The parched ravine enjoyed a rainy reprieve yesterday morning when in the early morning hours rain began and copious amounts fell in the succeeding hours drenching the landscape in a welcomed rainfall event. We've been far too long without rain; this June has been a little unusual in the sparsity of rain that has moistened the landscape, so that yesterday's robust rainfall was no doubt welcomed fervently by area farmers.

But it was destined to be another scorcher despite the seldom-seen sun throughout the day which burned through a low cloud cover sporadically but never for any length of time. We noted, in our ravine walk, that these conditions have brought to the fore more fungi specimens and it's always interesting to look at their patterns and spread though lately those we've seen have all shared the same symmetry and colour and patterning, unlike the display we've seen at other times with a diversity of colour, shape and pattern.

But it's amazing what some rain will provoke the forest environs to produce. Suddenly yellow loosestrife is in flower, and yarrow is making its presence, though not yet in flower. Red baneberry is transitioning from its initial green to bright red, and staghorn sumac have sent up their floral clusters soon to turn red as well.

We're also seeing offerings of common mullein, these the wild variety appreciably not quite like the cultivated strains seen so often in idealistic versions of English country gardens. They grow to very large proportions, unlike those I've planted in the past in our gardens which thrived for a year or two then disappeared. No mortal hand has differentiated these from nature's original design.

The thimbleberry bushes which arise from the forest floor from virtually nothing every spring are finally being embellished by their bright pink flowers, eventually to turn into sweet thimble-like raspberries. What quite surprised us, though, was the sight of Queen Anne's lace, already thriving and putting out early flower heads.