Irving took the truck out for a run this afternoon while I was busy in the kitchen baking. He had a few errands to run and I knew he'd be gone a while. First off, another 50-lb bag of shelled peanuts so the longish drive to Ritchie's Feed & Seed was in order. And we needed a bag of kibble for Jackie and Jillie, the premium food out of Alberta. They must eat an equal weight of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, not to mention fresh cooked chicken. He also dropped by Loblaws to pick up one of their large cakes and had it decorated with Greg's name, as a thank-you for the splendid work he had done on the truck.

He told me later that it was worth getting the cake just to see their faces when he handed over the cake at their door. While I was home baking dessert for tonight's dinner, he was at the supermarket buying a commercial cake. He had said he wasn't interested in another fresh fruit pie; we've had berry pies up the ying-yang these past summer months. I don't know whether my alternative was a friendly rebuke or just incidental. He suggested some kind of cake. We ended up with banana-date crumble-top muffins. I had saved a couple of really, really ripe bananas for today's baking.

My husband likes to surprise people with edible gifts. Chocolates for the veterinarian staff at the vet clinic we go to, big cakes he brought to hospital staff when I had spent time in hospital and later when it was his turn. Something about food treats. Just like he takes such huge satisfaction in providing edible treats for the wildlife. I can never stop him, no matter what I say, how often I protest, from feeding Jackie and Jillie at the table.

And when we're out in the ravine he always has a bag of treats he carries along in a pouch to treat both our little guys and any other dogs that we happen to come across. Some of the larger ones just park themselves beside him patiently awaiting his attention from past experience. The littler dogs seem to be more persistent as though saying, 'hey, you've got more in there, let's have at them!'

We'd gone out early this morning to the ravine again. Another hot and muggy night. The fan going, the bedroom window wide open; a bit of a breeze wafting into the bedroom. Jackie and Jillie seemed more comfortable last night. The two nights previous they -- particularly JIllie -- were really restless. We slept right through a 5:00 a.m. downpour (a friend told us he'd heard it beating against the windows of his bedroom). But when we got up there was ample evidence of it with beaten-down vegetation, and a strong wind flushing the excess rain out of the trees.

We did our usual round of the trails, then extended it once again to visit at the forest pollinator garden. The jewelweed growing close to the creek on its lower banks had really been pummeled, some of the shrubs heavy with their bright-orange flowers had been beaten down, leaning into the creek and they'll never recover. The narrow path we take to the meadow is grown right in now, the grasses, ragweed, goldenrod and fleabane grown tall and thick, leaning into the narrow space and flicking our faces as we pass. Just as well the wild parsnip happens to grow alongside evening primrose a bit further off the pathway.

Small cabbage butterflies, hoverflies, wasps and bees are everywhere in the pollinator garden, it's what it was meant for, to encourage those pollinating winged insects and to expand their habitat. It's fascinating to see them flitting in and about and around the flowers, their activity a counterpoint to the serene atmosphere of the forest and the meadow. I take photographs compulsively, loving the colour and the texture and the architecture of the wildflowers. In the while, Irving busies himself picking blackberries and thimbleberries for Jackie and Jillie, who have already had their pre-breakfast fill of wild apples.