Because it's a lovely sunny day and there was nothing urgent calling for our time and attention we decided to extend our daily ravine circuit today to access a different part of the forested ravine that we once visited often but in the last few years only infrequently.

And also to provide a little more stimulation for Jackie and Jillie, lest they become bored with seeing the same landscape on a daily basis. Our little Riley used to become bored, but these two little fellows don't seem to get that way, although Jackie has a tendency to want to investigate everywhere, going off on a tangent here and there.

Hawthorn in bloom

There was enough of a breeze to help keep the mosquitoes down. Yesterday's all-day rain no doubt gave the mosquito larvae extra encouragement to thrive, (there are still small boggy puddles on the forest floor that haven't yet dried up) and we'll have those results in a matter of days, but for now there weren't as many about as has become the usual. What has taken their place, however, is the sometimes-overwhelming rain of poplar seeds, whisked hither and yon on the breeze, their white fluff falling everywhere. Even, as one of our trail-walking friends commented, 'up his nostrils'.

Dogwood

In today's perambulations we saw at least several firsts for the season; the surprising presence of the first Buttercups, much too early yet for them to appear normally, but there they were. Not on 'our section' of the ravine, but over on the other side where there's more field than forest. Another first was the honeysuckles starting to bloom, white or pink tiny flowers; delicately lovely briefly and then they're gone.

Buttercups

The dogwood too are coming into bloom now, alongside the Hawthorns and the Apple trees, so there's a sweet fragrance wafting on the breeze as well, from all these flowerings, mostly resulting from the Apple trees.

Honeysuckle (pink)

The Lilies-of-the-Valley are also flowering in earnest now, those fragile, tiny bells finally appearing here and there scattered among the trees. So our trail walk was somewhat lengthier than usual, with additional focal points that drew our attention, making for another interesting commune with nature in her woodland landscape today!

Lilies-of-the-Valley