We took Environment Canada's weather warning seriously this morning. Yesterday's all-day heavy rain had kept us indoors. It just doesn't feel right to us, to miss a day of rambling about in the woods. We were determined that today's rain wouldn't end up keeping us from our daily ravine walk. We just cleared the table of breakfast dishes and off we went. Unprepared for what we found when we exited the house.

Since threat of rain was imminent, and plenty of rain predicted, we wore raincoats, all of us. Two adults and one very small dog. We would forge ahead through the ravine, rain or no rain. But when we walked out the door we were bathed in a gentle steam of warmly moist air; it felt just like a steam bath.

Once we dipped into the ravine and were surrounded by the trees, still dripping from yesterday's rainfall and whatever fell overnight, we saw leaves and pine needles steadily falling from the canopy above, but not yet any rain. The sky looked as though someone had hung out an amorphous mess of dripping, still-soiled clothing. But within the forest of the ravine despite the heavy overcast and gloom the colours of fall gleamed brightly.

Still-ripening apples dangled from branches, inviting us to pick a few to test their sweet, moist crispness. The trails were lush with fallen needles and colourful piles of foliage looking like forest confetti. And at this time of year when the combination of fall and wet conditions are ideal, mushrooms begin to make their presence, attracting us with their fanciful shapes and sometimes improbable colouration.

Overcast conditions and wet foliage somehow transform a landscape; it becomes exciting, entrancing, vibrant with colour nuances and fragrance. And this morning had all of it. We were, after all, able to take our time enjoying the surroundings that so complement the quality of our lives, without rain interrupting our amble. It was when we were about fifteen minutes from completing our circuit that the first tiny drops appeared.

By then the atmosphere had completely changed; the steamy heat had vanished and in its place was an emphatic breeze, and the air now felt cool. The sky, however, had become darker and it was clear that rain was imminent. Still, we took our time ambling along, and the light shower lifted, though not the darkness. When we reached the street, leaving the ravine, the rain began again, tentatively.

And by the time we entered our house a downpour of gigantic proportions pounded the windows, streaming ferociously over the glass panels, and looking up into the sky it resembled nothing so much as a giant aquarium.