Just as well that Jackie and Jillie aren't complainers. If they were, yesterday would have been the day to complain. It just happens that on Mondays when I do the house-cleaning for hours it's late in the afternoon by the time I'm finished, leaving an inadequate amount of time for a long, leisurely walk in the woods afterward.

It's logical that after a day of physical work such a walk through the peaceful woods would be just the thing to ensure the day ends on a pleasant note. Our little dogs don't seem to notice whether we wend our way through the trails for a half-hour or an hour-and-a-half. They know all the trails, the major and minor ones quite intimately. It would be interesting to know whether they're aware when we miss some and hike along others. Do they think something's missing?

They've never communicated to us that they might know the difference. When we make our way along the trails there are places where they hesitate and wait for us to catch up and these are always conjunctions between trails. They're waiting for the signal from us whether to proceed straight ahead, turn left or turn right. Sometimes they take the initiative because most often we are predictable in the circuit we take. On occasion one or the other or both will decide not to wait for our decision and just bolt on. Sometimes they have to double back when they realize we're not headed in their chosen direction, but not often.

Yesterday was a short-circuit day. We set out for our hike down into the ravine to access the forest trails at four in the afternoon. That's late for us. I still had dinner to prepare on our return, which would be around five o'clock. And a rest between preparation and dinner itself when I would be able to read the newspapers. I had prepared and put a small beef roast in the oven and mixed the ingredients for a Yorkshire pudding, washed spinach to cook, prepared tomatoes to slice as an accompaniment, and felt grateful there was leftover plum pie for dessert.

We had a heavily overcast afternoon. So that when we heard Canada geese flying overhead, as we strolled through the woods, calling down to us to proclaim 'We're back!', we could hear them but not see them. And then, suddenly we caught a glimpse of that famed Vee formation over the forest canopy, flying just below the clouds and we felt like cheering. Yet another unmistakable signal that spring truly is here, despite the persistent cold.

Last night? The temperature dipped once again back to -2C. Brrrr!