Following yesterday's mini-debacle when my effort to order groceries online and arrange a scheduled time for pick-up at the Great Canadian Superstore that Loblaw lauds as the best shopping experience in the country, when their promise to deliver substance and an alternative to exposing ourselves in person to the chance of contracting the novel coronavirus, we decided we would just carry on as we always have and present ourselves in person at our usual supermarket.

We awoke at the ungodly hour of 6:30, fed the puppies and looked after other of their needs, then left the house, Jackie howling in dismay, and Jillie whimpering because we were leaving them all alone and they don't appreciate being bereft of our presence. The streets were ghostly-quiet. There were some other vehicles about, but so few it could have been the middle of the night.

The sun was trying to burn through some grey clouds and before long it would succeed and we'd have a sunny morning. When we arrived at the supermarket and looked for the disinfectant wipes that are always supposed to be available, there were none. Instead, there was a young man, a very young man, holding a disinfectant spray to clean off the handle of the supermarket trolley that we selected. With our gloved hands.

And it was with gloved hands that we proceeded to do a normal shopping. At that time of the morning only seniors are supposed to be present; from 7 to 8. Though there were some people who certainly didn't resemble seniors, the large floor area of the supermarket hosted very few shoppers. It's a long day for the employees, to be sure. But they were all of them cheerful and as helpful as usual, likely because it was older employees for the most part that were present.

The shelves were well stocked; this time we were able to buy bathroom tissue and meat; lots of chicken available, very little beef, but a contrast to last week when there was nothing at all. No garlic bulbs, because they're sourced from China and from Spain. I'd thought it would be a quick shopping, in-and-out, but there was so much I ended up buying in non-perishables from packets of seasoning to tins of tomato paste. It's standard for us to pack a shopping bag with staples for the Food Bank weekly, and we did that.

And although there were clearly demarcated positions marked on the floor where people were meant to leave a two-metre distance between one another at the cash-out, there was no one there but us and our cart. Pleasantries were exchanged with the cashier, familiar to us for many years and herself getting on in years. On arrival home, everything was unpacked and wiped down with soapy water. And so were the bags and the rigid plastic carry-alls we use.

And then it was time to have our shower, and prepare breakfast. A long day ahead of us. By two in the afternoon, the sun had gone in for the day, and the high temperature had reached 5C for the afternoon, giving us hope that the trails in the ravine would be improved from yesterday when they were minimally softened but the ice still slippery, threatening to send us tumbling downhill. They were improved, but not to the extent we'd hoped.

Because of the ice underfoot we had put their little rubber boots on Jackie and Jillie. They slipped about a bit; Jackie doesn't much care, he just forges on ahead between slipping, but Jillie doesn't like the feeling of lack of control and objects by pulling back on the leash and refusing to proceed. Despite the absence of sun we found it most pleasant to traipse through the forest trails, though having to take extra care on the ice. We ended up spending almost two hours on a quite extended ramble through the woods. In that time we came across only two other people doing as we did.

There were several abrupt and short freezing rain events; hard to tell at first whether it was snow, ice pellets or freezing rain. Finally, when we were exiting the ravine, clambering up the last long hill to reach the street we live on, freezing rain started up again, and this time in earnest. A perfect walk through the ravine today; we evaded slipping and falling despite the conditions, and enjoyed the landscape we were indulging ourselves in, while managing somehow to return home before the freezing deluge.