We have an astonishing crop of dandelions this year. The yellow of them vibrates. In all of these 18 acres, we don't have anywhere we call a lawn, so the dandelions are as welcome as the little blue flowers that pop up everywhere. If anything around here needs to be cut, it's called "the grass", and we don't put any expectations on it. . All the rest is as wild as it wants to be.

When we first moved in, we created something we called the Japanese Garden in the middle of the circular drive. It was all controlled and cultivated and filled with rock that needed to be raked - most Zen like. Within a year, the space developed its own Nova Scotia profile. With seed carried by wind or wing, plants popped up everywhere. It's become an annual surprise to return to find out what took hold in the "Japanese Garden" each spring. Last year, it was poppies. This year, there's a profusion of Forget Me Nots.

Our wonderful dog, Fundy, is buried there......under the hackmatack and in the shade of the wild roses. Never to be forgotten.