Evening and overnight rain events have been seemingly ceaseless this summer. Although, truth to tell we've had other summers where we can recall that no weekend was without its overcast, dull and thoroughly drizzled days. And another truth is that we've not only come to accept this steady theatre of rain, but appreciate it as well. At night, in bed, the sound of rain is soothing. And when there's also thunder it 's also dramatic in a pleasing way.

This morning we discovered more poplar leaves had drifted down to the forest floor. In deference to the just-stopped rain, fallen foliage has a habit of holding captured rain, cuplike and if you look closely and carefully enough, you can see the landscape mirrored in that minuscule puddle. The poplars are most definitely stepping up the tempo in turning pleasing colours and releasing those multi-coloured leaves to find new homes under their trunks on the forest floor instead of being perched high on the branches.

Our puppies were hungry this morning, so they were given some extra cheese treats before we made off for the ravine. Jackie had been under the weather and had missed his meals two days back, then his appetite revived and he left no doubt whatever that  he had fully recovered. Their messages can be pretty clear and to the point and it's not hard to figure out when hunger pangs stir.

Once we were on the forest outskirts among the soft-fruit-bearing shrubs, Jackie and Jillie hesitate before going on to descend into the ravine, given the routine that developed a month or so earlier, when they know my husband will begin plucking ripe berries for their delectation, and they await those treats with great expectation. Now, there are far fewer thimbleberries to be had, and the blackberries have taken over production.

It's always intriguing walking along a trail, looking right, left, ahead to ground level because you never know what you'll come across. Something unusual may be just beyond the trail but you hadn't spotted it before, and suddenly you do. Like the fallen  log that was playing host to a beautifully scalloped colony of fungi laid out over the decaying bark and hastening its decomposition.

Today turned out to be a busy morning. We left soon after cleaning up from breakfast to leave our puppies at the groomer's. Thanks to the warm and welcoming attitude of the experienced young women who work there at the spa attached to the veterinary hospital where we take our puppies, the stress they experience in separating from us appears manageable. They were left for an hour and a half, and we took that time to do our food shopping.

When we returned to pick them up we could hear their distinctive (to us) barks as we exited the vehicle, and as we walked alongside the little building housing the spa and passed one of the floor-to-ceiling windows  of what used to be a small examining room before conversion to a spa when a larger hospital was built beside it, there they were, excitedly watching us approach, barking welcome, and let's go home!

We did just that, ambling about the garden on our return, admiring the svelte appearance of two little black rascals, glad to be home again on a beautiful day, actually a Goldilocks type of day, not too hot, just comfortable, with a cooling breeze, absolutely perfect. And in consulting with the muse of the garden there was complete agreement, pointing us in the direction of one of the hibiscus shrubs that was blooming in full glory, a perfect metaphor for the day itself.