There are some mornings when the will and urgency to emerge from the comfort of bed is simply absent. The conditions have to be just so, to elicit that willingness to remain under the light weight of a bedsheet, sprawled on a nice firm mattress, companion by your side, and this was one of those mornings. At seven, our puppies emoted their concern over rolling thunder penetrating the bedroom. Their barking is more of a challenge than an obvious emotion of fear and/or distress.

They're not as appreciative as we are of the feelings that can overcome one under those circumstances; abed early morning in the muted morning light of a cloud-crowded sky with thunder and lightning roiling the atmosphere. To them the sounds and the sensations evoked are simply unusual enough at their tender age that they are suspicious, unlike we two who have experienced the phenomenon over a lifetime.

With the day certain to progress to one of extreme heat to accompany the high humidity, we planned as usual to embark on our day's ravine walk as early as possible. When we did exit the house it was still relatively cool, though the sun was trying to evade the cloud cover and it did emerge briefly, though its presence didn't fool us. We wore light rainjackets and pocketed the same for Jack and Jill, and set off.

Annoyingly, the sun did shine briefly, transferring heat at a time when it wasn't appreciated, but even as the sun managed to mount its perch in the sky, the clearing was brief and rolling thunder accompanied us as we proceeded through the forested trails. We knew we wouldn't get through our walk in a dry state. The trees were dripping from a series of previous inundations. At one juncture we passed two men, obviously father and mature son walking five hounds and a bull mastiff. Which caused a bit of excitement for our two black furry gnomes. Who seem in fits of foolhardiness to subscribe to the death wish: 'bring them on!'

Wishing one another luck in out-treading the storm whose reverberations we could feel as the thunder pealed out, it didn't take much longer for the sky to unleash what it was promising, and down it came. We fitted Jack and Jill out with their raincoats and moved under the paltry shelter of a few trees; when you're in a forest you are surrounded by trees of different girths; lightning has ample choice in those circumstances, why would it select a particular tree you're sheltering under?

At this point we were holding the two puppies as rain pelted down in huge gobs. But thunderstorms are typically brief, and this one didn't last all that long, so soon enough we were on our way again, none the worse for wear. And as we proceeded, new prolonged rolls of thunder proceeded to pass overhead, promising more to come. We suspect that this will be the pattern for the day.