We're stuck in that in-between nowhere mode of one step forward, two steps backward. That's what it felt like yesterday, with a full day of heavy rain following hard on a blissful day of warm temperature and full sun. Yesterday was cold and miserable. The rain too heavy to allow for a hike through the forest trails. So we stayed in, but weren't exactly bored, there was just so much to do. And that included a cold-weather dinner of beef roast, Yorkshire pudding, spinach and strawberries for dessert. Jackie and Jillie particularly appreciated the roast. They don't mind it for breakfast, either.

 

 

A little bit of ventilation when  you're aggrieved about the weather doesn't hurt. Could be Nature is sensitive to criticism because she offered us a sunny day, albeit still cold, today. As luck would have it, the sun went in when dark clouds swept through the sky when we decided earlier than usual to get out for a walk through the forest trails. An early walk because Jackie and Jillie had a spa appointment for bath and haircut today.

 

 

We expected the trails to be muddy, and so it wasn't a surprise that they were. What did surprise us was the proliferation of Coltsfoot, the earliest forest spring flower. Usually we see a few little patches here and there in most springs. This year their presentation is far different; they've colonized a good part of the forest floor, mostly around the creek and its near environs. Their bright yellow, perky little heads were still out even though the sun was absent and we just marvel at their perseverance as sun-loving flowers, typical of yellow flowerheads that close in the absence of direct sun.

 

 

Robins were busy scuttling along the trails and into the detritus on the forest floor where ferns will soon be emerging. Chickadees and nuthatches flitter here and there and the cardinals' bright spring melody signalled how excited birds are at spring's arrival. Hawks and bluejays will soon be making their appearance as will Great Blue Herons, temporarily.

 

We delivered Jackie and Jillie to the spa adjacent to the Veterinarian Clinic whose services we've used for the past thirty years.  We'd given the pups Heartworm and flea/tick medication a week ago left over from last year, but we need a new prescription for the rest of the summer. And so we went next door to the clinic to make appointments for their yearly check-ups and once that was all arranged, went off further to the supermarket for our weekly shopping.

 

It was a busy store we entered, fairly packed with customers. And there was the young man who works in the produce section with his brilliant smile who always greets us, finally returned from his holiday 'back home' in the West Indies. He's a handsome, muscular young man who stands several feet in height above us. Nostalgia and family sentiment sent him back for a visit and he was away for well over a month.

 

Sticker prices continue to shock us. It's not just that prices have risen, but even those that have risen continue to rise. Something that poses no difficulty for us, but certainly does for a great many other people. It's routine for us now, the weekly assembling non-perishable food; a carton of four Kraft dinners, four tins of tuna, four tins of flaked him or chicken, four tins of soup to place in the container sitting in the store's vestibule for pick up by the area Food Bank.

 

Shopping finished, we drove back to pick up our puppies. As usual, they awaited us in a little room with windows extending to the floor and as we walked toward the spa entrance they began leaping at the window and we could hear their commanding barks of 'come get us!' And so, we did. The report from the groomers was that Jillie was fine with getting her hair cut, but when it came to bath time she rebelled; typical of Jillie, she just hates getting wet.