HANS

My dear friend and neighbour, Hans Densdorff died just over a month ago. He slipped away in his sleep leaving behind his beloved dogs and the rural property that he loved so much. A very lucky man in so many ways.

My collie and I still walk on his property -- I love it now for him. It will pass in time to someone else.

I long to visit his two German Shepherds who are in good hands with Ursula Hart's animal rescue. She and Hans were good friends and that was the arrangement, that the dogs would go to her if anything were to happen to Hans. I hope to be able eventually adopt Maggie, a long-haired German  Shepherd that Hans got a year ago.

LOOKING FOR ELDERBERRY BUSHES

There are no elderberry bushes on the properties on which I walk. I have finally learned to identify them -- easy to do right now because they are in conspicuous bloom -- they are common along roadsides. They seem to like damp, sunny spots and it is a puzzle why I can't find any in fields. There are several a short distance up my road. I look forward to following their progress and to the fall harvest.

The elderberry, or sambuchus, is renowned for its curative properties and makes an excellent 'wine'.

photo: Walking back from today's outing, I was struck by the elecampane just starting to bloom against a cluster of thistles.

STRAWBERRIES

I expected my strawberry crop to be a good one this summer, but expectations have been far exceeded. Normally squirrels, robins, and my Border Collie clean up after the first day or so, leaving me with a mere handful. The netting must have saved the crop -- it has a close weave that does not injure birds and so I felt free to use it.

I have never had such an abundant crop. Not only are they plentiful, but they are uniformly large and flavourful.

Manure followed by manure tea might have had something to do with it.

The last years have seen such poor yields that I had foolishly begun to think of the strawberries as a ground cover to be replaced by more productive plants.

THE NESTING ROBINS

The robins are now well into their second nesting after what was hopefully a successful first earlier in the season. The hen is reusing the very sturdy nest that she so carefully built this spring and she must surely be ready for the eggs to soon hatch. Tip and I protect her from various threats to her nest and its contents -- squirrels and blue jays visibly alarm her. The climbing hydrangea did not leaf out properly this year and consequently she is highly visible.

When I see her in the nest on her eggs, all is well with the world.

MOVING THE BEE HIVES

The bee hives have recently been moved from their previous location to a spot quite close to my property. No agri-chemicals in this area, so the bee-man thought they would do better relocated. He  lost most of his hives last winter -- of about six, I remember seeing early spring activity from only one or two hives.

He must have great confidence in the new location because now there are sixteen hives. They are directly on my path where Tip and I walk. I like bees and am not afraid of them but am reluctant to march through a dense crowd of bees flying to and from their hives. Consequently we detour around them. A slight inconvenience but I think that the array of hives beautifies the landscape and the perfume of the bee's wax when walking past makes it OK.

Another consequence is that the honey bee activity on my property has radically increased. Certain of my flowering plants have always attracted bumblebees, honey bees, and other pollinators. The bumble bees, which a few weeks ago were the main bee species in my garden, appear to have been displaced by the non-native honey bee.

2014 SPRING GARDEN

We have finally been getting rain after an extended dry period. I can stop worrying about the most critical things in the garden; these being recent transplants, fruiting strawberries, and garlic. I've grown garlic for many years but I have never seen as good a potential crop as this year.-- some of the greens are as thick as leeks. Am even dreaming about entering a few of the better bulbs in the Cookstown agricultural fair in the fall. The strawberry crop also promises to be a fine one. I have to battle squirrels, robins, and my Border Collie for that, however.

Robins and cardinals have done my property the high honour of nesting within it. The robins are in plain view on a ledge on my house and I can easily watch their progress. Of the two nestlings one was clearly more mature and it left the nest this afternoon -- flew away into the spruce forest. I am deeply worried about its smaller sibling still in the nest. The cardinal nest is insubstantial compared to that of the robins, but is so well hidden that I've yet to see what the nestlings look like. I was surprised to hear the female singing as she sat on her eggs.

The photo shows the tarp that I have as a boundary for the garden -- it not only keeps weeds away but also clears new garden space with little trouble. I was making compost tea in the barrel, but had to give that up when it began to generate far too many mosquitoes.

MORELS

 Engaging in a purely spring activity is a pure delight after our seemingly endless winter and morel hunting must surely be one of the most delightful. Finding the morels is good, but getting out into the back country to look for them is even better.

I began finding them last week and have been going out every few days. Yesterday was very productive... a new 'hot spot' where I'd never found them before. I am glad of that because areas where in previous years I could expect them, I found nothing. Another trip today -- on my bicycle and in a drizzling rain -- also produced nothing. Not to be regretted -- the outing was great.

Yesterday's mushrooms (I took only three of the perhaps twelve) were sauteed in butter, then cooked with eggs (from a neighbour's hens) and then eaten with wild leeks, or ramps.