But for the robust wind blowing through the atmosphere, today could be taken for that proverbial 'calm before the storm'. Overnight the temperature actually rose, a reversal of what usually occurs, and quite welcome. The only sour note there was that the wind continued its blasting presence and although it might have been cold at -10C with gusting wind out-of-doors, wind does have an impact on a house interior climate as well. It's more difficult for the furnace to keep up to its hard-working expectations on the part of the home-owner.

Oh, that and of course the fact that though mild relatively speaking, it was also overcast yesterday denying the sun an opportunity to send its warming rays throughout the house windows and into the interior. Before preparing breakfast we look to the needs of our neighbourhood friends and toss out handfuls of peanuts on the porch and back steps.

Giving Jackie and Jillie the opportunity to sit by the door watching the coming-and-going of red and black squirrels. With the occasional added entertainment of witnessing a lively argument between two little red squirrels.

Jackie and Jillie must feel something int he air that has thus far eluded us. It is as though there is a special fragrance, a feeling that things are about to change, that winter is preparing to depart and spring to enter. Guess that's called doggy spring fever, and we can relate. They keep asking to go out to the deck and the backyard as though there's nothing they would rather do than bask in the ambient cold; understandable when the sun is out, not quite so when it's hiding behind a low cloud cover.

The high for this day is 2C, a marked departure from only three days earlier when it was -14C. But it did translate to lighter garb for all of us and that was welcome. The snow and ice on the street in front of the house is beginning to melt a bit and in some places we can see the road paving free of ice, but swimming in salt-water and best avoided.

Once again the wind bullied us unmercifully, only deigning to pull back once we entered the ravine. And from there, looking up at the masts of forest trees at the level of the forest canopy, there was a dance and a clacking of masts hitting against one another. Clearly at that level the wind was even more robust than we were experiencing.

A Sunday of a long weekend, plenty of other people were out and about on the trails, giving Jackie and Jillie the opportunity to greet some old friends and new alike. Everyone passes the word along, particularly to those who seldom enter the forest, that there are coyotes about and it's a good idea to ensure that companion pets remain close by.

Other than that new concern and the constraints it lends to the freedom of enjoying the atmosphere of the wonderful landscape that is ours to make the most of, we're fully aware of just how fortunate we happen to be, living alongside the kind of natural geology that is immune to disruption by housing construction.

Oh, and that 'calm before the storm' observation... Well, tomorrow this mild weather is set to continue, and presumably the wind as well. Ushering in another storm front. The forecast is for a hefty snowstorm leaving between fifteen to twenty centimeters of snow behind. To add to the 'average' snowfall we've been allotted by nature so far this winter. Where the height of accumulated snow on the lawn is about four feet.