For the past month at least, we've been enjoying extraordinarily benevolent weather. Ample warmth and sunlight, a little low on rainshowers, and modest wind. A combination that has suited us very well, and which has found favour in the obvious opinion of all of nature's vegetation. Everything has grown generously in proportion, flowering and edible production. Of course, part of that is attributable to the fact that August was an extremely rain-prone month, since we were getting rainshowers and thunderstorms on a daily basis.

 

 

The rain didn't disaccommodate us the least bit, and it enabled plants to gain a good grip, as did ample rain in the spring. The result has been generous harvests throughout summer of soft fruits and later, apples. It's also meant that some plants have gone slightly rogue, especially ground-cover varieties, and they've taken to shoving aside other more orderly plants that don't covet space assigned to others.

 

 

This morning started out warm and night-time temperatures last night didn't fall steeply as they have lately. It didn't take long for the rest of the day to warm  up steeply, and clear skies ensured it would seem even warmer than the projected high of 24C. Because it always seems a little cooler in the shade of the forest canopy we generally dress for that, when we go out for our ravine hikes with Jackie and Jillie. As it turned out, we'd have been better off with short-sleeved tops. It took no time at all for us to realize we were getting warm, and warmer.

 

The first dog that came along to greet us, a well-received acquaintance, was panting wildly from his effort of leaping across from one trail to another to track us down, thanks to Jillie's vocal invitations. Once he received  his assigned two cookies, he dove directly for the creek's cooling water. Which was fine, given that I'd looked in anticipation of seeing the heron in that spot where we'd seen it yesterday, but it was all-clear.

 

We did note that despite how warm it has been, the forest is beginning to show some colour. We've also seen now and again, pine cones in pieces; they'd been carefully picked apart by squirrels accessing their seeds, an annual treat for small wildlife in the forest. Usually the cones are laid down on a flat surface, a rock, an elevated surface of some time, and then disassembled. Looking  up at the crowns of the forest pines it's easy to make out plenty of pine cones waiting to fall. It'll be a fine year for wildlife. Oddly, this year spruce trees haven't produced many of their cones.

 

When we returned home, both of us had ideas of working in the garden. Irving decided to trim some of the branches of the weeping Jade crabapple along with a few other trees which had grown spectacularly the past few years. I meant to do some initial fall cleanup, so we both did our thing, and I collaborated with Irving as well, to clear away the branches, cutting them into smaller pieces and bagging them for compost pickup Tuesday morning.

 

We had changed into lighter -- actually summer  clothing for the tasks we set for ourselves, but even so by the time we were finished a few hours later, we were really warm from the effort and energy expended. And from the satisfaction felt in doing these things rather than procrastinating as would be our usual wont on such a lovely day.