At least there's no need to water the gardens. We've had a generosity of rainfall this past week, enough to do us for a while. The trails in the ravine are still drenched, though the puddles have been absorbed. And we woke to sunshine that was determined not to allow any clouds entry to the sky today. A full day of bright, warm sun to counteract the coolish 19C that prevails today. No complaints, it's just too perfect to find fault with.

It's the season to begin thinking of oncoming winter. Irving went downstairs to clean out the furnace and put in a fresh filter. Furnace and filter both clean before replacement. He earlier changed over from warm weather to cool weather garments for himself. And I did the same thing myself, packing away light tops in a large six-board chest he had made aeons ago. He's made quite a bit of furniture pieces in our home. As has our younger son who is a meticulous furniture-maker for a scientist.

So when that was done out we went to the ravine with Jackie and Jillie, anxious as usual to be off and knowing all the signals of imminent departure long before we're aware that there are any signals to interpret. Although we enjoyed our ravine circuits the last few days in light pattering rain, it's good to be out when the sun is also making its appearance, all the more so when the atmosphere has turned cool and a bracing breeze is present. 

For such an exceptionally beautiful day we saw very few other people out and about. When we first entered the ravine we did see a young family, parents and a little boy about six and his sister, likely four years of age. We spoke briefly recommending direction to them and off we went. Because it was such a lovely day, it's a bit of a mystery that there were so few people and dogs out. All too often on a Saturday that's the formula; shopping expeditions rank higher than forest excursions. Alternately there are Saturdays when the trails seem overused.

In some areas the bracken on the forest floor is being absorbed, foliage turning yellow and disappearing, while in others the vegetation remains crowded; all dependent on the type of forest plants that are being grown in any area; where conifers dominate the soil tends to be acid, inviting the presence of acid-tolerant plants and vice-versa.

Of the few dogs we did come across, there was a female standard poodle, black like Jackie and Jillie, who remembers Irving and behaves very affectionately toward him, as the giver of handouts. She, like so many of her breed, is quiet and well-behaved leading us to compare her carriage and behaviour with that of Jackie and Jillie -- altogether different. They're bumptious little clowns.

 We discovered that the wasp nest we've seen dangling from the end of a branch for months with its busy traffic of wasps in and out, is no more. I had an intuition we might find that to be si, as we approached the area where it hung, that the latest rainstorms and accompanying high winds might have produced that effect. It lies now, no longer occupied but for unsalvageable wasp larvae one would imagine, nestled where it fell onto a layer of drying grasses on the forest floor under the tree that held it.

And that is the area where we also noted a number of fungi colonies, mushrooms of a type we don't recall seeing before, in appearance precisely what egg yolks look like, glistening  yellow, perfectly round and gelatinous looking. One group after another. Not unexpected, given the amount of rain we've had lately and now that fall has arrived.

As we concluded our circuit long from our original ravine entrance, but approaching it from an alternate direction, there was that same family again with the two young children, the little boy excitedly informing us that he'd seen a snake. His little sister smiled shyly. It's hard to think of anything much better parents can do for their children than introduce them to nature in all its variables so that as adults they can be comfortable in natural surroundings.