Cold nights call for a change in bedding, so out with the cotton sheets to bring back the flannel sets for comfort. I had already begun dressing our bed for colder weather two weeks ago when we were flirting with night-time frost temperatures, and then an unprecedentedly warm spell intervened and it was instantly back to cooling cotton sheets. That was a sensible change in response to the heat, but then the weather boomeranged calling for yet another response.

I've been slowly and gradually tackling deconstruction of the garden in preparation for late fall and impending winter. It takes a long, long time before everything is done. From cutting back perennials to pulling out spent annuals, emptying all our many garden pots of plants and then soil, putting away gardening tools and garden furniture, covering the air conditioner and the barbecue, preparing the snow blower for use at a time whose unexpected appearance of snow will necessitate its use.

An annual ritual. One that doesn't get any easier. When we're in the throes of welcoming spring we tend to get a little carried away, a bit too ambitious about what we're adding to the garden. Incrementally, it means more work is added at the other end of the spectrum and cleaning up in anticipation of winter's arrival becomes just a bit more complex.

We saw some early morning sun to encourage us to get out of bed. Not that Jackie and Jillie don't add their efforts to that morning ritual. They're quiet and sleepy when we first awake, then before long our talking together inspires them to leap about the bed in expectation of being thoroughly and continually body-rubbed. Once that gets a little stale we're more than ready to extricate ourselves from the bed covers.

This morning I decided we'd have Chelsea buns for a treat for today's dessert. Which means that I put together two bread doughs; one a sweet dough meant for the Chelsea buns, the other a plain bread dough that I'll use on Sunday to make croissants to accompany another comfort food; hot, aromatic soup for dinner. Since the dough has to rise the first time before it's rolled out and filled, it was a priority. But soon enough it was ready to be baked.

I left it to cool before turning it out of the baking dish and we left for our afternoon ravine walk on what turned out to be a heavily clouded day after all. Overcast, cool and windy. Since everyone was dressed for the cold, we were more than comfortable as we tramped through the woods, appreciating each and every day how we notice more colour appearing in the forest canopy, and certainly more of that colourful canopy drifting down to the forest floor.