Yesterday (Tuesday), 18C. I walked to Southgate and back (90 minutes), and I am surprisingly stiff. Not sure why. Might be a leftover from the much longer walk on Monday. Not going anywhere today. It’s around zero, and blizzarding. The snow isn’t staying on the roads, but there is a blanket of white everywhere else. The two words I hate to see in a sentence in April (and May) are ‘snow’ and ‘accumulating’, but it’ll be gone in 24 hours, if not sooner. No shoveling. Nope.

Two-hour walk in a very spring-like Whitemud Ravine this afternoon. Walked a loop from the powerline, north as far as the third bridge, and then back up through Westbrook. There is very little snow street-level and along the paved parts of the trail, but once inside the ravine – a long, winding strip of puddled-ice. It’s mostly slush thanks to the warm temperature today, but I think it will be another week or two before it’s doable in runners. I wouldn’t want to be down there in the mornings before the ice has had a chance to melt. Even on some of the hills, I was bushwhacking in the brush to avoid the ice. It seems I survived.

Along the path in the open areas, the ice sounds hollow underfoot. The entire ravine is loud with the sound of dripping water, birdsong, and the torrential current of the creek. Most impressively, in the places where the sun is strongest, it smells knee-weakeningly wonderful. That gorgeous, deep, earthy scent of spring. We are in the brown season before spring erupts into green, but it was still beautiful in the ravine today. Full of sensual pleasures.

13C/2:15 to 4:15

A highly scientific comparison of three weeks in Whitemud Ravine – sun, snow, and sun.

…if you like snow. About 30 cm between Friday to this morning (Sunday). It doesn’t bother me that much because A: it will be bookended by gorgeous spring weather, B: it’s undeniably beautiful, C; there’s f-all I can do about it, and D (most important): the sun is shining. It took an hour and a half to shovel the front driveway and the back deck and paths (for the birds and the dog), and now the driveway is wet and melting under the sun. Maggie was running around the cul de sac, plowing her snout through the snow, which was up to her lady business. Funny how she has enough energy and strength for this, but barely enough some days to take her around the block.

I purposely had an early lunch so that I could get out to the ravine while the sun was at its beamiest. The sidewalk along 119 Street was not plowed, and I passed a cross-country skier on the way to the powerline. It was a lot of heavy snow, but worth the wet socks and leggings. I think I was only the second person to head down into the ravine, which made me feel a little smug (it doesn’t take much). I even ran a bit. The snow was so thick, there was little chance of injury if I fell, and no one around to laugh if I did. Boy, I’ve really missed this! I used to take myself out to Mill Creek Ravine all the time after a fresh snow. At a younger age, Maggie would have LOVED this too, and she would have run all the way down the hill and back up againl. I did see four or five dogs in the hour that I was outside, two of whom I knew (Rusty and Leonard), but still pretty much had the place to myself. It can be a heartbreak when it snows in spring, but even this volume of snow will be gone in a few days – so might as well enjoy it while it’s here!

-3C/12:00-1:15pm

Nice little spur of the moment walk around 4:00pm, with the added bonus of being the first time I have walked in runners since the arrival of snow last November. I was intending to take the dog around the block, but she refused to move off the driveway(!), so I reluctantly scooted her back in the house and went anyway, poop bags in pocket. I walked over to the powerline, and then down into Whitemud Ravine, up the other side, and then back again. Not an imaginative walk, but still lovely and rejuvenating. It was warm and dusty. No snow or ice on any of the sidewalks or along the powerline trail, but a lot of gravel. The creek is dark brown and mostly open. It was like a late spring day – bikers (in shorts), joggers (in shorts), kids (in helmets), and me, in capris. About an hour in total.

10C

Astonishingly beautiful weather! For most of March, it’s been above 5C and some days into the teens, like yesterday when we ventured into the swamps of Terwillegar off leash. Maggie has been jonesing for walk, or something, for awhile now. She is ambivalent about walks around the neighbourhood (we go anyway), but I think the problem is the leash. She wants to be free. Who can blame her? So do I, but I think her desire is less existential than mine. Maybe.

Terwillegar was, as expected under such warm temperatures – dotted with pools of shit-coloured water, patchy snow, and brown slush. Also, some areas of grass and mud in muted tones of Maggie. She blends in quite nicely with spring colours.

In spite of the ‘freedom’, Maggie wasn’t noticeably enthusiastic, although she seemed to enjoy herself. Bits of puppy come out still, especially when a stick or a well-scented bush is involved, but otherwise she’s just happy to pad along, slowly, companionably. Once she can jump in the river again, I think her engagement will ramp up.

15C