The greening of the Arghandab River valley is a time of hope for Afghan farmers but a time of concern for troops of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group.
The hot spring sun is starting to transform stark brown fields and vineyards into a lush canopy in southern Afghanistan.
Every blossoming vine and tree will soon provide cover for the Taliban, allowing insurgents to move more freely, to plant more roadside bombs or to launch attacks.
"Every local we have spoken to while patrolling, every Afghan National Security Force individual that we have worked with have said the time is coming," said Maj. David Quick of India company.
"They have said 'standby.' Now that the foliage is coming up we have had some increased activity in the area such as IEDs and sporadic fire." IED is the acronym for improvised explosive device, or roadside bomb.
Being able to see the enemy is vitally important to the Gagetown, N.B.-based battle group, which has 1,200 troops covering a huge region of Kandahar province.
From sandbagged observation posts on the rocky heights of Mah' Sum Ghar and Sperwin Ghar to patrols in Zhari district, and all the way west to the mobile armoured column operating around Maywand, Canadian troops are watching for Taliban.
At the same time, the battle group is trying hard to win over local people to the government of Afghanistan and undermine any community support for the insurgents.
Thanks to improved security, damaged irrigation canals and schools have been repaired.
A new Afghan police post has been built near Sangsar, in the heart of Zhari's opium poppy growing area.
More police checkpoints are being planned, said Lt.-Col. Rob Walker, the battle group commander.
"From these checkpoints we will extend the influence of the police and security forces in this area," said Walker, who zooms around in a LAV 3 light armoured vehicle with his mobile headquarters group visiting troops around the area.
"If we can get a functional government for Zhari district working on behalf of the people, then maybe the people will feel that they have a voice."
Canadian officers are holding shuras - meetings - with village leaders to encourage the Afghans to work together.
But getting elders from 13 different tribal groups to agree on what they want and need from the government is proving to be a slow process.
Some elders want to make the release of Taliban prisoners a priority while others want projects aimed at their own villages. But there are also elders who refuse to even attend the meetings.
Many people - up to 10,000 by some estimates - have yet to move back to a region that was ravaged in fierce battles last summer between Canadian and Taliban forces.
Some villages remain almost deserted, with farms owned by absentee landlords.
Plans to bolster security have been hobbled by a poor response in Zhari to the Afghan government's plan to recruit an auxiliary police force from local communities.
Zhari could easily use another 150 auxiliary police, said Walker, from North Battleford, Sask.
"The people here have to have a sense of security," he said.
"If they don't have a sense of security they are going to sit on the fence, because if they commit to the government side, they could be killed."
To foster goodwill and avoid civilian casualties, Walker said he has made it a point to use military force as sparingly and in as focused a way as possible.
Canadian artillery units fired 8,000 shells into the region last year. Since Walker took command of the battle group, the big guns have fired less than 100.
Like the Afghan farmers, the Canadians have tried to plant their own seeds of success in this strategic valley.
But in a region where it's impossible to tell friend from foe, it is too soon to say if they will bear fruit.
"There is no doubt in my mind that there are Taliban operating right outside this gate," Quick said from Patrol Base Wilson, a military strongpoint that also serves as the Zhari district centre.
"They are very good at covert operations. They blend in with the population."
