The May 1st holiday weekend was not marked by the usual free hotdogs and beer as it was in Hungary's not too distant past. We celebrated by cutting firewood, gardening and biking.

This week we ordered our firewood for the coming winter. This past winter we were shocked that our order of dry seasoned firewood still clocked in at 40% moisture content, when it should have been under 20%. Heat efficiency was decreased by 35% because of the moisture! We managed to get a good price on mostly properly dried oak, hornbeam, maple and beech. We calculate that we used about 6-7 cubic meters of wood this year, heating 2 rooms and closing off the rest for the winter. Hopefully this will improve with drier, more efficient wood and when we insulate the attic over the summer. Our colleagues use 13-20 m3 every winter. The waste and deforestation is staggering, especially when you consider the majority continue to use wood as cooking fuel throughout the year as well.

The weather forecast was for lots of rain, but we had been hearing that for weeks without a drop. We devoted much of the weekend to gardening as without rain, there was very little chance of finding the deliciously fragrant St. George mushrooms which should be appearing now. Even so Kata discovered what I believe to be gray shag mushrooms growing out of our hay bales we have stored on the terrace for mulching purposes. A study in 2014 suggested that these may have antibiotic properties. To my frustration or impatience, not much is sprouting up in the vegetable beds except onions and poppies. So, we have been devoting time and energy to weeding. We finally had a good rain on Saturday, so Sunday the ground was a bit softer in the planned orchard area to dig in the remainder of the Jerusalem artichokes. We were exhausted by the afternoon. Unfortunately, there was no cheap white wine at home for spritzers (consequence of the new Sunday shop closing law?) and we were forced to drink champagne with our chilli-lime potato chips. It's a hard life in the country, indeed.

Our planned day off from the garden excursion to the big ravine in Szádelő (Zádiel) Slovakia was postponed due to rain, so we went to visit Aggtelek National Park's MagtArt Arts Granary in Bódvaszilas. I had been several times before, but Kata hadn't. Two former Eszterházy estate granary buildings, one in Slovakia and one in Hungary, were renovated by the Hungarian Aggtelek National Park and the Slovakian ALMA-Centre for the Restoration and Protection of Folk Architecture and Traditions. The granaries, built in Torna County at the end of the 18th century, managed to survive the years and have been named monuments designated for ecotourism. The permanent nature art exhibition is housed on the first floor and in the basement, while the ground floor is utilised for exhibitions of children's nature art and the interactive activities which are part of the Seed Power Exhibit. Hungarian authorities under the auspices of the Life+ Project established the Hungarian Pannon Seed Bank in 2014. Seeds from over 800 species of vascular plants will be collected and preserved by the Plant Diversity Centre, Ecological Research Centre and Ecological and Botanical Institute. For security purposes, a duplicate of the entire seed collection will be stored by Aggtelek National Park deep within the former ore and mineral mine under Esztramos Hill, where ANP's Rákóczi Cave is also located. The establishment of the Pannon Seed Bank aims for the long-term ex situ conservation of Hungarian vascular wild plants.

Lots of other people had the same idea and the place was crowded with engaged children, as well as some colleagues with their families. Among other activities, there is a big collection of seeds one can try to identify by sight or by feel in blind boxes. One display concerned the weights of birds. There were several labelled sacks on the floor that represented the weights of respective birds. An owl is surprisingly light, while a hawk is surprisingly heavy (3-4 kg). What we really missed were explanations of the nature art. There was no information available by the installations themselves except the artist's name, nor were there any handouts. While the pieces were interesting, a museum is supposed to enlighten and educate as well - and this aspect was sadly lacking.

Later in the day when Kata went for eggs at Margónéni's, she noticed a smaller chicken of the woods mushroom growing on a willow tree near the property. Last year we picked a 1.5kg specimen from a nearby tree. This one weighed in at 500g, but we decided not to wait and pick it for the planned vegetable curry dinner.

On Sunday, after I made blueberry pancakes for Mother's Day, we continued with our weeding and laying down cardboard and woodchips to prevent them reappearing. The afternoon was overcast but still OK for a bit of cycling. We really need to get into shape for the annual 75km bike ride between the Bükk and Aggtelek National Parks in 3 weeks. Cycling around Rakaca Lake we spotted infestations of tapló mushrooms on many of the waterfront trees, but among these I spied one with a difference. I was happy to discover my first dryad's saddle. The books say it smells like cucumber or watermelon, but I would say it is closer to a citrus fruit like orange. These mushrooms can grow to be 60cm in width. The younger specimens are edible, and it is said that paper can be made from them. They are supposed to prefer walnut trees, but this was on a willow.