Ron's house is located directly across the street from one of the ravine entrances, on a street quite distanced from our own. Our ravine access is easy, his is more immediate. So he takes Nova out for several daily walks. Granted, he's a large dog and unlikely as such to romp about the house as Jackie and Jillie are wont to do, our little roughneck scoundrels. Ron is a huge man, about 6foot, 4inches or so and his treads are wider, longer than most people's. It's fitting that he have a large canine companion. First he had Lily, a lovable white German Shepherd, and now he has Nova, still a puppy but already larger than Lily had been but equally good-natured.

We don't come across them out in the ravine all that often, but when we do Nova is usually far in advance of Ron and we're always glad to see him. Actually, he knows when we're about, either smelling our presence, particularly Jackie and Jillie, or viewing us from afar or even hearing Jackie and Jillie in their incessant barking, and he covers the ground far more swiftly than Ron does to close the distance from where he would be to where we're coming along. Every time we see him he looms larger than previously, growing into his mature persona.

We noticed yesterday that although he's happy to see us he no longer emits those puppy yelps of joy. We also noticed, when Ron caught up to us and as we talked while continuing our hike and Nova and Jackie and Jillie were ahead, that Nova now lopes just like a wolf. And he now has that characteristic sloping back that we never noticed in Lily. That's the only wolfish trait we could see in him, though.

As we proceeded along to where Rob and Nova exit the main trail they enter on, we came across another couple we know with their puppy, a quite small black Lab, though she's now about Nova's age, 8 or 9 months old. And she, like Nova, is always excited and joyful when she sees those she knows. Nova and Kyra had an energetic run-about, with Jackie and Jillie in tow. Our two are uncertain when large dogs run about; they want to be included but they're leery of being run over, an experience they're not too keen on repeating.

Yet another benevolent-weather day, with a high temperature of 2C, little wind and no snow in the offing. It's lovely ambling along the ravine trails in such clement weather, just downright comfortable, leaving us free to look about and enjoy what our eyes catch and appreciate, along with the opportunity to exercise our limbs in expansively relaxed movements that come so naturally on these trails in such superb natural surroundings.