We weren't surprised that it was snowing this morning, only at the amount that came down. Irving was out shovelling when the snowstorm was about halfway through to plow clear pathways for Jackie and Jillie. They love snow, but on their own terms. Which is to say, when they feel like cavorting about in it, not when they're performing morning ablutions and evacuations. 

The snow was welcome, to cover the ice that had formed when several days earlier we had freezing rain and ice pellets come down. And then the following day, a clear sky, when even at -10C, the heat of the sun melted the ice on the canopy and as it drizzled down, it covered the patio doors with icicles plastered on the glass.

The snow filling up the porch didn't deter the squirrels. They came about anyway, covered with falling snow, and dug out the peanuts on the porch floor. Giving Jackie his morning entertainment. Watching their little dramas; some squirrels willing to share space with others, while the occasional squirrel, offended by the presence of others, chased them away and claimed ownership of all it surveyed.

We took our time over breakfast. More or less fixated on the news, somewhat more anxiously than usual, given the sinister ploy of Russian President Vladimir Putin to enlarge the already-largest geographic territory on the planet by accessorizing it with the violent capture of the second largest geography in Europe, Ukraine, a country which he characterized as 'racist' and 'fascist'; his duty to expunge its sovereign status to eradicate 'terrorists' from European soil.

Once we did finally tear ourselves away from news sources and exhausted our opinion of these dreadful events and the individual driving them, in the process creating desperate refugees who manage to escape Russia's military assault, bombing government infrastructure and killing any who oppose him, as well as unfortunates who get in the way of the missiles he has ordered to be launched against a sovereign nation.

Kneading bread dough helped a little to burn off indignant frustration, but its calming effect led me to mixing up a batch of giant coconut-lime cupcakes. Irving obligingly squeezed the lime for me for its juice, after I had fine-grated its exterior. Cupcakes are so easy to put together, and since I always use cake-and-pasty flour for little cakes, they come out moist and fluffy-light. 

I fiddled about so much during the afternoon with all manner of little chores that by the time we launched ourselves into the great outdoors for a tramp through the ravine with Jackie and Jillie it was getting on to the nether regions of the day. But what a sight awaited us. Again, expected after a snowstorm, but so aesthetically beguiling a wonderland it presents, it never fails to fascinate and uplift at the wonders nature creates.

The snow was thick, but also light. It also both helped and hindered locomotion. The flattened trails courtesy of the previous freezing rain has turned into a jumble of imprinted hills and valleys, but on the other hand, though it requires slightly more effort to get along through a thick layer of newfallen snow,  the icy element is no longer a threat to remaining upright.

The appearance of fresh new snow is a draw to many people in the community. And so, unlike the previous days, we came across people we're familiar with, and everyone was more than pleased with the landscape's brilliant appearance, with more scintillating white to be seen than the forest trees heaped high and dense with the snow.