A bit warmer today, but since it's heavily overcast, even at 25 degrees, that oppressive heat of last week has dissipated. Rain held off all morning, though showers were in the forecast, with rain for the afternoon, but we were busy with plenty of things to be done, so it wasn't until noon that we set off for our ravine walk in the woods with Jackie and Jillie.

Every day does bring changes in the forest. For one thing, it is now abundantly obvious that the forest floor has absorbed quite a bit of the low-growing undergrowth of bracken, with large areas under the canopy standing free of the shrubby green that had once dominated, leaving only the carpet of decades' worth of fallen foliage and club mosses now visible.

And now, wind brings down leaves that are ready to leave their homes on deciduous twigs and branches in preparation for full fall. The litter of oak leaves and acorns brought down by squirrel predation continues; the entire atmosphere is one of expectancy, welcoming fall, bidding adieu to late summer.

As soon as we entered the ravine, light showers had begun. But since they were light, and the forest canopy yet remains in full coverage, we felt comfortable knowing we would be fairly well sheltered from the rain, and we were, throughout the course of our walk, just in excess of an hour.

We ambled along, seeing the remaining wildflowers; the pussytoes still look happily robust among the fall asters, and there was one quite notable dinner-plate-sized fungal shelf worth photographing along with the bright orange colony we'd seen earlier in the week, developing in size and fading in colour.

Which gave our puppies ample time to roam about and sniff to their hearts' content, and Jackie the opportunity to sporadically chase after squirrels, bounding over the interior forest floor in his eagerness to view up close what those little black-furred creatures (resembling himself) were all about.

At one point the rain picked up considerably and some heavy drops made their way through to fall on us, but by the time we exited the ravine toward our street at the conclusion of our walk, the rain had decreased in volume again, and we were fortunate enough not to have become drenched, particularly since our puppies would prefer not to be.