Because it had rained all night and was still drizzling this morning, interspersed with a few tantalizing peeks of the sun, we dressed ourselves in rainjackets and put on our little dogs' rainjackets as well before setting out for our daily ravine walk.  About time we had some rain, actually, since we have quite a moisture deficit this spring; not the usual amount of snow fell over winter, and too few rain events this spring.

The forest floor is rudely littered at this time of year with the inevitable fall of some of the more vulnerable trees, their trunks sadly fallen across other, older fallen trunks, in various stages of decay.  In a month's time the detritus will be far less visible, once the undergrowth begins to grow from the soil and the trees and shrubs assume their green mantle.  Right now, it looks as though nature is a careless housekeeper.

Because the trees are still denuded of their leaves, sightlines from one area of the ravine to another, are fairly open, and we were able to see Schweppes and Cadbury in the distance, walking with their owner.  As it happened, they spotted us, too, and while we waved in greeting at their owner, one of the little overweight pugs trundled up the hill to where we stood waiting for them to pass by.  He came over to wheedle peanuts.  If he could, he would eat every peanut we leave in cache places that are physically accessible to his minute height.

These, though, are the peanuts we bought in a 50-pound bag from a rural feed outlet.  And while they are top-grade Virginia peanuts, they are not considered to be graded and inspected for human consumption. We cannot, therefore, be assured that there are not aflatoxins present in quantities that might pose a risk to domesticated pets.

These peanuts are meant for distribution to wildlife, and that is precisely what they will be used for, exclusively.

Throughout our walk, it either rained lightly, or the sun came out briefly, illuminating the droplets nestling inside shrunken, desiccated leaves.  And, it was fairly cool, with a brisk wind.  The strange thing is that the moment we entered our house, the sky unloosed a heavy cloudburst, battering the windows and soaking everything.

Impeccable timing.