We've had an impressive amount of rain lately; persistent, heavy at times, accompanied by blustery winds, and cool, although not too cold. Since we have also enjoyed unseasonably mild and sunny weather pre-dating the onset of the cold-wet atmosphere, we really have nothing to complain about, at this time of year, transitioning into late fall and inevitably, winter.

There was a short article in yesterday's newspaper about the results of studies of people living in northern climates; that the onset of fall leading up to winter is a bitter-sweet time for many people. Autumn can be beautiful with the changing colours of a forest landscape, and a relief at first from the too-warm, humid days of late summer, but it also heralds the coming of winter. And that thought - the incessant cold, ice storms, wintry landscapes (beautiful, but inconvenient) snow events and traffic tie-ups, shovelling of driveways, and slippery sidewalks, people confined to their homes - makes a lot of people fearful.

It is during that time of year that people tend to weep more often, feel inconsolably sad, lonely and miserable. It's the effect of isolation and cold and less than ideal conditions for so many. On the other hand, for those who accept the inevitable and decide that they will do their utmost to live with it, even enjoy the opportunities to get out there in the bracing cold for recreational reasons and to admire the snow-filled landscape, it is a changed season to look forward to.

In any event, we're now in the lead-up to the final days when all the trees in our nearby forest will lose their leaves. And the trails in our urban ravined forest are packed with downed leaves, brilliantly coloured and made more so by the fact that the rain has given them an additional lustre.

Oddly enough, while digging in my garden yesterday, as part of seasonal tidying-up, I found the ground to be confoundingly dry, despite all that rain.