We were skunked, so to speak, yesterday. Not one bit of an opportunity to get out for a walk, the rain too emphatic, too incessant, and so we stewed at home. Jackie and Jillie went out to the backyard when it was necessary. Jackie's fine with going out in the rain, Jillie will do just about anything to avoid getting her dainty little feet wet; she detests wet grass. So she'll stay indoors until her bladder begins to creak with the effort of keeping it all in.

As for us, other duties called, and we went off to do the grocery shopping. It was one of those truly gloomy weather days. Wind aplenty to move the rain about, and the temperature sticking at 3C. We always have lots to do, it isn't as though we're bored, but there's something valuable missing to the day when we can't get to amble along in nature's bosom.

Today? Different story. No rain in the morning, but it would revisit in the afternoon, so as soon as we had breakfast off we went to the ravine. It's simply amazing what a forest floor can absorb; we don't think of it being like a thirsty sponge, but it certainly acts like one. True, the trails were drenched but in most cases also covered with a thick layer of foliage so we weren't trodding on muck for the most part.

It soon became evident that we weren't the only ones taking advantage of a lull in the persistent rains. Just as we were about to descend into the ravine up came an old friend walking his beautiful liver-spotted wire-haired pointer. A genial but aloof dog with a genial and personable man. The kind of dog whose conformation is so perfect it's like watching a living poem to see him in motion.

Soon afterward, another meeting, this time with another old friend who has two terrier-mix companions, One of them is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning. And our friend is nervous about it, though it's nothing all that serious. But surgery is surgery and there will be weeks of recovery. The two terriers are bursting with energy and good-natured to a fault, always happy to see us. That we carry little treats might have something to do with that.

Dogs have an unerring capacity to sniff out who carries good things to eat. Even dogs you've never seen before will often become very cozy with you, a complete stranger, edging ever closer to the pocket where your goodies are kept. I've known some to nudge open those pockets in search of the treasure. We came across another little terrier, a Scottie named Pax, and although we'd never seen him but once before, he became very chummy and insistent with me, sniffing out the doggy treats in my pocket.

Our walk was beyond pleasant, made all the more enjoyable for all of us, and certainly Jackie and Jillie, coming across friends they could briefly romp about with. The abbreviated enjoyment we took coming out every day for the past month and admiring the vibrancy of the fall landscape is over for another year, unfortunately.

Yesterday's rain, following on weeks of the same, and a good stiff wind finally nudged all of the foliage from their perches on the trees that grew them. And nor are the leaves piled high on the forest floor still brilliant with colour; they've turned once again, from their kaleidoscopic mix of fall colours to the drab, wasted look of past-their-prime.

On our return home we had things to do outside, and began raking up leaves off the lawns again, and emptying the soil out of the garden pots that hadn't already been done. And then, when we were almost finished, down came the rain.