The Oakworm caterpillar

  “The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,” so wrote the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare in his classic play the Merchant of Venice. The rains of 2018 in Jefferson County have been gentle, and not so gentle at times, but at least there has been plenty of them. The muddy roads and full ditches are mute testament to this bounty from above along with the lush growth of crops, plants and trees. The ample development of foliage county-wide