Once before, many years ago, when wildfires were burning the forests in northern Ontario, the burning haze spread far and wide and the air quality where we live was certainly affected by the resulting smog. Today, from morning forward, the odour of burning wood hung on the atmosphere. Particulate matter from smoke rising from wildfires burning forests in northern Ontario and west Quebec has moved with the wind, polluting the atmosphere in a wide radius, including our region.

There's the lightest of grey haze, nowhere near what I can recall some 25 years ago, when the haze was well defined and medium-gray, hanging in the sky in clouds of drifting smoke. We've had hours of sun interspersed with cloudy skies throughout the day.

Because it's been a busy day for us, it was late by the time we prepared Jackie and Jillie for their afternoon hike through the forest trails. The walk through the trails was pleasant in and of itself, it always is. Other than the poor air quality outside the forest environs, making our way through the trails we imagined that the air quality was improved in the forest, given its capacity to absorb smog. There was the faintest appearance of a light grey haze even though the odour of burning wood was quite emphatic.

Each day the forest has something new and different to share with us. Today, we saw daisies in bloom for the first time as we approached the forest's pollinating meadow. There's also plenty of milkweed,though nothing yet in flower. The understory dogwood shrubs large and small are flaunting their flower panicles.