It's Sunday, after all, of a perfectly sumptuous winter afternoon, so what would we expect, other than the delighted shrieks of little girls, all bundled up in colourful winter gear, following their older brothers barrelling downhill on snowy slopes in the ravine, to plop on their little arses and slide wildly the rest of the way down. Indulgent parents looking down from above. Some parents drag along plastic sleds for their children but by no means all. And with the prevailing snow conditions kids can still have a good time just sliding on the snow.

What we might not expect to see, but did anyway, was the sight of a bow-legged man happily careering down another slope we were about to ascend just as we had the previous one, teetering and tottering to maintain his balance, joyfully crowing his success at remaining upright the while, wearing shorts along with his winter parka, his knobbly knees fixed in position, his booted feet skittering over the snowy incline.

Ah, the snow. That's the thing. Where it poses a bit of a hazard to people who aren't armed (booted) with cleats as we are, it becomes a surprisingly quick way to find yourself unwillingly on your backside, side, or back as the case may be in a fall because the snow is so slick, though it's no such thing for us. Two things; the snow gets plastered down from all the traffic of late; and the other thing is the extreme cold and the dryness of the snow when it falls. We're able to plod uphill and down with a little effort without risk of sliding, falling or injuring ourselves in any way.

It's not unusual to see the back of someone well slathered in snow from a fall, as they continue their hike with a gingerly tread, the only injury occasioned was to dignity. Anyone with a large dog on leash is fine going uphill, a bit dicey in the reverse direction. But, for the most part, it's all in good fun. At the very least good fun, taking everything into account, it can't be beat for a refreshing outing in clear air under a blue sky hosting a blazing sun.

And we had more of it overnight, last night. Another 4.5 cm fell as the temperature rose in the late evening. By the time we went up to bed it had risen to -11 and for all we know got even milder as the hours went by. And then came the snow. Even at today's high temperature of a moderate -6C, no wind and a brilliant sun blazing down on us, the new snow speedily melted off the canopy over the deck. In the ravine some of it remained on the trees, but barely a vestige was recognizable on the pathways along the forest fall; all incorporated into the snowpack.

Yesterday evening Irving decided he'd like something really light for dinner for a change. So I made a vegetable salad and he produced a 'salmon salad', crushing a can of salmon up with a selection of herbs and seeds only he knows the formula of, and smoothing it all together with mayonnaise. I don't mind admitting I find it delicious. To spread on crispy toasted rye, eaten with a really hot cup of tea. Then another cup of really hot tea, and another and another. I've tried producing the same spread, with no success.

Irving laughs when I tell him how much I enjoy it. It's his contention that it has more to do with the fact that someone besides myself is preparing something for dinner, rather than that it tastes particularly good. He's right and he's wrong. Right, in that it's a treat to have someone else occasionally prepare dinner, wrong in that it is truly absolutely delectable.

When he opens the tin, before adding anything to the fish he always extracts some of it and places it in a jar; fish and accompanying liquid. That's so Jackie and Jillie can also share in it. And I put it over their kibble for a treat at dinnertime. It may be a little rich for them. They both love it, but Jackie used to react to it, and though he no longer does, Jillie did. She ate it last night at dinnertime, and by morning felt unwell enough to refuse her breakfast. Even her special after-breakfast treat of buttery pancakes.

So when we went out for our hike through the ravine this afternoon it was with the expectation that the exercise would be good for her and she'd lose that upset tummy. She has no symptoms other than lack of appetite but that lack is quite unlike Jillie who will greedily eat anything, any time. She was uncharacteristically disinterested in her afternoon treat of cauliflower. So we're awaiting dinner to see how she reacts.