Today was a wee bit of a marathon. But, everything got done. All to the good. I've had to take up the slack a bit this week, since Irving is suffering through a bout of gout.  Who ever could imagine? He doesn't overindulge in anything, from food to alcohol. He eats sparingly in fact, and consumes no alcohol although at one time he enjoyed wine with dinner. But there it was, sprung on him suddenly in the middle of the night a week ago. He's slowly recovering. 

In the meantime, I've been doing some of his daily routines. I wanted to get out and cut the grass in the backyard because Miss Jillie absolutely detests long grass, and won't venture out onto it even to pee. I prefer using a push mower, and we've got one, stashed in the larger of our two garden sheds but it was a struggle to move it out from behind other things, like the electric mower, wheelbarrow, etc. Both Jackie and Jillie get a little ferocious when they see me with something they're not familiar with. So into the house they went, and I set about mowing the grass.

Then it was their turn, to be taken out to the ravine for their daily hike. I don't enjoy the trails, walking through the forest without Irving beside me. And fact is, neither do Jackie and Jillie. Jillie in particular keeps stopping and looking back waiting for Irving to catch up. They're both subdued, quite unlike themselves when he's not around with us. For my part, I have the camera along to snap photos of anything unusual, or that draws my attention for any reason.

And so I keep discovering new little patches of Jack-in-the-Pulpits making their way out of the leaf mass. The trout lilies are finished flowering for this year. We'll see them again next spring, just like the coltsfoot. Nicely enough the trilliums continue to bloom for a little longer.

And then I realized that the wild cherry trees in the forest have also gone into bloom. I hadn't thought about them, and then I suddenly encountered a few, with dangling sprays of blossoms. There is always so much to discover in the forest. Accompanied by birdsong my eyes wander everywhere, from noting what the puppies are up to, to realizing that other vegetation is bursting forth as spring matures.

It's been a much cooler day, at times sunny at other times heavily overcast, threatening rain. I wondered, actually, if I'd be able to get through a circuit with the puppies before the rain began, and we did manage to. The wind is beyond bracing, it made the cooler temperatures feel much cooler, although we were walking briskly around, generating our own heat. When we reached the creek toward the final lap of our circuit, there was the Mallard drake, seated contemplatively on a rock, midstream.

Almost as soon as we got back, we departed again. To do the weekly food shopping. This time Jackie and Jillie accompanied us. To sit in the car with Irving, who  hadn't planned to come into the store with me, given the difficulty he's still experiencing walking about. For some odd reason, the supermarket was busier than I've ever seen it, just packed with people. So I kind of dashed through the aisles picking up what I wanted, to be out again as soon as possible. By the time I exited, it was raining heavily. As soon as I entered the store, Irving said, the clouds had opened.

Once everything was put away at home, it was time to get out again. This time to the veterinarian clinic a short drive from home for Jackie's and Jillie's annual physical. And to pick up heartworm and tick parasite medication. The waiting room at the clinic was also full of people and their dogs. Every one of those dogs wanting desperately to leave and go back home.

During the examination both our pups were declared physically fit, in excellent shape. With one bit of news we hadn't heard before; a slight heart murmur for Jillie; low on the scale, but a surprise. Previous exams never alerted us to this kind of condition. Jillie had lost weight and that was to the good, and Jackie is maintaining his weight, less than Jillie's, though he eats more than she does.

So, that all got done in a busy day. A day that gave us some surprises in the garden, as well. A garden that is finally resembling itself. No little thanks to the bright, cheery presence of the tulips standing erect and colourful. And the flowering crab trees, two Sargentii crab trees planted close to the Magnolia, and on the opposite side, by the driveway, a weeping Jade crabapple, suddenly in full bloom.