Yesterday's extreme-cold warning of an overnight low of -31C doesn't appear to have occurred, last night. But it was still an impressively cold -21C when we came down for breakfast this morning, after climbing out of our comfortably warm bed. Cold enough to debate whether to put sweaters on Jackie and Jillie before going out to the backyard with them, to keep them from freezing. 

We decided against and they sensibly did their thing, then zipped up the stairs to the deck to enter the warm house. Once in the house they let loose with a zany chase scene, whipping about from floor to sofa after one another. Either exuberant from their brief introduction to another very cold day, or exhilarated by the assurance that breakfast wouldn't be long in coming.

I was momentarily arrested glancing out the front door at the sight of three black squirrels on the porch, and in their midst the brown colour of the rabbit, no one bothering anyone else, occupied with picking up peanuts, the rabbit nibbling at the end of a broken carrot. It was but a brief little scene of trust and serenity, soon dissipated with the appearance of a grey squirrel who took it officiously upon himself to declare the rabbit persona non grata.

As quick as a blink of the eye, the rabbit was gone. Yesterday, returning from our afternoon course through the forest trails, we noticed a short trail leading from the upper part of the driveway to, and under the snow-packed branches of one of the garden yew trees. Where, presumably, the rabbit (or one of several rabbits) burrowed a little tunnel.

When the squirrels had had their fill, they decamped. The two pieces of carrot remained on the porch. Ten minutes later they were gone. Ending up, we theorized, in the tunnel.

The day warmed up to -18C, with wind and sun. The sun, streaming through the patio doors in the morning hours usually entices Jackie and Jillie to take up position as winter-sun-loving little dogs, to soak up a little warmth from the illuminated streams of sunlight filtering through the glass panes.