Through the night hours and into dawn, cracking open an eyelid to glance out our bedroom window brought a vision of a bright pink light faintly twinkling through our bedroom, a familiar signal that snow was falling in abundance. So that when we got up this morning the first order of business was to shovel out the backyard walkways for Jackie and Jillie. Warm from sleep it's an invigorating experience facing the morning cold and lifting shovels full of light, airy crystals, the wind cooling our cheeks.

 

A pre-breakfast workout, you might say. A hot shower sandwiched between the shovel-out and actually sitting down to breakfast made for a perfect introduction to a day of on-again, off-again snow. The front walkways wouldn't be shoveled out until after our return from an afternoon hike through the newly-snowed-in forest.

 

Meanwhile, there was laundry to be done, and new linen placed on beds, clothes folded and put away, puppies to take outside and decisions made about dinner. Last night we had baked beans for a change. The beans were actually baby lima beans that I had soaked overnight. And then just gave them the same treatment I would pinto beans. A wholesome, satisfying, flavourful dinner accompanied by cheese-and=sesame-seed croissants I baked after our return from yesterday's ravine hike.

 

 

We always tell one another that when it gets unbearably cold with a biting wind, we'll give our daily ravine hikes a pass. That hasn't happened yet. When we have a full day of winter rain it's another story altogether. At 2C with icy rain pelting the atmosphere a walk anywhere isn't too pleasant. And so, on those rare occasions we stay home.

 

 

Today the high temperature was -10C for the afternoon, and the wind made it seem much colder yet. When we were young, going out on -20C days didn't faze us one bit. Now, penetrating cold is felt where it wasn't formerly. We hate to have Jackie and Jilly, our puppies, miss an excursion in the ravine. For small dogs these temperatures are uncomfortable, but as long as they've got their boots and warm jackets there's no problem.

 

 

Today was one of those days of cold severe enough to penetrate the layers of wool topped by well-insulated winter jackets. We move at a more measured pace now than we did in our younger days. Moving along quickly generates the energy to maintain body warmth irrespective of exterior cold. Clambering uphill through newfallen snow generates its own heat, but not enough to compensate for the level of cold and wind.

 

 

But to miss going out would be to miss the exquisite landscapes we're exposed to. And a sense of creeping guilt that our pups missed their daily exercise. Much less us, as well. So under normal circumstances the decision to get out and live with winter is the right one for us, and therein lies satisfaction with available choices...!