With scant overnight relief from the mid-summer heat wave that has settled into the atmosphere we decided to embark on our day's walk in the woods with our little dogs somewhat earlier than usual, that we would have our breakfast on our return back home, this day.

As soon as we emerged from the house it was clear that this was a fairly good idea, since the hovering heat even in the early morning hours was impressively oppressive. A bit of a breeze was useful, but walking up the street to the ravine entrance informed us that anyone who decided for a walk around the block, on the street, would find it a very uncomfortable recreational event for the next few days.

As soon as we dipped into the ravine there was a decided change in the ambient air quality. Of course the green canopy above is sufficiently dense to block the sun's warming rays. And the deeper one inclines into the ravine the cooler it tends to be. But, under these circumstances 'cooler' is quite relative, not to be confused with the kind of cool one experiences on an early fall day or within an air-conditioned interior.

We came across no other trail walkers this morning. Although for us it was early, since we embarked on our roundabout at half-past eight, many people are accustomed, even in retirement, to rising at the same early hour they did when they were in the workforce. We tend to hie ourselves off to bed late in the evening, and consequently sleep in later in the morning.

At that earlier hour the sun's position is obviously quite different than where it is in the afternoon and the environment takes on a bit of a different perspective with light portions appearing in areas that are usually in shade. We also decided to take our circuit from the opposite direction, so we went, as it were, backward and certainly viewing the landscape from the opposite direction is also different.

We did come across two lone runners, both at the start and near the finish of our hour-and-a-half ramble. In the ravine, we heard the twitter of chickadees and nuthatches, and the song of robins heralding another day with joyful approval.

By the time we returned home we felt not warm, but most definitely hot, with  perspiration dampening our light clothing in the high humidity that typifies the Ottawa Valley, clear blue sky or not. Perhaps we would have been better off delaying our shower until our return home, as well as our breakfast.