Our local wildlife visitors got the shock of their lives yesterday afternoon. The delectable treats Irving sets out for them multiple times daily suddenly disappeared; no more Cheerios, cubed buttered toast and biscuits. A trip to our local feed and seed saw Irving bring home a 50-pound bag of fat, shelled peanuts. The initial reaction to the peanuts piled on the porch led us to think they would be rejected. Squirrels, chipmunks rejecting peanuts? In previous years they were prized. Has a less nutritious diet spoiled them?

Since then, they've adjusted. And the peanuts are going just as fast as the biscuits and Cheerios did. And they're not an edible that either Jackie nor Jillie will be likely to be interested in. So that's all to the good. It's also likely that some of the peanuts will be taken off to be stored; instinct to preserve for lean times is heavily instilled in all creatures, but one might expect it to be resorted to with the approach of leaner times; say Autumn, but evidently not necessarily so.

Today's a leisure day. After the grocery shopping and breakfast, time's our own, so to speak. So I spent awhile out in the backyard with the puppies, picking weeds. And pleased to see that the nasturtiums I had planted from seed here and there have a good start on their summer stay. The cosmos are doing just as well. And the later-planted sunflowers and asters are just beginning to peek through the soil. I moved a few zinnias that were being crowded out in one of the backyard garden beds into the front garden. Roses and clematis shrubs continue to bloom spectacularly. And I noticed, under one of the yew trees that a wild geranium had established itself and was sending out its tiny pink flowers.

Today's weather is nothing like yesterday's. Yesterday's suffocating heat and humidity was energy-draining. Today, after a cool night which gave us a great sleep, we were met with wind, and a dry cool high for the afternoon of 16C. It was cooler in the forest, where shelter from the afternoon sun is often a bonus on hot summer days. We needed light cotton jackets for comfort. The cooler weather clearly had a positive influence on the puppies; they dashed about into the forest interior after squirrels and following scents of intriguing allure.

We noticed that the elderberry trees growing alongside the creek banks are now beginning to go into bloom. Their fruit is highly popular with birds, although they could also be harvested for human consumption to make into jams and jellies. Red baneberry has progressed to the state where the berry clusters are becoming mature and beginning to take on their bright red colour.

When we returned home, as Irving and I drifted briefly around the garden, Jackie and Jillie made a beeline for the porch to check out the offerings, but more to the point, who might be there taking advantage of the offerings. We no longer have to be concerned they'll chase off whoever is there and start munching themselves, on what's there; peanuts don't appeal to them.