As we descended into the ravine this afternoon we became ultra-aware of a pervasive odour. It was, we knew; because it is unmistakable, the stench of sulphur. And its source was the creek running through the ravine. Yesterday was mild at 2C, but the afternoon  high for today soared to 6C, and that meant snow was melting. Beginning to melt this winter's worth of the forest snowpack, to be correct.
And what we were smelling was swamp gas.

Not that spring has arrived, by any means. This week we've been gifted with mild temperatures. Next week, who knows? It is still, after all, winter. And March is yet to come; another winter month. March has a habit of bringing us fairly inclement weather, ranking in difficulty with anything that could erupt in January as far as cold and snow is concerned. So, there's that.

But in the meanwhile, a spate of mild days and full sun is indeed melting snow. The snowmelt has invaded the creek, swollen its content, and the rush of water downstream is picking up detritus and clay on the creek bottom. So the water is muddy in appearance, dark and unappealing. But it is the odour that is truly impressive, and not in an admirable way.

But it has been a mild and sunny day, albeit windy. So mild that ten minutes into our afternoon hike I doffed my headband and mittens, and unzipped the lighter of my two winter jackets. We thought it best to put waterproof coats on Jackie and Jillie and leave off their light under-garments, as well as their boots. But because the street is slathered deep in salty mush with the snow and ice melting on the road, we decided to carry them over from the house to the ravine entrance.

As soon as we approached the trailhead they got dumped onto the trail. Just as well they're so small. What a lovely day; truly, there could be nothing else asked for on such a day. Unlike yesterday which was a Sunday when we found the trails thronged with people, dogs and children, we saw only one group of two adults, a child and two dogs and before that a woman walking a young female boxer pleased to see Jackie and Jillie and just obviously in love with life and nature, bouncing happily about everywhere.

The group was just exiting one of the community entrances from a street quite distant from our own. And Jackie curious as always, decided to walk upright to give himself greater height, the better to observe them as they walked off and onto the street. This, at a level even with the street, not in the ravine itself, but in the upper portion of the forest environment. It's amazing how long Jackie can 'walk' on his two hind legs, emulating us, a specialty of some small poodles.

We were curious to see whether the wild hazelnut shrubs bordering the trails as an understory vegetation were yet showing any signs of new life. And sure enough, many of them were sporting the beginnings of their catkins. Many years ago in one particular part of the main trail there was a willow shrub and by the time late February rolled around, it had produced light and airy willow catkins. We used to point them out to our granddaughter. Gone, now.

Because it was such a delightful day we decided to lengthen our usual longer circuit to delve deeper into the ravine through offshoot trails. And of course, we came across tributaries of the creek. Because they're smaller and less dense with runoff than the creek itself, some were still iced over, while others had broken free of the ice and the odour of sulphur wafted about us, anything but beguiling.