Our puppies are getting pretty shaggy. Last time they were at the groomer's and we planned on making an appointment for them two months ahead, as we usually do, the best they could do to accommodate us was four months. That's how busy they are. And since we really appreciate the personalities and workmanship of the groomers, all the more so that they just naturally show us in so many casual ways how much they themselves have affection for the dogs left temporarily in their care, we're loathe to take Jackie and Jillie to another grooming salon.

This one is attached directly to the veterinary hospital we've been taking our little dogs to for decades. The grooming portion is a much later addition, but very much appreciated. My days of doing the grooming myself at home are over. So when it became clear we'd have to wait another four months, we took the decisive step of booking ahead every two months for the next two years.

It's not that we mind it all that much that their hair is so grown in now, during the winter months. The better to keep them warm under winter cold and snow conditions. But they're healthy little guys and they eat a fully nutritious diet and their hair grows in fast and furious. Apart from brushing them occasionally, and snipping away grown-out hair from around their eyes, I don't do too much in the grooming department for them any longer.

One result of that is Jillie's winter coats have become quite snug. We've had to resort to outfitting her with coats that Button, our miniature poodle, used to wear. It's not a problem with Jackie because he is so lean in comparison to his sister. She's shorter, and fairly stout in her build, while he's taller and tends to a lean and muscular conformation.

Yesterday was a bright sunny day, slight wind to make the -6C temperature feel much colder at street level, but once into the ravine and on the forest trails we were shielded from the emphatic wind gusting by us. Given the previous few days had been so mild, above freezing, we had become spoiled in the comfort of it all, not exactly welcoming of colder temperatures.

The snow lumped on the less-used trails from the milder temperature had frozen, giving those trails an uneven feel to our booted/cleated feet. It was, though, the presence of the sun gleaming and glittering through the trees in the distance that captivates our attention. Any photographs I took yesterday trying to capture the visions that attracted us were doomed to fail, given the extreme brightness of the sun on the canvas of the winter landscape.

We've noticed a bit of a change in the way that Jackie and Jillie now disport themselves since their freedom of movement has been restricted by being on leash constantly. Where Jillie's custom had been to race ahead, with Jackie now and again deciding to peel off after her if she came abreast of something or someone whose presence she would signal in her hysterical little barks, now it is Jackie who forges ahead, with Jillie staying behind, usually trotting along between my husband and me, as we traverse the narrow tracks.

They haven't complained that their impulsive movements have been restrained, though they do tend to pull forward against the leash when we're ascending the many hills in the ravine. Any complaints come from us, actually, since to ensure they're safe from a sudden and instant dart by an enterprising coyote that might view them as a meal, it tends to be our freedom and leisure of movement that has been impacted as well, making progress irritatingly complicated at times, particularly when and if their leashes become entwined.

Jillie tends to walk in a straight line, but her brother has a tendency to spurt about everywhere, from left to right, then reverse; falling behind, pulling ahead, he's in a constant state of alertness and curiosity that must be satisfied. I feel sad enough for them that they've got to be on leash now on the forest trails and hate restricting them even further by insisting they remain obedient to our own need to walk a straight line, preferring to give them at least some leeway through an extended leash.