Sometimes it makes cents to think ahead. In the fall when you think ahead to the winter months in the Ottawa Valley where snow and ice make driving an exciting prospect and where the roads departments at various levels decide the solution to fewer road accidents is throwing down salt to melt the icy slick on winter roads, it brings its cost in vehicle rust. Oiling the undersides of a vehicle driven in winter is a sensible practise, since it preserves the metal from rust.

The thing is, everyone remembers at the same time pretty well to make that appointment for their vehicle to be winter-oiled, so getting an appointment can be tricky. All the more so when the best of the operators is so busy no appointment times are left so you go looking elsewhere -- further from home, places that don't do as good a job. So when an advertisement came around urging people to think ahead and gain a more favourable price for the service at the same time, Irving thought why not.

Yesterday it was the truck, today the car, and now they're both done. Mind, dripping oil is a nuisance. Some of our neighbours park out on the road for the first week after getting the job done. Irving usually lines the garage floor with newspaper to pick up the dripping oil. One less thing to think about in a month or two, thinking ahead to winter. A bonus is that the service people throw in a car wash once the oil treatment has been completed. 

The morning started off beautifully cool and sunny with a brisk wind, but by the time Irving returned, dark and heavy clouds had moved in. I was busy doing the laundry and make sure the puppies got some outdoor time in the backyard before the rain, but the rain held off nicely and then we decided we'd get out with them to the ravine for their afternoon walk.

As so often happens in that brief interval between determining it was time to get out, and actually leaving the house, the sky opened up. Just a light rain and we had prepared for that eventuality, wearing rain coats and carrying two for the puppies. When we reached the ravine entrance we stopped briefly to fit them with their raincoats, then carried on. For two little dogs that balk customarily at going out to the backyard when it's raining, insisting that we accompany them, they were both completely unfazed at getting on with our walk in the rain.

The forest canopy always does a quite decent job shielding us from the rain, as long as it's a light rain which was what this was. The circle pattern large drops of rain make on the surface of the water in the creek, that then slowly widens into a series of circles always fascinates us. And the lustre and quality of colour brought out by the rain's effect everywhere is a visual treat. While we didn't feel particularly wet, the rain was doing a fairly good job on the vegetation which became glisteningly lacquered in no time at all.

 Irving never misses the opportunity to see if there are any ripe berries for the picking. Thimbleberries are becoming a little thin on their shrubs' ripening itinerary, but there are more than enough blackberries that will continue to ripen for at least a month more before they too run out of the season.

We weren't the least bit inconvenienced, just enjoyed the atmosphere of cool, fresh air enlivened by the rain, and it was more than evident that Jackie and Jillie had the same impression, completely ignoring the rain and just moseying about and sniffing everywhere as usual.