Clear skies, an overheated atmosphere with the sun lording it over the landscape, and a good brisk wind to cool us down. If this isn't as close to perfection, it's hard to imagine what is. There are some casualties, however. The discovery under one of the large spruce trees at the very front of the lawn and garden, of a tiny, perfectly formed bird nest. Empty of its former nestlings. No sight anywhere around in the garden of any tiny birds having been rudely swept out of the spruce by hefty wind gusts. Just the woeful looking tiny nest.

We can expect very warm temperatures for this week; today up to 28C, by Monday 34C, so that's a challenge. Means we'll likely be leaving the house for our daily hikes through the ravine early morning, not midafternoon. And light meals. Like the potato salad we had last night for dinner. It went down very well with lots of hot tea.

I could have skipped baking this morning. Usually on Friday we end the week to enter the week-end with a little more elaborate meal, including a baked dessert. But because berries are  now coming in from Mexico and the southern U.S. in generous portions, I thought why not a blueberry pie. A baked goody, to be sure, but also fresh fruit, and blueberries are so good. So a blueberry tart it was.

We keep hearing more about the intention of the Ontario government to ensure that all its over-80s be fully vaccinated. In fact, this morning on the news came the invitation to those over 70 to begin registering for their second dose of vaccine. Our early-week attempt to register for an earlier inoculation of our second dose than mid-July had failed when we were informed that due to a shortage of vaccines evidently specific to Ottawa, no appointments could be made.

That was supposed to have changed, with medical authorities urging people to proceed with making appointments. When Irving called this morning, he was transferred to a number by an automatic system that connected him with someone who was tasked with making appointments. What met his ear was a recorded explanation that the person at the other end was on two weeks' holiday and wouldn't return until 22 June. 

He called again, and this time spoke to a woman whose accent was so thick he was hard put to understand what she was saying. She tried to slot us in to an appointment for July 1, Canada's big 'birthday' holiday; not too attractive an option; no slots were available in our own area, this would have to be at city hall, where doubtless celebratory (distanced) events would be on view.

He called a third time, spoke with another person who found an opening for us the following day. At first the slots were several hours apart, and then this helpful individual found two slots together early morning, again at city hall. So we'll end up having our second dose only two weeks before our originally scheduled second dose, two months after our first dose.

After that rigamarole we thought we could use some fresh air to clear our heads of any irritation we felt over the inability of public health authorities to manage the situation a little more expeditiously and efficiently. This, at a time when we're being warned that the South African variant is beginning to dominate cases in this area. With the added bit of information that the first dose of Pfizer BioNTech is only 33 percent effective with this variant, but with the second is boosted up to 88 percent.

So off we went with Jackie and Jillie to the ravine. Before we even dipped down into the ravine, on the threshold of the forest our eyes alighted on a clump of columbine in full flower that we hadn't before seen. And not far from it, with full sun exposure, thimbleberries have taken over among the alfalfa and clover and understory dogwood, and to our surprise there were a few thimbleberry blossoms already in evidence.

We had praised yesterday's weather to the skies -- literally -- but today was even more pleasant, making for an absolutely perfect tramp through the woods. On such an utterly beautiful day, the wind relieving the heat, a pause in the humidity, and full illumination from the sun sending its rays through gaps in the forest canopy, it was the perfect place to be to restore our mental health. And we had it all to ourselves.

In the hour-and-a-half that it took for us to hike uphill and down over a network of trails, we came across no one else. And then, at the second-to-last bridge before climbing up to street level again, there was a couple approaching the bridge from the opposite direction. Jackie and Jillie were already halfway  the bridge, and we were several feet along it, when the couple picked up their pace and entered the bridge. We backed up, to wait until they had cleared the bridge, to our little dogs' confusion. 

Most people who use the trails observe a civil etiquette code, this couple evidently had no use for it.  This was a rare occasion when I passed someone on a trail, entering the bridge as they left it, without acknowledging their presence. Needless to say some people, certainly not many, appreciate their presence being ignored. Well, then, so much for a good mood. Restored quickly on our return home, all four of us taking brief leisure in the garden, cheered by the presence of healthy, robust plants offering colour, texture and form to please the eye.