It’s August 5th, effin’ hot outside, and this is the scene in Rossdale. I don’t want to sound too incredulous…poplar leaves are always the first to shuffle off their mortal stems, but seriously man, I was being pelted by falling leaves. It was lovely, but premature. Like ice cream before the pasta.

A hot and steamy walk in the river valley on a sunny Friday afternoon, from the university area to Mill Creek, with the sounds of the Folk Fest wafting through the air the last twenty minutes. The weekend is full of promise. The promise of more boxes to pack for the move…but also the promise of some very pleasant weather, and hopefully a few leafy strolls in the woods, if time allows. There is a limit to how many boxes a person can pack in one day. In my case, it’s about three.

6:05PM/26C

I watched them. Five minutes, four crows, and not one of them could figure out how to turn on the water fountain. So much for that so-called corvid intelligence.

5:45PM/20C

A spectacular day. Not too terribly hot, but warm enough to feel like mid-summer. Could have gone to Heritage Days, but opted to stay in this part of the river valley where I know I can find shade and there are more dragonflies than humans. It’s not that I don’t enjoy watching hordes of sweaty people eating something unrecognizable off a stick, but I’ve been to the event many times and my days in Mill Creek are coming to an end, at least temporarily. Once I’ve had a snootful of Whitemud Creek, I’ll be back.

Walked over to Riverdale today, backwards to my usual route: Mill Creek, McKinney, Riverdale, McNally, 98 Ave path, Muttart, and then back to Mill Creek, instead of the other way around. I sure do love me some Riverdale. Such a quiet, comfortable neighbourhood,

with just the right amount of eccentricity. There are some crazy gardeners over there, which is awesome. Still a bit of construction near the Dawson Bridge, but it did not impede my progress.

Made a point of walking along the monkey path between the 98 Ave path and the Cloverdale Bridge. The river has really dropped in the last few days, and ‘Seagull Island’ has re-emerged from the depths of the mighty North Saskatchewan. Just a sprinkling of gulls on it’s shores, and not much squawking which was unusual.

About a two hour walk. Feeling a bit crispy. Not as crispy as something unrecognizable on a stick, however.

3:00PM/21C

Well, not really. Not yet. And it rained just yesterday. Today, however, it’s all about the blue sky and sunshine. Walked for two hours. I’ve been waking up…and staying up at 5:00AM lately, so all my usual Saturday chores were done by 10:00, and I was out on the trails by 11:00. I wrote a post last year about the stasis this time of year. Nuthin’ much happening because most plants and flowers have emerged from the earth and grown to their full, gorgeous potential. Except the sunflowers. And the magpies, not that they emerged out of the earth. Lots of short-tailed baby magpies squawking in the trees. Not much going on, in other words, but a feast of beauty. I’m sure the bees would say otherwise. They were out in huge numbers today feasting not on beauty but the of by-products of beauty.

The river and the creek are flowing with rust-tinted water. Not sure where the odd colouration originates, but I’m sure it has something to do with all the rain. By late July/early August, the river should be turning aquamarine, but it’s a strange sort of terra cotta and still pretty high, comparatively speaking. And Mill Creek is gushing like a spring version of itself. Normally, in mid-summer the creek is just a sliver of slow-moving murk, but not this summer. If I were a dog, I wouldn’t be dipping myself in Mill Creek unless I had a rope, and the promise of a delicious treat for my exertions. Most dogs appear to be saving themselves for the slower waters of south Mill Creek.

Took me awhile to get going today and I’m not quite sure why. Probably the heat, or the Strathcona Farmer’s Market tomato, fresh basil and veggie cream cheese multi-grain bagel I ate just prior to stepping out the door. I tried to stick to the shadier areas, but the sun was directly overhead for most of the walk. Still managed to do some stairs, and I felt much perkier after about a half hour outside.

1:05PM/23C

Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but compared to the chilly weather we’ve had lately, not too far a stretch. Stinkin’ hot, in other words, and not especially conducive to a long walk in the river valley with a heat-seeking backpack hanging off my shoulders. Yesterday, however, was gorgeous. No mosquitoes in the woods on a sunny Sunday afternoon, so I figured I’d live dangerously and walk on a sunny Monday afternoon without a layer of chemical deterrent on my skin. Bad mistake. The mozzies were out in their numbers by the Muttart. Even saw a guy spraying some foliage…so hoping to get some action (of the deet kind), I walked toward the truck and realized he was actually watering the plants. Watering_the_plants. I could hear the hostas weeping.

5:48PM/27C

…after the rain.

Also, a lot of worms.

On the good side, my new runners no longer look new. Long walk yesterday, short walk today. Love the sound of raindrops on my umbrella. Love the sound of raindrops on anything. I will take a rainy day 100% of the time over the intense heat plaguing the east. Toronto was 37C on Thursday. Brutal. Here? Lovely…comparatively speaking.

5:05PM/13C