Winter in Canada can be captivatingly beautiful and horrendously disruptive. So far, we in the Ottawa Valley have experienced much in the first category, while on the Atlantic East Coast, Nova Scotia was hit on Christmas Day with a tremendous windstorm that wreaked havoc throughout the province; roof shingles flying off, electrical poles cracked, trees uprooted, and thousands of homes without electrical power.

Damaged power lines are seen in Dartmouth, N.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017. Thousands of Nova Scotia Power customers are without electricity after a Christmas Day windstorm wreaked havoc across the province, interrupting dinners and disrupting travel. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Environment Canada had earlier issued a prognosis for the coming winter; normally bitterly cold northern areas of the country are to have an amazingly mild winter season, while the southern, moderate portion of the country will be experiencing a harsh, cold winter. As for us in the Ottawa Valley, the forecast is for a winter similar to that of 2016/17, with plenty of snow and 'average' cold temperatures.

Last night, the temperature plunged to minus-24C, and was minus-20C when we awoke this morning. It won't be rising much above that throughout the day. But the sun is out and streaming through our house windows, warming the interior. When we'd gone out for our daily ravine hike yesterday it was windy, sunny and minus-12C; with the windchill factored in, the effect was that of a minus-22C day, and it felt like it.

Jackie and Jillie had to wear their full winter gear. Both 'lost' boots several times during our hike along the forest trails. They're puppies, after all, with a tendency to romp and scamper excitedly off the tramped-down trails and into the lofty snow-covered areas, their activities geared to testing the ability of those boots to remain in place. When they don't, one of us picks up the lost-boot pup (me) while my husband fits the boot back on. Sometimes they remain in place for the duration of the walk sometimes they don't. Standing about, attending to the job at ungloved hand rather than forging ahead, takes its toll.

In the last few days before this year closes to welcome in 2018, we've come across some new trail hikers. One, a standard poodle, black like ours but weighing eight times as much, was happy to be out in the snow and eager to play with our two. At first puzzled by their strenuous barking chorus, the large dog named Linus soon ignored the tumult they create, and delightedly gambolled with them into the snowpack.

Another day we came across a fiery-hued pair of young Irish setters, the younger 8 months, the older one a year ahead, with someone we'd never before met. All four dogs, our little poodles and the beautifully proportioned larger dogs set about making inroads in the freshly-fallen snow. One of the setters discovered an ice-covered portion of a branch and took proud possession of the treasure, and when we parted, took it with him. When we met them again three-quarters of an hour later as we were rounding up our circuit, he still had his new toy with  him.