All is still, comparatively speaking. The house sounds are now muted to reflect and echo those we alone make and are so accustomed to. Our home opened wide its arms over the last month to welcome those of our children who live far from home, who came in a successive wave to linger with us, briefly sharing their lives with us in their summer get-aways.

Our younger son sent along some of the photographs he had taken on our Algonquin Park canoe-camping trip, including those taken at Gatineau Park in Quebec. With his finer zoom function in his camera he had succeeded in snapping a photo of the Great Blue Heron that he had taken, while in my photos the bird can be seen as a mere pinprick, acknowledged only by the fact we knew it was there, and enlarged in presence in our memory.

A volunteer (our son) offers kids a peek at local species. Photo by David Buzzard, www.media-centre.ca

He had gone on from his conference in Quebec City after leaving us to take part in the annual late-summer Whistler, B.C. BioBlitz weekend, where 50 scientists lent their expertise in their fields to have fun with and educate families with their children who look forward to attending the event..

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A volunteer at Whistler BioBlitz offers kids a peak at local species.   Photo by David Buzzard / www.media-centre.ca

- See more at: http://www.whistlerquestion.com/news/local/bioblitz-counts-dinosaur-dinner-among-finds-1.1328679#sthash.UAH7N3ho.dpuf

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A volunteer at Whistler BioBlitz offers kids a peak at local species.   Photo by David Buzzard / www.media-centre.ca

- See more at: http://www.whistlerquestion.com/news/local/bioblitz-counts-dinosaur-dinner-among-finds-1.1328679#sthash.UAH7N3ho.dpuf

Our daughter-in-law called yesterday to let us know they'd arrived back in Toronto on schedule and were busy unpacking their gear which was plentiful, including all the astronomy sighting instruments our older son takes along with their annual three-week trip to rural Nova Scotia.

Now, no more consultations over food preparation, to take into account everyone's preferences and food allergies. No more lengthy conversations, catching up with everything that has occurred since the last time we were together, despite the exchanges in telephone conversations and emails and conventional letters.

Once again, I cleaned up the bathroom that only guests use, washed the linens, remade the beds and mused how quiet everything had suddenly become. Riley takes it all in stride, no longer excited at his age at their presence, simply accepting. Accepting as well, that the atmosphere goes suddenly still with the absence of our temporary house guests.

We're back to our daily ramble in our nearby ravine, dutifully dropping peanuts in all the usual cache places through the woods, intrigued as usual to be greeted by those squirrels which prefer to confront us directly, appealing for the special three-chambered peanuts we reserve for these encounters. Already, some of the ground cover in the forest is beginning to dry up, becoming yellow and wilting to be reabsorbed into the soil, their long summer season lapsing into early fall.