Constructing the main building at Mountain Water left a considerable scar. Re-vegetating this has been a humbling education in what is possible in a dry climate, along with reaching accord with the existing inhabitants of the place. Some of these – like gophers, deer, squirrels, and rabbits – are standing by to see what is on offer. And there is wind and heat and relentless sunshine.

We’ve been calling this area behind the building The Taoist Garden. Listening and looking to see what plants are willing to grow here, what plants do the animals want and which ones will they pass by. Gophers, it turns out, are providing ongoing roto-tiller service; they loosen the soil and pull quantities of organic material underground. (This is fine unless you become attached to the gopher’s favorite plants.) The deer and rabbits do the pruning work, especially in the spring; it takes nerves of steel to stand by and watch during their sessions; but as spring proceeds the benefit of their work becomes apparent. There have also been regular showers in recent weeks in spite of the dire predictions. Mountain water it is.

The practice of the Taoist Garden is training us for Mountain Water: few things go according to plan, but everything seems to work out in its own time and fashion. You can’t push the river. People continue to come here; they get watered like the grasses and bushes on a disrupted hillside.

Last week we hosted the first group retreat organized from without. The teacher was Denise Townsend, a Zen teacher ordained as Joshin Kyodo (third from right, above). It was in some ways an experiment for us to see what hosting a small group retreat would entail. We learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the lively five who showed up.

Here is one of our newly placed meditation decks, refurbished with salvaged lumber and a lot of help. The custom of outside sitting meditation was already popular twenty-six centuries ago during the time of the Buddha. The natural world has a way of putting to rest worldly worries and dogmatic views, a refresh button for native creativity. Mountain Water is proving itself to be a blessed refuge in these trying times. We hope to see you here before too long.