My wings have been clipped, temporarily, as it were. Instead of being in the out-of-doors these last few days I've been viewing our exterior landscape from indoors-out, languishing in the house. I could go out, but it isn't advised under the circumstances.

Toronto suffered several days of pretty awful weather in an ice storm that was destined to move toward us, and it did. This kind of weather is more unusual for Toronto than it is for us. We've now had two days of freezing rain. It began several days back when my husband had just returned from one of our daily ravine walks with our two puppies. The moment he stepped in the door, the freezing rain began.

He has been taking Jackie and Jillie out for their ravine walks while I've been staying behind, at home. Previously the situation had been reversed. My husband was nursing a nasty virus that turned into a miserable chest cold, and while he was recovering it was me going out with our little dogs. I don't usually get colds from my husband, and if I do those colds always had a much milder reaction in me.

This time was different. I not only picked up the virus, but it landed with a vengeance. I'm now in the throes of acute bronchitis, and it is extremely annoying, to say the least, forcing me to become a home-body.

But we're nice and snug at home. Dark, true, since it is so overwhelmingly inclement out. The temperature hovered around -2C all day yesterday with a brisk wind, but is supposed to break above freezing by some time this afternoon, at which time the freezing rain should turn to plain old rain.

When we came down to breakfast there were long, thick icicles hanging from the metal canopy on the deck. Trees were packed with frozen droplets. In the final breakfast preparations, power cut out, but was restored in about ten minutes.

A most inauspicious spring this year, to be sure!