It is definitely not a good thing when people decide to bring a companion animal into their life and then find themselves unable or unwilling to fulfill all their obligations to providing the necessities of life for that animal. Exercise and opportunities to stave off boredom are as necessary to dogs, particularly young and large-breed dogs, as they are to humans.

When those whose responsibility it is to enable a dog to have the exercise it craves and needs, along with exposure to socializing situations and the opportunity when it is available to roam about in a natural outdoor, treed atmosphere fail to take advantage of it, this represents a failure of purpose. On the other hand, those people whose health is impaired and cannot walk their dogs, or those stressed for time and the inclination to give their pets those opportunities who recognize that lack and its consequences can always turn to the services of dog walkers.

Yesterday, during our afternoon ravine hike we came across a small herd of dogs we'd never before seen being walked by a cheerful young man. There were three fair-sized black-lab mixes and a black Dachshund . One of the lab mixes must have had some beagle in its genetic inheritance; it was only partially black; there was white in its coat and its back was of brindle/tortoiseshell colouration.

It was the friendliest of the quartet. Interested as they all were briefly, in our two little poodles, but more interested in being noticed by us. The oddly-coated one in particular, who seemed to take to my husband, enjoying being stroked. The expression in his eyes amply delivered the message that he appreciated the attention. And his eyes were striking; one brown the other perfectly white.

As we carried on after that brief little gathering, we passed a wild apple tree burdened with ripening apples, growing larger and more colourfully enticing by the day. This spring and summer's ample-to-excess rain events and more than adequate sun have ensured that a good crop ensues of these apples.

We also came across a large and very beautiful fungal growth beside a tree trunk, bursting into creamy colour with a scalloped shape amongst the plenitude of forest-floor greenery, yet another delightful discovery among the many we encounter each day of our woodland adventures under the sun-sheltering canopy of the forest. Mind, the shade wasn't as much appreciated as it would be on a typical hot summer day, since it wasn't hot and the wind on a cool 21-C degree day was brisk enough to make us feel the warmth of the sun would be welcome.