Yesterday was one spectacularly good-feeling treat of a day. Surprisingly, when we came down for breakfast we found that the temperature had risen to -6C, and kept rising through the day quite steadily so that by the time we set out in mid-afternoon for a ravine walk it was a balmy 2C, with the sun which had been shining brightly all day just beginning to recede behind incoming clouds.

But not much wind, which made it a really pleasant day. Underfoot we were beginning to realize a little relief from the week-long icy conditions that would send the unwary sprawling before realizing what was happening.

In the ravine we encountered areas that continue to be frozen and awkwardly uneven and slippery, but there are other areas where the ice has relaxed, become rotten and no longer slippery, offering good purchase for our little dogs' small feet so that they don't slip and slide, and nor do we. But in the passage along the trails, transiting from high, flat areas to downhill and uphill clambers, the conditions change reflecting whether or not the sun is able to influence the ice.

In areas, understandably, that are low-lying and where the sun fails to penetrate, the conditions have remained the same; proceed with caution. Despite which, for the first time in a week we encountered so many of our friends and acquaintances out with their dogs and having a good time traipsing through the woods, it made our own passage beyond pleasant.

Stopping now and again to chat companionably, and hear someone rhapsodizing over the beauty of the day, a sentiment we were prepared to echo.

It truly was a special day. Not only because the landscape is so beautiful, but also because the elements that day were forgivingly benign. Actually, most of all because of the preceding two reasons, people were transported with a sense of deep appreciation for nature.