It was hardly surprising that we saw no one else yesterday as we made our way through the forested trails of the ravine. The temperature had soared to 32 degrees and with the humidity it felt well over 40C. The saving grace was the wind, up to 40 kilometres an hour, that kept whipping through the atmosphere. So much so that some major branches of our giant-growing dahlias snapped off, the foliage and the flowers deposited directly to the compost pile.

But in the ravine, where the wind was insistent enough to penetrate, the movement of air albeit hot and humid, was enough to keep us from feeling very uncomfortable. In fact, the confines of the woods with its vast green canopy does a great job of maintaining far cooler temperatures than outside its embrace.

We did, however, come upon one of our neighbours just entering, as we were exiting. She and her husband have raised a succession of various dogs, the last of which is a miniature, long-haired Daschund. And then, a year ago, they decided to foster a seeing-eye puppy for a working future to benefit the many people who require their services. Like us, they tended to forget the work involved in raising a puppy. And this black Labrador had a mind of her own. She wanted to be a puppy. And do all the antic things that puppies do as they discover the world.

In raising such puppies the handlers are informed that they shouldn't be allowed to be too social, to make friends with too many people, let alone other dogs, habits that would be distracting to the mind of a mature dog whose life would revolve around the needs of a person with disabilities. The puppy hated being on a leash, attached to a harness, and as it grew larger, it grew stronger and ever more difficult to control. On seeing anyone it would want to rush over and make friends. She had her work cut out for her and we were convinced that this puppy would never make the working grade. But, she told us yesterday, almost a year old now, she hasn't been disqualified yet.

We were glad enough to reach home, clean up our own two puppies, and relax in the comfort of our air-conditioned environment. Going out afterward only to do a few little gardening chores. And then the skies thickened with dark clouds and we watched them draw nearer by the minute. Until soon enough we felt the first drops, and in an instant were deluged with thick, heavy rain, responding with a dash for the indoors.

Later in the evening we relished the sounds of thunder as other storm systems rolled through, drenching our over-heated gardens.