It's the absolute last thing you want to hear. Not necessarily that one of our hiking friends informed us when we met along the trails this afternoon, that on an earlier trek he'd taken through the forest, he came literally face-to-face with a coyote, a first-time encounter for him. No worries; he's not got a canine companion of his own, just a cheerful young man on his own.

Yet another friend whom we met as we were exiting the ravine after completing our circuit for the day told us an interesting little story as well. As we were preparing to put leashes on Jackie and Jillie to walk them down the street to our house, suddenly out of nowhere, a large black Labrador came along, swishing her back end side to side, plopping down finally beside Irving. On the cookie-dispensing side. We know her, of course, but hadn't seen her or her human for a while.

When he finally arrived he told us among other things that the day before he had been in the schoolyard of a local school across the street where he lives some distance from our street.  His dog suddenly left his side and went dashing off. He lifted his eyes, and there in a corner of the playground was a coyote. He ordered his dog to urgently return to him and she did, grudgingly. Because the coyote seemed to be trapped by the fence surrounding the area, he held his dog fast while the coyote finally found it way out and back to the forest where it extends beyond the schoolyard.

Earlier, when we were climbing one of the hills in the ravine, Jackie and Jillie began barking furiously as they often do, sensing someone ahead long before anyone appears. We heard a child's voice calling from the top of the hill and soon a little boy around eight appeared. I instantly knew he thought the barks were those of his own dog, but there was no dog in sight with him. 

Soon his father appeared and informed us that their 2-year-old little Yorkie was missing and they were searching for it. Missing ... since Saturday. And if we saw it please to take it into custody and contact the 10th Line Veterinary Hospital; our very own veterinary clinic. Someone had informed him, he said, that their dog was sighted in the ravine on Sunday. A tiny mite of a dog. On its own. Our minds cringe at the very thought.

We wished the man and his son good luck in finding their little dog. He had shown is a photo of the tiny thing on his iphone. Our hearts sank. We said we would do our best to look for it, and inform others that we would meet, then parted. It just doesn't bear to think about the possibilities. It would be quite wonderful if the tiny animal were found intact...you think about it missing for three days, what would it do for food and shelter and safety?

We were pretty tired, both of us. We needed the resuscitative effects of a trek through the forest. In the morning Irving had slugged away with a dolly moving the large garden pots into the backyard, some to be stored under the deck, others, more fragile, in the large garden shed. He moved the furniture from the front garden to the garden shed. Then he did the house vacuuming, while I otherwise cleaned; dusting, mopping, washing floors. Once we were finished, we took Jackie and Jillie out to the ravine. We were rejuvenated by our trek through the forest trails, but the news of a lost little dog was anything but cheerful.

But it has been a lovely weather day, the temperature all the way up to 14C, somewhat like yesterday, with clear blue skies and a dazzling sun. At this time of year the sun spills gold mist generously over the landscape, smothering the dark tree trunks and the leaf mass on the forest floor in highlighted pure gold dust and sending long shadows everywhere.

As soon as we returned home and Jackie and Jillie had their salads, I prepared a Cornish hen to go into the oven. When it's almost done I'll pop an egg-and-noodle pudding with raisins to go in beside it. Yesterday's dinner was quite different, featuring soup again; a dried-bean and vegetable soup. Served alongside freshly baked flatbread and smoked salmon. Let's face it, any kind of menu qualifies as comfort food...