This past week has felt like a reunion of long-lost friends.

Our bluebirds moved back into the nesting box outside our dining room window, and yesterday, I watched as they defended their nest from a starling. My first impulse was to go help them, but as much as they may look like helpless eye-candy, they both very aggressively and successfully defended their nest. I cheered as the starling left, and now I know they clearly don’t need any help from me!

The robin is making a halfhearted attempt to build her nest once again on the transom over our front door. So far, she’s not added any mud, so all the twigs and straw she gathers slide off the ledge and end up in a pile on the porch floor. The builder in me wants to put up a shelf to help her out, but I’m sure she’ll eventually figure it out and I just need to let her be.

A finch has made a tiny teacup sized nest inside the wisteria vines that I never got around to pruning last fall. She made it with hay from our pasture and pieces of wool from the sheep shearing. It’s a fine home, and I’ll happily wait a bit longer – at least until her fledglings have left before I finally trim back the vines.

On a quick venture out to look for morels today, I hurried past the spot where the apricot-scented chanterelles never fail to pop up in the heat of summer. I greeted them as I walked by. “It’s just me” I said, “go back to sleep.”

Our massive volunteer asparagus plant is emerging from its usual rocky spot which, for whatever reason, it happily calls home. Garlic mustard is popping up everywhere, and our little patch of ramps is finally spreading. The comfrey outside the pig fence is filling in nicely and the honeybees are busy checking out everything that is now in bloom.

Welcome back my friends, I have missed you so!

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