Our two little black rascals became increasingly expectant and just a trifle agitated yesterday when our walk in the woods became delayed, and then delayed again. First off, we'd had heavy rain overnight, but there was a morning break when we came downstairs and took Jackie and Jillie out to the backyard. Even then it was slightly drizzling, and that drizzle soon became a downpour again.

The rain continued all morning and into the early afternoon. Too heavy to wear raingear and venture out under those circumstances. It would be all right for us, but those little fellows, though we have light and heavier rain jackets for them, they still get drenched and in cool weather their body core temperature drops when they're soaked, unlike what happens with large dog breeds.

Aside from which, though they're poodles, they view being wet with great distaste, particularly Jillie, and between them both, she's the more robust one, though Jackie may finally be outgrowing his puppyhood propensity to a constitution that verged on the delicate, becoming ill at the proverbial drop of a hat.

In any event, when in mid-afternoon the rain had stopped, my husband drove his truck over to Lowe's to pick up a new snow blower with one of our most dear of neighbours who was taking possession of it. So that took some time. And soon after that the neighbour's son whom we knew when he was three and is now approaching 30, came over to give me a hand with an irritating problem I was having with some software.

Finally, we were able to set off, and it was late afternoon. Jackie had been appealing constantly for attention, while I had been watching Imeren go through many of the motions I'd already attempted with that program on the new computer. I kept assuring him we'd go ... soon. And then soon became a reality which pleased him mightily.

The sky hosted at least three layers of cloud, the uppermost a universal pewter, and under that ceiling, a series of successively darker clouds, fast-moving under the influence of high winds. But we wore rainjackets and took along the puppies' rainjackets in our pockets. While we were in the forest intermittent light drops fell on us both off the soaked foliage and from within the atmosphere, but never developing into rain.

Making our way down the first of the hills on the forest trails we were surprised to recognize an overnight change in the forest, as astonishing at that was; overnight? Yes, the day before our eyes hadn't been greeted with an overall screen of foliage suddenly turned mellow yellow. And now, there they were -- certainly not all the deciduous trees but most definitely poplars.

We were all four of  us happy and grateful to be out there. The damp atmosphere and the saturated forest floor on a day not too cool was extremely pleasant, the air redolent with fall and the landscape an especial treat since the overcast quality lends a depth of colour to the forest that's breath-taking. And the bonus? The sky finally opening up to another downpour just moments after we returned home.