This family of ours -- two (senior) adults and two (very small) dogs -- certainly goes through a lot of eggs in our weekly diet. I wonder whether that's uncommon or just about average. In that we usually use roughly two dozen eggs on a weekly basis. Not hard to do with one of us having two eggs usually for breakfast, and the two little dogs share an egg between them, scrambled or chopped hard-boiled most mornings.

Today alone I used a total of five eggs on a day when we had oatmeal for breakfast and Jackie and Jillie shared a scrambled egg between them following their kibble breakfast. Another two eggs went into the filling for a half-dozen butter (raisin) tarts. And then another one was used in the coating alongside seasoned breadcrumbs in preparing skinned, deboned chicken. Finally, the last egg was used in the making of a potato pudding to accompany the chicken.

In this kitchen eggs are versatile and nutritious and have so many uses I cannot imagine what I'd do without them. True, I'm not all that fond of them myself, the smell of a hard-boiled egg interior repulses me. I will enjoy a fried egg as long as it's slathered with aged cheddar cheese. But I recognize its sterling qualities for a multitude of uses.

Another gloomy day, heavily overcast, but mild. Still, we were surprised when heavy rain came down for hours all morning and into the afternoon. After a rain event that began last evening and went on through the night-time hours. In another month all that precipitation will come down as snow. We'll be delighted at first, enjoying the sight of snow covering everything, but eventually it'll seem tiresome, the constant shovelling and having to dress for the season -- not only for us but for the puppies.

We'll graduate to winter coats for them, and little rubber boots so their tiny  tender pads can withstand the ice and the extreme cold that will eventuate. The forest will be a landscape of glowing beauty and we'll appreciate that no end. But we will also have to begin wearing ice-cleats to keep from slipping and sliding on  trails turned treacherous. All that in good time. Often in mid- to late- November we'll have had our first serious snowfall of the season.

Meanwhile, today was absolutely balmy, and when the rain finally stopped out we went to the forest. Where the deciduous trees have begun to look awfully bare. Colour is still fresh on the fallen leaves but they're turning that indeterminate dirty-dark-grey already. November will be a month of drab landscapes until the snow begins to fly.

In the garden, still awaiting the final late-fall clean-up, annuals are still defying the season; mostly begonias thriving despite the inclemency of the weather. Their bright floral faces never fail to excite our senses.