It looked like imminent rain, it smelled like rain, it felt like rain in the overheated atmosphere with its sky-high humidity rating. But the forecast was unequivocal; afternoon rain, So we took ourselves off to the ravine with Jackie and Jillie first thing in the morning. A cooling-off shower would be perfect on our return back home, and breakfast could wait. Jackie and Jillie ate some cheese to hold them over, and when we got to the trailhead for the ravine, they clamoured for cookies. There are two spots where they know they can demand cookies; as we enter the ravine and when we reach the trail opposite the creek on our first descent.

Irving always obliges, even though during the course of our hour-and-a-half tramp through the woodland trails, we're likely to come across other acquaintance-dogs who always seat themselves politely (well, almost always) in front of him awaiting their share of the day's goodies. And of course each time another dog comes along, Jackie and Jillie get more of their 'share' as well.

The forest was absolutely soaked from yesterday afternoon's thunderstorm. Thunder had sounded and rain came pelting down just as soon as I had finished my gardening for the afternoon yesterday. Today, the parched forest looked well irrigated. Although the ground wasn't spongy underfoot, you could feel even though boots, that it was thoroughly wet. And that should fix the cracks we've seen opening on the forest floor. The foliage had dried overnight and was bright and gleaming, even in the absence of sun.

The sky was completely clouded over, some of the clouds giving fair warning of what was yet to come in the course of the day. Which left us vaguely wondering, would we be caught out today? We seem, for the most part, to escape the discomfort of being inundated by fierce rain events in those times we're in the ravine and rain is forecasted. Invariably, we have the much-appreciated good luck to escape the rain; it conscientiously holds off until we've reached home.

Everything looks as though it's picked up, growth accelerated from yesterday's rain. Although there weren't many, we could see that some of the cherry trees were showing off their red cherries. And the privet trees/shrubs'' berries had turned gleaming black. The hazelnut shrubs have matured nicely, their ripening nuts reaching a good size, but a long way yet to their final stage. At which time the neighbourhood squirrels will make quick work of them.

The magnificent form of a vizsla raced past us at one point, swivelled around and came directly back to us. A truly graceful, lithe, muscular conformation, the friendliest of dogs, familiar with Irving's role in life; to hand out cookies to all the deserving dogs that smell, hear and identify his presence on the trails. 

More of the jewelweed flowers are beginning to show themselves, and I make an effort, as usual, to catch their shape and colour, and as usual, come away with little for the effort. They are defiantly unphotogenic, unlike the more brazen and somewhat larger Himalayan orchids. 

And then, before we know it, we've completed the circuit and head back up the last long hill toward home, where we sit for a while in the garden, enjoying the serene atmosphere and Jackie and Jillie poke about here and there. We did beat the rain, after all. In fact, while we were out the sun made a tentative appearance relaxing our concern of being caught out in the rain.

It was shortly after we had dawdled endlessly over breakfast and begun to clear away the table, when rain began to come down. Expected, by then, because the house had turned dark, then darker and darker yet. And so, it rained all afternoon. I had watered the garden pots yesterday to make certain they wouldn't be drying out in the endless hot wind gusts.

At this point in summer when the plants have grown in decisively and thickly in the garden pots, very little rain, even when it's raining heavily, makes it into the pot itself. Only the top of the plants become wet, moisture doesn't penetrate below. But for the garden itself these almost daily heavy rain events is an absolute plus, alternating with the ferocious heat of the sun.