Irving noticed that the driver's side mirror of our neighbour Melanie's vehicle had smashed. This was a few weeks back. He offered to fix it for her, explaining he'd had the same thing happen a year ago and replaced the mirror himself. He just needed some mirror glass to cut to pattern size and he'd fix it up. The cost from the dealer for a replacement is $500, she discovered, so she agreed. She bought an inexpensive mirror-tray from a dollar store and Irving took the mirror out of the tray, marked it to size, cut it and glued it to the mirror platform, fixing it in place securely with silicone.  He's never at a loss for inspiration.

We've been neighbours for decades, back when Melanie's younger son wasn't yet born and her older was reaching his teens. The latter is now married with a little boy of his own, and Melanie is his daytime caregiver, so she has her hands full. Her husband Mustafa isn't seen about much the last several years, he's coping with an incurable cancer and is managing to hold his own thanks to very specific treatment that has set back secondary cancer spread. And then her daughter-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment. Melanie is a strong, capable woman, tireless and undiscouraged.

When we went out this afternoon to the ravine for our daily gad-about with the puppies, we discovered the presence of a survey crew, a private company. We have come across survey crews on the rare occasion over the years, with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority which oversees the geology of the region. The ravine can be fairly unstable under the 'right'/wrong conditions as we discovered years back when serious slumps hit the hillsides taking down the hillside forest.

Although we came across a survey point and equipment, we saw no one taking measurements while we were out. What we did see was a pair of beautiful young teens, sitting on the abutment under one of the bridges. The girls had left their bicycles leaning against trees further down one of the slopes and were quietly enjoying watching the creek slip by under them. We saw them again later when they decamped to reclaim their bicycles.

A warm and sunny day, it looks as though we've left the cooler temperatures behind temporarily. And because it was warm, the bees were out in droves, making the most of the blooming wildflowers. It's quite delightful watching them flit from one flower to another after briefly alighting to gather pollen. Jackie and Jillie pay their presence no mind, but it's entertaining watching them in purposeful, single-minded motion.

Today the berry picking was scarce. Just enough to whet the puppies' appetites. There are tons of berries left to ripen, all in good time. We discovered that Jackie will eat blackberries if they're a little soft. When they're ripe and firm, it's Jillie who prefers them and Jackie who will discard them. Only one in a myriad of ways that they're unalike. 

Later, we went out to do the food shopping, early enough that the supermarket wasn't crowded, which is how we prefer it to be. We were surprised, however, to find a lot of empty shelves. Not so much the fresh produce which we were thankful for, but other items, like the dairy counter with great gaps of empty space where orange juice, cottage cheese, eggs and other food items usually are available.