And none too soon did we enjoy the very briefest of respites from the overpowering heat and humidity of the last week when cooler air prevailed and a cooling breeze with it. In fact it was considerably more than a breeze, for it was sufficiently strenuous to blow my husband's hat off his head more than once. But cool it was, when --  after only the day before, the last in a string of unremitting moist, hot air that seemed it would never dissipate -- we had hastened out again before breakfast to take our little dogs for a forested trail walk before the day's build-up of enervating conditions.

What a relief yesterday was. Suddenly we were rescued! Cool enough, though hard to credit, that we needed to cover our arms, since the thermometer barely read 22C, and the wind was businesslike-brisk, sending the tops of trees swaying like Hawaiian dancers.

We found, to our surprise, that the small elderberry trees that had established a presence down by the creek were in flower, their white blossoms luminous in the glare of the afternoon sun shining through a light cloud cover. Soon enough those flowers will be transformed to dangling red berries. A fast-growing little tree, we can see that others of its kind are also beginning their journey to adulthood alongside other parts of the creek nearby. None to be seen for years, then suddenly, spontaneously established; by the time we notice their presence, they're halfway to maturity!

We came across others out walking through the trails, happy to exchange wide smiles and thankfulness at the lifting of the heat. Being comfortable places everyone in a good mood. We had stopped briefly to pick some ripened tiny red raspberries to offer them to Jackie and Jillie, who love them, when along came some friends, and that feel-good condition lured us into such a long conversation our little mites standing patiently by, began to sniffle about on the forest floor beyond the trail, coming away with the tiny nettles that buttercups develop after flowering.

Which gave us all a bit of an opportunity to do penance, trying to remove the stubborn little prickly balls from silky hair, ensconced on legs, inside ears, under muzzle and stomach, irritating the little blighters no end. But not as annoyed as little Jackie became when we came across that six-month-old part bull mastiff, great Dane, bounding along the trail toward us, happy to see company and devoted to the concept of playing with other dogs. When the good-natured giant cornered Jackie for a greeting sniff, Jackie wanted nothing but to be rid of its presence.

So, have we been delivered from the hot, sticky, uncomfortable weather conditions that had us gasping for air all of last week? Not quite. Certainly there was yesterday, a lovely overcast and cool, windy day, but today the temperature has soared again under blue skies and a delightful breeze and though it felt decent enough to get some gardening chores done this morning, by  Monday, we've been alerted, we'll be back in 33C degrees once again.