Rain again overnight on Tuesday, but when we woke in the morning the rain was over, although there were ample signs of a heavy downpour that stopped just briefly before dawn. Everything was well soaked. Which in terms of green growing things is positive. When we glanced out the front door first thing in the morning the garden looked content. And we're happy to note that it is still managing to put out fresh flowers, allowing us continued pleasure into the early fall.

We set out in late morning for our daily ravine walk, under purple-bruised clouds auguring more rain to come, but while we were out on the forest trails we were spared the discomfort of rainfall. It was only on our return after a long circuit on the forest trails that rain began again, sporadically and light, despite a high wind moving the threatening dark clouds over the landscape. From time to time there was a bare glimpse of blue sky and then the warmth of the sun shone through for as long as it would take for succeeding clouds to be blown into the blue space.

The forest floor was well rain-penetrated, dark and rich in colour and the smell of damp earth was evident as we moved through the forest interior. There were also patches of newly-emerged mushrooms at the foot of various tree trunks, large and well-shaped. There are so many different sizes, shapes, colours and textures of fungi that we come across on the forest floor and clinging to decaying tree trunks, it's quite fascinating.

We noted as well the march of colonies of fall asters this year far surpassing numbers we're accustomed to seeing in the fall. Asters too come in many sizes, shapes and varieties, from minuscule to large and well-presented in form and shading. The most common variety are those with plentiful blooms in a light shade of mauve and they're in the majority by far.

We're not yet seeing much in colour change in foliage, but it is impossible not to notice the constant rain of tiny desiccated particles of vegetable matter falling all about us from the forest canopy above  as we proceed along the trails; a rain of detritus more noted in some areas than others. It will only increase in volume as we move further into fall. The trails in some places are already well covered with fallen leaves and needles as trees begin to shed.

There is emerging colour, however, mostly immature maples and dogwood turning bright shades of orange and red. The champion early colour-changer is the sumacs of which there are ample throughout the forest understory. And although Virginia creeper is less in evidence than it was last year it too is beginning to bring bright red colour to the forest floor.

It was a cool day, much more so than the preceding days which had been in the mid-20s, whereas yesterday with its cold, brisk wind, struggled to reach 17C, and then rapidly declined with the clouds turning ever darker as they scurried over the skyscape.

Jackie and Jillie find keen interest in sniffing along everywhere we pass finding messages, obviously from other dogs that have been through the trails although we saw none throughout the time we were out. Jackie assiduously leaves his own calling card at signal spots and so frequently I can only wonder how he musters up all that marking fluid.

On return home, we took a brief opportunity before heading off to do our weekly grocery shopping, to navigate the trails in our garden, where everything appears in fine fettle, given the time of year.