Summer, Mushrooms, and Rain
By Brother Marc Oak survivor I often do errands in Albany or Clifton Park but drive through the gentle hills and farmland south of New Skete rather than taking any major routes. It seems like I’m traveling on top of the world there, and both land and sky are fully visible from the road. The colorful rural scenery changes dramatically through all four seasons. A stark remnant of a magnificent old oak tree pictured here oversees the newly plowed slopes near where some of our chapel community members live. I imagine it is the last remnant of a great oak woodlot. Last year’s storms broke a huge limb from it, but the farmer-owner of the surrounding cornfield trimmed and saved the rest. This year most of the tree was damaged. I was saddened at the loss; the brave trunk is still a striking landmark even though it is probably not on the National Register of Champion Trees. Tiger swallowtail butterfly on Korean lilac Years ago, we planted a miniature Korean lilac bush near our now sixty-yea