I moved to Dutchess Co. New York 13 years ago. On my place there were numerous old apple trees which had been overgrown with enormous thick poison ivy vines. Also there are extensive wetlands (which we used to call a swamp). Morels grew like crazy at the base of the apple trees and morel fanciers told me that apple tree/poison ivy was the ideal condition for morels.

Over the years the trees have been cleaned of P.I. and have been pruned. The wetlands have receded somewhat as the water table has dropped from dry summers. The morels have disappeared. It is also interesting to note that Rust, a kind of fungus spore, has also disappeared. It used to be that our mowing tractor would be covered with the orange/red spores (hence the name Rust) in the spring and summer. I haven't seen a speck of Rust for about 7-8 years.

All in all nature is obviously not static, but very dynamic. I can't begin to tell you how lucky I am to live where I do....to note when the peepers start their chorus in the Spring (they were 30 days earlier than last year). I watch the the annual return of the same pair of Canada geese who nest and hatch 6-8 goslings on an island on one of the ponds (none seem to escape the fox, racoon or hawk).

More interesting is another pair of geese that showed up with 2 different size clutches of goslings....they had added to their own family by kidnapping someone elses goslings. Unfortunately, along with the deer, turkey, fox, coyote, bobcat, bluebirds and orioles, there are also the deer flies, mosquitos, deer ticks and lone star ticks with their gifts of Lyme disease, borreliosis and ehrlichiosis. The risk is definitely worth the game, as the old saying went.

Love to all, LARRY