Our neighbour Dan was around early this morning to let us know that part of the fence between us collapsed. It's over 30 years old, and has gone the way of all structures. He and his son Christopher will work together to replace the post that rotted through. They've got an in-ground swimming pool and the concern is that Jackie and Jillie not get through to their backyard, so Irving put up a few temporary barricades. Neither Jackie nor Jillie would voluntarily take a swim, unlike Button, our first little dog in this house who got through once when workmen were busy in Dan's backyard installing something and had opened a gate and left it open. Leaping into the pool was no problem, getting out of it was and she had to be rescued. Button adored water, at any opportunity if we were canoeing she'd leap into the lake, then scramble with my help back into the canoe.

It's Saturday and a true day of leisure for us. But who needs leisure at this point in our lives? We found plenty to do. Irving started off with replacing the fluorescent light in the basement 'recreation room' that had been out for about a year. One-half of the large room was well lit, the other dim, and it was hard to get used to. But now that we can access a hardware store, Irving's catching up on all kinds of little things that have to be done in the house.

We both decided we'd do some gardening today; nothing spectacular, just more or less routine tidying up. With an elderly garden of mature trees, shrubs, perennials, there is always the need to tidy up. First, though, Jackie and Jillie reminded us that they were expecting a turn in the ravine. And so off we went with them. Jackie had refused breakfast this morning as he sometimes does. But knowing Irving had treats with him once we entered the forest, he let it be known that he was anxious for a treat. 

As we walked up the street to the ravine entrance, the sky captured our attention on this cool day. The most beautiful wide-sweeping collection of puffy clouds interrupted here and there by the wind bursting the bubbles of clouds and sending them sweeping away, the blue sky backgrounding everything, the sun beaming its life-giving rays on the landscape.

Because it's the weekend there were people on bicycles, courteous and careful around walkers with dogs. The trails were still fairly empty of other hikers, though. Jackie and Jillie made contact with a Doodle-type breed, a distant cousin, much larger than they, but same colour and conformation. They had a brief chat with the obligatory self-introductory smellathon, promised to meet again same time same place another day and went their separate ways.

We noted that the Pilotweed is beginning to bloom now, alongside the banks of the creek. This year as never before that we can recall, vegetation has surpassed itself, growing larger, more prolific, flowering earlier than expected, and we see this both in the garden and in the forest. Usually we see very small fleabane plants with single or double flowers whereas this year the plants are numerous, rising to my own height in great bunches with dozens of flowers. They're the most charming little flowers like miniature daisies but mostly pale pink with yellow centres, unlike daisies.

Back home again Jackie and Jillie got their little afternoon salad of diced tomato, cucumber, bell pepper and snap peas, and Irving and I went outdoors to begin cutting back, tying up, deadheading. An hour and a half later, a time frame matching our rounds in the ravine, we were finished and ready to relax. I've decided to make a mushroom-potato cream soup for dinner today for a change, and we'll have sandwiches along with the soup, and cherries for dessert.