Forging through the plush new depth of fallen leaves on the forest trails evokes memories of just such scenes in the past, year after year. The fragrance of the foliage, the feel of your boots shuffling through the accumulated leaves, the sight of desiccating leaves rising before you in their colourful array, then re-settling to assume new patterns on the trail, leaving an indelible micro-trail of your passage, all make reference to the passing years, from childhood to advanced maturity. Nature doesn't change her visage, but we do ours.

We were mildly surprised yesterday afternoon in the ravine to find the forest floor reasonably dry, since the day before rain was so incessant and profuse we were unable to find the briefest of opportunities to get out even for a short foray through the woods. The fact that the wind accompanying the rain was so unmercifully fierce, of course, is the answer to the question of a dry forest following heavy rains that had continued into the night hours.

Dry it was, but heavily overcast, with the chance of showers that never really materialized. Cold, at 9C, and once again windy, so much so that it seemed much colder of course than the actual temperature, necessitating that we bundle ourselves up well against the prevailing atmosphere. Not that Jackie and Jillie know the difference, wearing warmer gear, since they scamper about here and there oblivious to those slight restraints on their freedom of movement required to keep them warm.

Their comfort and security is always uppermost in our minds. And that extends to concerns over other, much less mundane daily exposures. As, for example, when we're manipulating one of those prescription drug containers and something falls to the floor. We instantly shoo them away and peer about intently until success is achieved in retrieving the errant medication.

And now that recreational cannabis as of this date is legal, veterinarians are wary of how that freedom to smoke up will affect canine companions of those who choose to include weed in their lifestyle. From experience in Colorado in the U.S. where cannabis has been legalized in that state for the past two years, vets have seen a serious uptick in animals brought in as a result of exposure to marijuana; dogs suffering from toxicity.

Dogs tend to browse, they have an innate sense of curiosity about everything and a penchant, like infants, of mouthing what they come across. So another concern raises its head, one that extends, of course, to children being exposed to situations where their curiosity leads them to consume products laden with marijuana that they cannot distinguish from ordinary cakes or cookies or any kind of appealing edible. Quite the experiment, legalizing cannabis for recreational use, following its introduction as a legalized medical-use product....