Yesterday turned out a no-sun-show day after the generosity of the sun the day before, glowing warmly in the winter sky through the morning and most of the afternoon. But this is winter, after all, and we could hardly be surprised that lazily descending flurries lasted throughout the day yesterday, even if snow hadn't been forecasted by the weather office.

Strangely enough, though the flurries were persistent through the day into late afternoon no accumulation of any note resulted. Surprisingly, however, that thin layer of snow helped to render the icy slopes of the ravine less treacherous in their prevailing icy condition. We still required the use of cleats of course, but the chances of slipping were much reduced.

For people not wearing cleats it was evident from the slide-marks on the trails where the newfallen snow gave evidence, that for them the trip through the trails was fraught with the kind of problems we seek to avoid. Almost everyone we know can tell tales of uncontrollable slides and head bashes from conditions certain to take many by surprise.

Snow fell all around us as we entered the ravine, less noticeable right in the forest since the canopy still serves to act as mediator-intervener. Whenever we're in the ravine in such benign and lovely conditions the fantasy that we're in one of those globe-snow playthings so beloved of children flashes through our consciousness.

Jackie and Jillie were geared up with their snow-proof jackets, so only their heads and tails became flecked with snow -- not that they mind particularly. And it was mild enough at -2C, with an absence of wind to make our excursion through the forest as pleasant as we could wish it to be.

At one juncture, I happened to notice the trunk of one of the many Ash trees in the forest alongside one of the trails. When Ash trees are assailed by the emerald ash borer that has destroyed so many of them, they lose their bark as they agonizingly perish. The lost bark covering the trunk allows you to see the work of the borer as it makes its own trails between trunk and bark, killing the tree. A stark reminder that at times alien species entering an ecosystem has dire results.

We came across a couple close to one of the ravine entrances far opposite to where ours is located that we'd never met before, and with them was a medium-sized terrier full of enthusiasm for racing about on the trails. Jackie and Jillie ran to greet the terrier and they made their kind of communication satisfactorily, adding to the growing contingent of ravine hikers that our two little dogs are accustomed to coming across as we make our way through the network of trails.