Thanks, Gwen! The thing is, my dog doesn't cook, doesn't wash up and doesn't take any part in housecleaning (neither do I, for that matter), so I think the least she can do is be a snowplough when the occasion arises...
I'll put up some more scenic pictures in due course, to lift the winter blues. I might even go down the valley tomorrow and hunt for butterflies, though I think the ambient temperature is probably too low.
In high summer that last track I skied along abounds with Erebia euryale, E. ligea , E. pharte and E. melampus, amongst other things. All these hibernate as caterpillars, so presumably I was surrounded by inert caterpillars, under the snow in the undergrowth. A weird thought!