Last evening while dental flossing after dinner, out come a filling. It's a filling put in between my two top front teeth. An old filling that has been replaced several times already. The last time only several months ago but the dentist had done a poor job, not adequately leaving a smooth gap between the two teeth, guaranteeing that dental floss would tug the filling out. Making a new appointment, a reminder given that I'd be charged for an 'emergency'. So when is my appointment? August 17, almost a month hence. Some emergency. 

 

With the prospect of an afternoon high of 31C, we decided to avoid the heated tongue of the afternoon wind and sun and go directly out before breakfast with Jackie and Jillie for an early morning tramp in the woods.The air was close and thick, heat already set in, but relief was to be had under the forest canopy. First off, Irving lingered in the dense green shrubbery to reach for ripe red thimbleberriess and Jackie and Jillie waited expectantly for treats.

 

While they were busy with the anticipation of sweet treats, I enjoyed visual treats. More of the Himalayan orchids are now coming into bloom, amongst the already-flowering thistles and the catching-up pilotweed, a symphony of pinks and yellows, since ample flowers continue to bloom on the  thimbleberry shrubs. They offer us the pleasure of their lovely pink flowers while at the same time invite us to pick their bright red berries; both stages entertaining us simultaneously.

 

 

It was a peaceful ramble through the woods with our puppies this morning. We happened to bump into an old friend, a young firefighter whom we've known for ages, first introduced to us by his mother. He has a new puppy, a rambunctious year-old Golden, beside itself with joy seeing us, the way he behaves with everyone he knows though he also knows that Irving has cookies with him. As we walked on together chatting about his son who is now also a year old, we bumped into, of all people, his mother out walking her own little dog, Angus.

 

 

Among other things we came across in the ravine was jewelweed beginning its flower. They're tiny, bright orange orchid-like flowers disproportionately small for the size of the plant they grow on. They love damp soil and full sun. There are few places in the forest where that can be guaranteed other than on the banks of the creek. 

 

 

What we also came across, to our dismay was the sight of Japanese beetles beetling away on the leaves of a thimbleberry shrub. Which means it shouldn't be long before the little beasts discover the rose bushes in our backyard and begin to harass our poor old corkscrew Hazel tree again. Its top branches have never recovered from previous years' infestations.

 

 

There weren't many others out this morning. For an obvious reason, since it was raining. When we left the house to head for the ravine, rain was pattering down in a light shower. Once we got into the forest the canopy kept us dry. And by the time we left much later, the rain had stopped. The street was quiet, no one around. It wasn't just hot, but steaming, and we hadn't yet reached the time of day when the heat would reach its zenith.

 

 

After breakfast Irving brought up his shop vac and set about emptying the Japanese court vase of its contents. It takes some imagination, or experience, to imagine that this huge porcelain vase might be full of detritus at its bulb portion. This is a piece of porcelain too ungainly, too heavy to simply pick up, turn over and shake out whatever is in it. Using a flashlight, Irving could see packing materials, styrene balls, bubblewrap, wood and dried leaves among other things. It took a while, but he managed to empty the vase of its unwanted contents.

 

And then he turned his attention to the Japanese stand that had accompanied the vase. We'd never seen one before. All the stands we'd seen have been Chinese in design and manufacture. The stand, like the vase itself, was old, and unlike the vase looked the poorer for wear. Heavily scratched, its finish dull with age. There is nothing in my experience with Irving, that he cannot repair, restore to its original condition. And he went down to his workshop to do just that with the stand.

 

I busied myself in the kitchen preparing chicken drumsticks for a barbecue dinner for tonight. One of the drumsticks will be set aside for Jackie and Jillie. Irving will 'fry' potato rounds on the burner portion of the barbecue that we've relied on for decades with its direct-link gas piping. Then I put together a fresh broccoli salad containing chopped fresh broccoli, green onion, shredded peach, and dried cranberries, with a little sweet-and-sour vinaigrette.