Let's say up front: we're allowed to be discouraged. There is no weakness in that. "There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep, and still be counted as warriors," wrote poet Adrienne Rich. Discouragement is a very human response to

Oak trees are ecological grand slams. They support 897 kinds of caterpillars; and a single - one! - clutch of chickadees needs 7,000 of those protein-packed caterpillars to fly the nest. Then, those caterpillar-fortified chickadees go forth to reduce our insect population, spread seeds, and pollinate the heck outta