On a beautiful, bright Sunday afternoon you just never know who you might come across ambling through the trails on the plateaus of the forest in our fortunate community. Though most residents have no idea what lays beyond their street of houses with various points of entry into a natural environment whose geology made it impractical for house-building, ensuring that we would all be beneficiaries of a large and wonderful haven for birds and small animals, welcoming to those who see its grace and and have a wish to share company in it s incomparable landscape, a paltry few do make their way in out of curiosity. They tend not to go too far, certainly not to delve into a descent that would take them through the forest trails.

Up there where the trails are widest and most-used by those who do have an affinity for natural surroundings but lack the curiosity to look beyond the readily accessible areas, we often come across  people we've never before seen. Yesterday it was a three-year-old girl, big for her age, and obviously well socially developed, accompanied by her mother. They'd left the child's tricycle at the entrance and gone for a little walk among the trees. Newly moved to the area, the mother had lived here as a child and recalled the forest, introducing her daughter to it now. Their own dog is too advanced in age to leave the house, and the child was interested in Jackie and Jillie, both of whom are extremely skilled at eluding enthusiastic children's close proximity. The little girl would pounce at them and they'd leap beyond her reach which did nothing to hamper her enthusiasm.

Later our two little dogs were happily at play with a new canine acquaintance when suddenly a burst of fuzzy black activity appeared, leaping happily toward our little group, silently and purposefully. A puppy, a Portuguese Water Dog, without collar or any kind of identification, ecstatic in the company of other dogs, themselves slightly affronted by the puppy's enthusiastic energy which only served to heighten the puppy's advances. A few seconds later an alarmed shout and a man emerged from a line of cedars backing onto a property adjacent the ravine, to try to round up his little escapee.

We were soon afterward in yet another descent into the ravine and there, in the further reaches of the forest saw no one else, our two little dogs gambolling about in familiar territory they had all to themselves. The trails have been well pounded, the accumulated snow turned icy and slippery with the return of colder temperatures, making it all the more necessary that when we venture out for our daily walks we be prepared, with our trusty cleats strapped over our boots.

A precaution that serves us well and aids us in our daily excursions to enjoy the landscape at our leisure and without fear of a fall; we've had more than ample experience with falls in the forest, despite our long acquaintance with all the various conditions that present themselves as a result of weather inclemency.