Ours is an urban forest of surprising softwood and hardwood diversity. The deciduous varieties seem endless, from oak and poplar, maple and ash (the ash and elm have been eclipsed because of species-specific disease that has taken its toll) and others such as hackberry, elderberry, ironwood, yellow and white birch, wild apple trees, bass, Saskatoon berry, (serviceberry), hawthorn, and others I've forgotten to mention. Among the conifers we've got hemlock, cedar, yew, spruce, fir and pines, some of them of considerable height and age.

It's all contained as part of a far-reaching ravined geology, which has protected the ravine and its adjoining, incorporated forest from urban development, leaving us a treasure of a natural setting to scrub our atmosphere clean and provide a haven for wild animals and birds, not to mention an inviting, serene and beautiful area for us to meander into on a daily basis, comprising our leisure-time exercise and exposure to the miracles of nature.

We're exceedingly fortunate we haven't far from our home, located adjacent one of the ravine entrances, to access this exceptionally treasured place of refuge. Our generations of companion pets have been equally fortunate to have this place to wander about in, alongside our own rambling through the many connected trails through the forest. They may take it for granted that this place exists for them to take pleasure in, we never do.

It's where both they and we meet others who value the setting for a variety of reasons. Some, because they are entranced with the vicissitudes of the natural setting, from the various aspects it presents seasonally and in response to weather conditions, along with the fascination of identifying a panoply of wildflowers that decorate the forest floor in their own seasons. Many others who use the forest trails simply for recreational purposes, and/or to walk their dogs take little note of these things, their interest is purely functional and they don't tend to venture very deeply into the ravined forest.

It's fair enough to venture the opinion that almost everyone, however, canines and humans, recognize the sensory sensations of the plushness of some of the trails piled with generations of leaf mass and needles, soft yet firm underfoot, the woodland fragrances, the elegance of the aesthetic pleasure taken in the landscape in its various guises. Something for everyone to value and take pleasure in, appreciating the opportunity given to us to deliver our senses now and again to nature.