Jackie and Jillie were incredulous. Another full day of non-stop rain? The house is in danger of becoming an ark, all of us floating away to some never-ever land...? Please say we'll get out for a ravine hike today!

Well, how to respond, to explain to two little dogs that it is nature that plans and executes the order of our weather days; we, her creatures can only accept what she orders her elements to provide for us. 

 

They said, those two little impish dogs, that if little kids can write to Santa why can't they write to Nature and tell her what they'd prefer. Because, after all, they're such good little dogs. That last sentence really got to us; absolutely eye-rolling. Good little dogs? Seriously?!

We'll wait and see, we told them. Nature isn't all that capricious that she would turn a stony heart to two little dogs' pleas. Hour after hour, rain and more rain. Unpleasant going out to the backyard. The thermometer read 1C. The upper atmosphere was likely warmer than it was at ground level. They weren't interested in explanations, demanding action!

 

Sorry fellas, we can't change the rain. So Irving and I busied ourselves around the house. The usual routine. Minor clean-ups, fussing about here and there. Oops, an online auction of Canadiana...that got one of us -- the antique aficionado --  excited and online after he'd first done some vacuuming. I kneaded up a whole-wheat bread dough, and baked a small pan of date squares for tonight's dessert.

 

Well, would you look at that...white droplets among the rain; sleet! Patience, now, wait for it. Another degree drop in the temperature and it was 0C, and snow began tumbling down in nice white clusters. Time to get outdoors, Jackie and Jillie. On with your wetproof coats and on with ours as well, and off we go...

 

A welcome change. Of course what is falling is pretty piddling stuff. It'll take a whole lot more snow, days upon days, months of it, to build up a snowpack. But it's a start. So off we went into the forest and it was dark. But the dismal aspect was lightened considerably by the wet snow clinging to branches of deciduous trees and the needles of the conifers. 

 

It was cold, with a penetrating wind that tossed the snow about, but it began gathering on the forest floor, whatever filtered down from the forest canopy. No sight of squirrels bustling about, other than those visiting our porch earlier through the morning hours. There was a happy bounce in Jackie's and Jillie's little pumping legs, their tiny feet making dark imprints on the gathered snow of the forest trails.