Aloe Flowers in Late Light, Pacific Grove, 2009.

Walburga With Sheer Fabric, Amherst, Massachusetts, 2004.

I shot a series of photos of Walburga in motion, near where she was staying while studying Body-Mind Centering. Behind her is a small pond filled with lotus plants. Late in the summer, the flowers blossom spectacularly, and linger for a few weeks. I visited the pond once during a light rain; the tiny raindrops, upon hitting the broad, waxy leaves, would shatter into a thousand tiny droplets, dance frenetically around the broad, upturned leaves, and settle into the center, where they would form a little pool. When the pool got large and heavy enough, the leaves would gracefully bend over and pour their contents into the pool, making a delightful sound. As the leaf emptied, it would slowly straighten up, creating an upward glissando, until it was back to its upright position, and the process would begin again. Watching the tiny droplets ricocheting around the leaves, the water pouring into the pond at various points and the sight of the gorgeous pink blossoms was magical. The delicate sounds of the rain, the pourings and the drippings amounted to some of the most soul-stirring music imaginable. I never got around to filming the lotus leaf symphony, but the sound lingers in my mind. 

Garden, Monterey, California, 2009.

The recording on the free "trolley" that connects Cannery Row and downtown Monterey during the summer months, claims that Monterey is "California's most historic city." A hefty claim, but one that is, as likely as not, veracious. Did you know that Monterey was California's first capital, before the Gold Rush occasioned the move to Sacramento? Anyway, one of the illustrious personages Monterey claims as its own is Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson, who lived here for a few months, in 1879. It is conjectured that Point Lobos, just to the south, is the inspiration for Treasure Island. Behind the Stevenson adobe in downtown Monterey is the estimable garden pictured above. As an east coast refugee, it is still amazing to me to see these flowers blooming, casually as roses, in people's yards.