Associates, bees and turkeys

This week, we were observing contemplative days. Bros. Scott and Raphael both underwent surgery on Tuesday. Br. Scott got a bilateral knees replacement and Br. Raphael got a hip replacement. The surgeries went well. They recovered for a few days in hospital. They are now both headed to a rehabilitation home for a couple of weeks, 8 miles South of the monastery. Please pray for prompt and full functional recovery for both of them.

This week, we also received two new Associates. On Wednesday, we received Eloise Monzillo-Hiris, from Verona, NJ, and the Rev. Justin Johnson, from Croton on Hudson, NY. Eloise was accompanied by her husband, who, due to contemplative days, got the mostly silent treatment ;-)

This weekend, Br. Ephrem is visiting the Friends of St Benedict at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, in Chestertown, MD. and at Trinity Episcopal Church, in Washington, VA, teaching on "Benedict's Way of Peace."

New Associates. From top left, clockwise: Br. Bernard with the Rev. Justin Johnson; Eloise Monzillo Hiris reading her Associate pledge; Br. Bernard making concluding prayers: Eloise and her husband after her reception (2 pictures).

On Thursday, Br. Francis prepared the hives for collection of the honey supers. On Friday, he robbed the bees. Then, with the help of Bros. Jacob and Bernard, he harvested a large quantity of honey. After which, the spun frames with lots of unspun honey left on them were returned to the beehives. The bees will diligently recuperate whatever honey is available on those frames and clean them up for reuse.

Harvesting honey. From top left, clockwise: Br. Francise handling uncapped honey frames; Br. Jacob uncapping a honey frame; Br. Jacob spinning two honey frames in the honey extractor; the honey extractor dripping unfiltered honey in a pail; honey slowly filtering into the pail underneath the mesh filter.

The bees are still foraging the gardens. By now, they are mostly focusing on asters and goldenrods.

Monastery scenes. From top left, clockwise: a Monarch butterfly doing its pollinating best; morning sunshine through one of the Creation stained glass windows in the ambulatory behind the church; light, shadow and reflections of arches in the crypt; Br.Jacob playing the mandolin during Sunday communion; our electric golf cart with the spun honey frames due to return on the beehives; Br. Bernard selfie as a beekeeper; Bros. Bernard and Francis zooming towards the beeyard to return the harvested honey frames to the hives.

These last several days, we have had several visits from a rafter of wild turkeys.

A visiting rafter of turkeys (3 pictures): near the enclosure, in the monks' parking lot and in the meadow.

Autumn colors are beginning to appear and river cruiseboats are doing their leaf peeping rounds.

Autumnal scenes. From top left, clockwise: tree leaves starting to change colors; wispy clouds above color changing canopies; a cruise boat taking passengers where the change of colors is more marked up North; flaming sunrise over the Hudson; monrning vapors floating over the river.

Peace and every good to you.

Blessing the bees on the feast of St Francis

This past week, Br. Ephrem was visiting his family in Raceland, LA. He got home on Thursday, in time to teach a formation to the community before driving off to a parish mission in MD. He is now back home. Br. David-Bryan is in his second week of visiting friends in England.

This Sunday, we celebrated the feast of the Dedication of our St Augustine Church. It is now entering its 106th year of sheltering our prayers and worship. This was also the feast of St Francis. Our Br. Francis organized a blessing of the bees. After mass, we trundled up the hill to the beeyard, sang hymns, read scripture and said prayers. Bros. Francis and Randy donned protective headgear before entering the beeyard with holy water to sprinkle our four beehives.

Blessing the bees. From top, clockwise: Bros. Jeff, Josép, Jacob, John (all the J's to one side :-), Daniel, Bruno, Francis and Randy; Br. Francis reminding us of the saints under whose protection each beehive is named; Bros. Francis and Randy getting geared up to enter the beeyard; Bros. Randy and Francis sprinkling holy water on hives (2 pictures); a statue of St Francis near the beeyard.

On Saturday, we received Gergő Balázs, of Astoria, NY, as our latest Associate. If you have wondered about the Associates program, get in touch with Br. Bernard.

Receiving Gergő as Associate. From top, clockwise: Hudson River traffic (2 pictures: a tanker and a yacht): Br. Bernard reading prayers for Gergő and all our Associates; a "usie" with Br. Bernard and Gergő; Br. Randy praying the offertory with Br. Francis as server.

And finally, pictures taken by Sr Greta, of the Community of Divine Love, during her retreat with us last week. Thank you, St. Greta; come back soon.

Sr. Greta's pictures. From top left, clockwise: the monastic choir singing the incense rite at the start of Vespers; Pilgrim Hall; Greta's selfie with the Guesthouse in the background: Greta's selfie with our Route 9W sign at dusk; detail of the labyrinth; calligraphed quote from our Founder's Rule.

Peace and every good to you.

Peace vigil and autumnal bonfire

Br. Ephrem attended the reunion of CAROA* Superiors in Toronto this week. He also visited our dispersed monks there (Bros. Brian Youngward, Leonard Abbah and Reginald Crenshaw). He drove back home with Sr. Greta Ronningen of the Community of Divine Love (in California) who is taking a few days of retreat with us. Ephrem proceeded to fly out to New Orleans the next day to attend his mom's 80th birthday. 

Last Sunday, Bros. Bernard and John attended an International Day of Peace Prayer Vigil at Port Ewen's Reformed Church at the invitation of their pastor, the Rev. Brian Steadman, an OHC Associate. There were representatives of the Bruderhof Maple Ridge Community in Ulster Park, NY, of the Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, NY, the Sisters of the Companions of Mary the Apostle, and Reformed Church parishioners. We all shared prayers for peace for the world, country, state and county.

People and flowers. From top left, clockwise: attendees at the International Day of Peace Prayer Vigil at Port Ewen's Reformed Church: CAROA Superiors in Toronto, ON (Sister Greta is standing on the left, Br. Ephrem, in our travel habit is standing third from the right); American pokeweed, beautiful but toxic (except to birds); flower arrangements in the refectory and the church (3 pictures).

On Monday, our two Assistant Ground Stewards, Bros. Jacob and Daniel did a Fire Departement authorized burn of brush and branches the whole day. Large piles of them have accumulated through the gardening season by the red barn. Various Brothers visited the bonfire and helped a bit. The fire permit is till December. The fire was monitored at all times. There will need to be a few more fires before the piles of brush and branches are consumed.

Bonfire. From top left, clockwise: Bros. Jacob and Daniel posing like the farmers in the famous painting American Gothic, by artist Grant Wood, painted in 1930; Br. Daniel monitoring the fire; Br. Bernard giving a hand: Br. Jacob picking up more combustible from the pile; Br. Daniel set up his tent for the day to enable those who wanted to take a sheltered nap by the crackling sound of the fire.

This weekend's Nor'easter mostly affected coastal areas of NY and NJ. We got sever winds Saturday afternoon and some intermittent rain Saturday and Sunday but essentially came out unscathed.

White caps on the Hudson River in the hours leading to the passage of a Nor-Easter storm.

Peace and every good to you.

* CAROA stands for the Conference of  Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas