Suzanne was the last person we saw before leaving the ravine this morning. She was doing her usual morning Tai Chi routine. It's usually relatively private and that's what she seeks out. I can remember when we were living in Atlanta, walking in a public park and seeing an elderly Chinese woman whose grace and finesse was beyond admirable, not caring who saw her as she went through a graceful, intricate set of movements. Suzanne's are not of the same exquisite calibre, but she's concerned for good health and at her age, we can use all the help we can get. She told me once she aspires as she meanders into her elder years, to look and move as easefully as I do. Perhaps that's because I've never been loathe to do physical work and have always craved being within nature.

 

And so do a lot of other people. As could be evidenced from our decision early this morning to await other things and head straight out into the forest with Jackie and Jillie. A cool morning, but under clear blue skies the sun was warming the atmosphere nicely. When they realized we were getting set for an outdoor excursion, Jackie and Jillie burst into the kind of applause that tells us they're happy; racing madly about. And this time both headed straight for the laundry/mud room to be fitted with their halters and collars, a highly unusual display of docility and expectation not often seen by us.

 

The street was deserted as we made our way up to the ravine entrance, but it didn't take long before we began coming across others out with their dogs. In all our years making the most of the ravined forest we've never before seen the number of people who now recognize its presence and take advantage of it. If they're with companion dogs they usually greet others they pass. But not necessarily younger people, sometimes accompanied by truculently reluctant children, and frequently carrying take-out containers of Tim Horton's coffee.

 

Even so, there are long stretches of forest trail where we see no one else, and though we don't mind encountering other people, we're grateful there are still areas where others are loathe to enter. So we do in fact, enjoy times of serene peacefulness, away from the madding crowd, as it were. Without distractions we see the daily changes in the ravine, the wild apples beginning to appear as tiny green peas, the burgeoning of ferns, the size of the ostrich ferns taking our notice, the ripening of the hazelnuts and other features that draw our eyes.

 

By the time we returned home, blue sky had been obscured by swiftly oncoming cloud formations. So we were able to view the garden's little hidden landscapes without the early morning sun's glare. Lilies are now beginning to intrude on the roses' time of glory. And though some of the roses are beginning to fade, others are just coming into their stride. The ritual of the garden tour following the forest tramp has become familiar to Jackie and Jillie; they join us in our brief journey of admiration for the garden denizens.