I knew I'd be tight for time yesterday. But I wanted to ensure that I prepared a good warming, fragrant meal for dinner. I thought of making a Shepherd's Pie, but it needs time, since there are three major steps in preparing it. So I did something I rarely do; I made it on Saturday, then refrigerated it so it could be popped into the oven on Sunday evening, and no fuss on Sunday when time was short.

It always surprises us at the sheer volume of personal vehicles parked at the airport. Last time we were there, at end of December, it was packed and we naturally attributed it to Christmas and New Year's travelling. But of course Canadians in winter are always on the move, planning to temporarily take a break from the damp cold and snow. Which is why we had such a devil of a time finding a parking spot.

By the time we entered the great hall of the airport to await the Air Canada flight arriving from Vancouver it had already arrived. Looking online before we left the house we knew it was on time. Turns out it made better time than the airline anticipated. While Irving checked the arrivals/departures board I stood in front of the escalator waiting for our son to descend.

Then I realized Irving wasn't beside me as I thought and searched through the crowd to see him not far from the arrivals board, and approaching him was our son. This time he had taken all his baggage on board with him, packing light for his trip, so no wait for the baggage to be unloaded on the carousel, and we headed for home.

Today is a kind of late-entry national/provincial February holiday. In Ontario it's been named Family Day. So it's appropriate that part of our family be with us this day. We're missing a like number of others, but with Jackie and Jillie, we still make up the original number of five. The puppies were excited to see Jordan, leaping all over him.

And today we have a lovely day to celebrate Family Day. Overcast early in the morning, with snow flurries, but the remainder of the day saw the clouds clear out and the sun illuminate the day. A day that called out for making the most of it, and we responded by spending a few hours out in the ravine, along the forest trails.  Oddly enough, we saw not as many people out as yesterday, though there were a few family groups.

We heard crows spiralling over the forest canopy, and a pileated woodpecker making a strenuous effort to clear a tree interior of its richness of ant trails within the trunk under the bark, to consume huge numbers of carpenter arts that make the tree their home. It's a pileated we hear often in the same general vicinity of the woods.

And in yet another area there was a great barred owl clearly calling, but we were unable to see where he was perched. A little unusual for the owl to be voicing itself at that time of day, but he could have been warning off another owl infringing on its territory since they're known to be extremely territorial. In the past we've come almost face-to-face with specimens of both these avian species, and I'd love to again.

But back then it was an era where few people came into the woods to hike and absorb the wonders of the natural world. Neither the pileated woodpecker nor the owls are fearful of any other creature but they no doubt prefer not to be bothered by the presence of the strange bipedal animals that now enter the ravine in numbers. The pileated has no enemies that it cannot handle with its great size.  Crows and other birds tend to feel antagonized against owls as predators and harass them mercilessly.