The constant, unremitting rain events that we have been receiving have certainly not been confined to this geographic area in which we live alone. Environment Canada reports that from the east coast to the west coast and central Canada as well, this vast country has been steeped in enough rain to present as a challenge to the ground to absorb it.

Communities built on flood plains, houses built alongside bodies of water, are all threatened. There have been mass evacuations in Quebec and Ontario. People's pride in living close to water where they can indulge their boating passions and admire their peerless views across a watery landscape are now ruing their choice.

And municipalities that threw intelligent caution to the winds by issuing building permits where none should be permitted, are themselves are now cursing their prior lack of common-sense caution. Remedial action is costly. Personnel reacting to emergency situations by packing sandbags in vulnerable areas, and rescuing people whose streets have been inundated with floodwater are now in evidence.

Householders are advised to trash any of their personal belongings that come in contact with floodwaters; everything from carpeting to mattresses, to drugs, or anything else that can harbour water-borne bacteria.

We're expecting, in our immediate region, another 30 to 50 mm of rain between Friday and Sunday, with a peak expecting around Sunday or Monday. We had another one-day break in the weather yesterday, with some sun and milder temperatures, allowing us to get out with our puppies for a nice long ravine ramble.

The remedial work on the ravine's dissolving hillside cannot commence when conditions are like this. It is more than evident that the three homes that were evacuated for cautionary-safety reasons will remain vacant for quite a while, until such time as the engineering firm assures the city that it is safe for the home-owners to return.

We were delighted to come across the first of the delicate, minuscule woodland violets; a tiny clump of white, another of mauve, joining the trout lilies and trilliums in giving us a bit of colour in the drab landscape. The coltsfoot are now in decline, so the emerging flowers of the violets are welcome indeed.