, something he was finally prevailed upon to surrender. He had done it himself last spring as he usually does, removing the ice tires and replacing them with the all-weather tires. An oil change as well, something he also used to do himself. It's a 20-minute walk back home, and then he waits for a telephone call that the job has been completed, and walks back to pick up the truck. Except that at this time of year there is such a demand for those services it took a full day before the overworked technicians could get to the truck.

And then it was off to the ravine for our daily stroll in the woods with Jackie and Jillie. Again, we came across plenty of walkers and their dogs. This time everyone was proceeding with caution. Some sensible enough to have realized before setting out that the trails would reflect the night's rain and a subsequent drop in temperature to transform many of the trails, particularly on the slopes, into icy tracks.

We both did plenty of slipping ourselves, and took to the margins of the trails where constant foot traffic hadn't worked the snowy surface into an ice rink. The sun did come out a few times despite which the ambient temperature felt much colder than the minus-2C it was supposed to be because of course, the wind-chill factor makes it seem much colder the wind allowing it to penetrate cuttingly, and it was certainly windy.

That bit of carping aside, it was still great to be out, and truth to tell, though the trees are bare but for the conifers, nothing truly detracts from the beauty and the serene atmosphere of a forested landscape.