Jillie

The 'spa' we take our puppies to now that I no longer groom them myself (thank heavens that's off my hands now, it's difficult, time-consuming and never as rewarding in a job well done as I'd like it to have been) is located in the old converted single-story house located on a main thoroughfare that had been the location of the veterinarian hospital hospital we take them to. The group of veterinarians who operate the hospital had purpose-built a one-story sprawling building right next to the converted house several years back and decided it would henceforth become a grooming salon. 

Jackie

The old house when it was converted was divided into a multitude of very compact examining rooms. There is one in particular that Jackie and Jillie are always placed in after their grooming has been completed, to await our arrival to bring them back home. The chamber is tiny but it has a floor-length window facing out to the street, and as we walk the narrow path toward the spa in front of their parking lot, our puppies can see us and they leap repeatedly at the window, appealing for us to hurry.

The new protocol is that one person only (in our case two) is permitted entry at a time into the little building's small reception area. You must wear a mask (of course) and wait on the porch, to be admitted. You're there by prearranged appointment, both to deliver and to pick up your charges. So you ring the bell and very soon one of the groomers appears, opens the door to admit you. They wipe down all surfaces, meticulously. There are four of them, all young, sweet young women who handle the pets that are brought to them deftly and lovingly. We have every reason to trust and appreciate them.

They're cheerfully reassuring, and we suffer few pangs now leaving Jackie and Jillie in their care. Before the appointment takes place they now routinely send out a stock questionnaire by email relating to COVID as assurance to them and to us that, as much as possible, they can ensure safety precautions are being taken with respect to virus exposure avoidance. Once completed, your response is emailed back and the appointment is assured. Our appointment was for 1:00 p.m., and it takes an hour and a half before the grooming is completed and we return to retrieve our little rascals.

Jillie comes complete with two tiny pink bows on either side of her head. They don't last long, however; she makes quick work of them, shaking them off her silky hair. Our puppies come out of their ordeal very well; they smell lovely and look sleek. They're so excited it's hard to get them to be still long enough and stop leaping around us so they can be picked up for the short trip outside into a windy snow blizzard and taken to the car. Licks are never-ending, and play havoc with our masks. Eyeglasses mist opaquely because of the masks; outside one minute, indoors the next.

Earlier, in the morning, we had set out when the snow had been falling more thickly and heavily. Ambling up the street toward the ravine entrance it looked as though a trembling white curtain had been placed before us, and thick snowflakes quickly melted on our faces. All the  drab colour of the day before when it had been plus-two degrees and the meagre amount of snow that had fallen the day before that was melting, revealing the dark, decaying leaf mass on the forest floor and now it was all once again disappearing under a fresh blanket of white.

It put a smile on the faces of everyone we came across as we passed on the forest trails. There was, in fact, a surprising number of people out; we saw at least a dozen, mostly with their companion dogs. It was a mean wind that blew, but nowhere near as nasty as it had been up at street level. We saw two incidents where young women slipped with a thump and slid as they carefully made their descent st the top of a few hills. Not enough people are aware of the dangers of freeze-and-thaw and the resulting ice covered with new snow, making for dangerous conditions underfoot.

 Hiking in these woods can constitute quite a challenge, but we've been going through those trails for so many years in all seasons, it would be strange indeed if we weren't aware and accustomed to taking necessary safety precautions. During the winter months, cleats never leave the bottom of our boots. Even so, there are some conditions where even the cleats are hard put to provide traction when on occasion they will slide and not bite securely into the ice.

From time to time Jackie and Jillie will behave as though they're aware of the presence of something or someone we cannot see. And this is when Jillie will offer a sharp, loud challenge, howling for whatever it is to come out and make itself visible. Jackie rarely does that; it's clear he's alert, but hers is the voice we hear; his tendency is to look and sniff about, and then simply get on when nothing out of the ordinary presents itself.