In the evenings, sometimes from our backyard we can hear an owl in the distance, calling from the forest in the ravine up the street from our house. There was, one winter, an influx of great grey owls and snowy owls in this area and we came across the great greys in the ravine from time to time at fairly close range. Some even nested in the ravine and sometimes we saw two generations together. They were driven from their winter homes north of us by a scarcity of food. In the ravine they found ample small wildlife to feast on.

In the mornings now, we occasionally hear cardinals, those marvellously scarlet-plumaged birds with their exquisitely beautiful songs. They tend to remain in the area as long as they can find food. Crows have returned to the ravine, we can see them wheeling high above the treeline from our front door. Yesterday, from the site of Riverside Hospital in west-end Ottawa, we saw a murder of crows lifting off from nearby bush in the near distance.

A few days ago we heard a pileated woodpecker thrumming on trees in the forest. Before long, migrants will begin returning to our area, and we'll be excited to see them. We haven't seen too many birds at all, other than the occasional glimpse of nuthatches and chickadees in the ravine this winter. Soon, I believe, we'll be seeing robins, but it's been a hard year for birds in this area with too many prolonged periods of extreme cold.

On our ramble through the woods yesterday we saw no birds. We did see some people walking along in the distance on trails below and beyond those we were on. One Golden Retriever, feeling particularly friendly, left one of the far-off trails in great loping strides to come abreast of us for a sniff-about, before returning to its companion.

It was a sunny day, but cold and windy. The thermometer reading fooled us with its false reading that must have been reflecting direct sun contact. We failed to put boots on Jackie and Jillie and the result was that though it wasn't all that cold on their little paws, the conditions of freshly fallen snow plus the cold added up to ice build-up on their paws making them very uncomfortable from time to time, necessitating that we peel off the ice occasionally on their underpads. Under those conditions we'll remember not to make that mistake again.

But it was exceedingly pleasant out on our woodland hike regardless. We're on the downside of winter and that's a useful thing to remember when we're feeling tired of the cold conditions. In the meantime, we've got glorious landscapes to admire and ramble through and make the most of before winter prepares to depart.