Red sky at night, sailors' delight
Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning

After a day of ongoing, rolling thunderstorms with copious rainfalls, the sky last night became a fiery symphony of change, as high winds hurtled themselves against the dark clouds and ushered them elsewhere, an exchange of violent forces that lit up the sky in a bright glow of red. And when we awoke this morning, it was to blue skies entirely clear of bruised-looking clouds, the sun gleaming on wet surfaces, the garden contentedly switching its allegiance from rain to sun.

The forest glittered with drops not yet entirely evaporated because though the sun's rays were swiftly heating the atmosphere, the humidity remained fairly high. We knew the prevailing winds that kept whipping about would soon reduce the humidity and absorb the rain's excess, and the heat would eventually build toward afternoon. It was a pleasant walk, in between the extremes; being caught out on the trails yesterday morning in one of the thunderstorms' downpours and being out on the trail today, sheltered from the sun by the green glow of the forest canopy.

We noted that honeysuckle berries are present, along with ripening wild cherries for the birds to take advantage of. We heard a juvenile hawk scream as it fled through the trees; presuming as we did that its parents were high above the canopy coasting on the wind, he would soon be fed. Blackberries are beginning to ripen, hard on the heels of the tiny red raspberries that my husband has been gathering to the avaricious delight of Jack and Jill.

Goldenrod is now beginning its bloom period, early this year, and even more surprising, fall asters can be seen in the woods with their own early buds prepared to flower far sooner than most years, this peculiar wildflower-blooming season.

We came across a trailwalker we know, a genial, pleasant man, with his equally mild-mannered German Pointer, an elegant canine if ever there was any question that such a breed existed. The Pointer had his own ideas of how best to enjoy a walk in the woods; apart from his natural colouration, and markings, he was sporting dark 'socks' he'd picked up racing through the muddy creek bottom.