The river valley never fails to impress. On Thursday, I walked from Saskatchewan Drive, down skunk hollow to Rossdale, across Louise McKinney Park and the pedestrian bridge, with a final hike through Mill Creek. A cold, beautiful day. I can forgive the weather for a bit of sun.

The river is still encased in ice. Hanging over the Cloverdale Pedestrian Bridge, I noticed a lot of footprints in the dusting of snow we received the night before, but whose foot, or feet, is the question. It’s too early for the resident geese to return (I hope), and I really can’t see a human walking out to the middle of the river. Maybe a drunk human. Still, seems unlikely. Maybe a coyote, or a yeti. Wish I’d been there to see it.

I can’t think of anything that would have made the afternoon’s walk lovelier. Like a perfect painting, the brushes were put away at exactly the right moment. A cobalt blue sky, straight out of the tube. A mix of purple, blue and turquoise visible in the shadows falling across the snow. It was magnificent.

With few walks in February because of the cold, Maggie and I have been taking advantage of the nicer weather this week, and last. Stuffed her in the car this afternoon and drove to Whitemud Creek Ravine at the trail head in Westbrook. A lady who knows Maggie commented yesterday while we were walking around the neighbourhood that Maggie looked stiff. I don’t see it. Her endurance is way down, and when she wants to go home she refuses to move, but her motoring ability hasn’t changed. She ran most of the trail today, which is more than I can say for myself. It’s great down in the ravine because there’s not a lot of rabbit poop (thank you coyotes), so she’s not distracted to the point of obstinacy. Just the usual curiosity about who’s been where and when. We both enjoyed our walk. The thing is, I can go farther and faster without her. I must carve out a few dogless walks each week. Seems unfriendly, but I need the exercise.

2:30PM/1C