THE CRYSTAL MILL

...working with the flow of water...

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[A PLAN FOR LAYING OUT A WATER GARDEN]

- Leonardo di ser Piero Da Vinci

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By means of the mill I shall be able at any time to produce a current of air; in the summer I shall make the water spring up fresh and bubbling... The channel may be half a braccio wide, and there should be vessels there with wines always of the freshest, and other water should flow through the garden, moistening the orange trees and citron trees according to their needs. 

The herbage of the little brooks ought to be cut frequently so that the clearness of the water may be seen upon its shingly bed, those plants should be left that feed the fishes, such as watercress and other plants like these.

By means of the mill you will make many water conduits through the house, and springs in various places, and a certain passage where, when anyone passes, from all sides below the water will leap up, and so it will be there ready in case anyone should wish to give a shower-bath from below to the people who pass there.

Overhead we must construct a very fine net of copper that will cover over the garden and many different kinds of birds, and so you will have perpetual music together with the scents of the blossom of the citrons and the lemons.

With the help of the mill I will make unending sounds from all sorts of instruments, which will sound for so long as the mill shall continue to move. 

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SWIMMING WITH TURTLES

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From a young age, I would stand upon the shore and imagine myself walking forwards from that point, entering the sea, not looking back, and simply diving beneath the waves till I could breath underwater. In my mind's eye, it would take only moments to transform; the hardest part would be to make the decision.

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There were sea urchins out there, resting between the grooves of the rocks - scaring the bejesus out of me when I drifted too close. There were small fish darting between cubby holes, and waving plants of deep purples and yellows. The light would shift errantly, patterning the white sands at the bottom where a small pink hermit crab scuttled. I spied a starfish... and seaweeds, held afloat by their buoys, gently gathered on my wrists like bracelets as I swam. The waters were lovely and tepid, like a warm bath that my mother drew for me an hour ago.

I think I held my breath when I saw the first turtle. They arrive here like clockwork, to feed on the sea grass. In all honesty, I felt as if I were the one being watched: a gaudy plastic flower from a thrift store garland, drifting on the surface. The turtles came from the place between the sea bed and the sky, formed out of dancing, shifting light traveling through water. We were worlds apart...

Then I took off my life vest and my flippery appendages, freeing my feet to the motions of waves and currents, and I dived below, to swim alongside them. It was divine. Ecstatic. Natural. The effect was one of a return, as if I was melding into the ocean. 

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WISDOM OF THE TURTLES

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tranquil

feminine

moon

Female turtles come ashore most often at night to lay their eggs.

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earth

stable

grounded

Repeatedly, turtles have been depicted as bearers of the World,
carriers of the Earth
in Chinese, Hindu and Native American myth.
In the beginning, there was only water,
Mother Turtle gave us land, offering us her shell to live on.

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unconscious

messengers

unknown

Turtle knows those parts of the world that remain to us
a mystery:
the sea - symbol of our deep unconscious
and of the mysteries of the outer cosmos.
She is the go-between.

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longevity

wisdom

ancients

Turtle was here long before,
her ancestral line stretching to the Cretaceous period.
She lives thrice the life of man - 
exuding wisdom as she ages.

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MEXICAN PARTIES

 

These were the times of marshmellows, cooked by the kids on a small clay stove, and supervised carefully by the young Daniel. These were the times of piñatas: for Easter, for birthdays, for graduations, for nothing in particular. All the children in a line from smallest to tallest, me at the end, candy flying everywhere and tiny grabbing hands. These were the times of mechanical bulls, and the bullying that went with them: Get on the bull! Go again! Just once more! They only wanted to have a laugh.

These were the times of nopales, tortillas stuffed with pescado, and carne asadas bubbling away in huge vats dug out of the earth. Of Mane's sweet empanadas, and Bari's tequila-and-lime concoctions, which the younger ones would try and sneak into red plastic cups. Of corn cobs, milk jellies, flan and steaming cups of atole. 

These were the times of inside - outside - inside. Of quips and jokes and all kinds of laughs. Of the need for a quick wit and a sharp tongue - especially around the guys. They were the times of sisters, mothers, daughters, friends, all gathering to prepare the feast. Of the crowd at the pool table, the break, the scratch, the balls clacking and remarks of triumph. Of children running barefoot through tiled halls, and pulling at my dress to be picked up and cuddled. Of their smiles, everybody's smiles. My smile.