Our little Jackie has been feeling under the weather the last few days. Despite his penchant for chewing on twigs and other detritus he finds in the forest on our walks when we're not quick enough to deter him, he has a somewhat delicate stomach. When he was a puppy he would often be feeling too ill to eat. He would choose to forego his breakfast or his dinner and that would worry us. All the more so when he might go a full day, a day-and-a-half without eating anything.

As he grew older he seemed to outgrow that constant and troubling health tic. And we replaced the special 'digestible' kibble diet we had been using for him. It would still occur, but far less frequently. Now, he goes months without a recurrence, then something unknown sets him off. This rarely happens with Jillie. She has the constitution of an ox, we always claim. On the rare occasion she's done the same thing, but so infrequently it's hardly worth noting.

Just recently I can recall thinking to myself that it's been months and he hasn't had any problems, and then suddenly several days back, it started up again. He refused his breakfast. Refused it even when I sprinkled tiny bits of cheese and chicken over his kibble. Up to then he had been a robust feeder. In fact, ordinarily he eats almost twice what his sister does and he is tall and slender while her conformation is sturdy and thick. After our ravine hike that day he decided he would have his favourite treat; cauliflower. And then he ate his dinner.

But yesterday he spurned both his breakfast and his dinner, no interest whatever in eating. He seemed normal enough during our ravine hike, though he wasn't much interested in browsing for detritus, to our relief. And then, this morning, once again no breakfast. It's upsetting. In every other way he seems normal, he's cheerful and attentive, but at mealtime he curls up on the sofa and just goes to sleep. Last evening he was restless and threw up a few times.

Today, when we set out for our usual afternoon tramp through the forest trails he was perfectly normal; curious about everything, interested in everything, eager to set off under a bright blue sky, intense sun, and less wind than the day before, making for a more moderate temperature day. And he was most definitely interested in picking up twigs to chew on.

When we arrived back home he lined up with his sister to await the dispensing of their post-ravine treat; fresh cauliflower florets. As soon as he had one sizeable floret in his possession he scampered off with it, and returned a few moments later for more. More he got. But the third time around, he was advised to wait for his dinner. We're relieved that he will now, we feel assured, eat his dinner.

Out in the ravine we were also kind of relieved that the condition of the trails (wet and mucky still) along with the cold temperature and chill wind appeared to have discouraged many people from entering the forest. For the most part we came across an assortment of teens, mostly girls, in pairs deep in conversation -- not with each other, but rather with someone at the other end of their cellphones.

The forest looks dark and denuded, awaiting warmth and sun penetrating the deleafed canopy. Only in areas where evergreens predominate is there the dominating colour of green. We hear messages from woodpeckers and robins off in the near distance. The early spring mourning cloaks that we saw weeks back when it was a little warmer, are now nowhere in sight, our spate of -5C nights have sent them back into hibernation.

Some ice still remains in some parts of the trails where the sun doesn't penetrate. The ice is well rotted but can still be slippery. It helps to remember where it is, since when it gets covered with detritus and soil carried by people's boots the ice seems hidden until a slip occurs. I keep peering closely at the forest floor under the trees in places where I know trout lilies will be coming up. So far, I've seen early signs of wild strawberries and the initial poked-through stages of a few violets; otherwise the forest floor is an ocean of water-saturated soil.