I only have one full day left in this magical place. I am so grateful I’ve had more time to explore. I had time this morning to put together cover letters and send off applications for two different positions, so that felt good.
Today seemed to be centered around sound. I spent most of the day at an Eco festival called Ripe Area (a play on the word riparian) at Wakamatsu Farm in Placerville. When I arrived I headed straight to a forested area where they were holding a sound bath. I’m so glad I did as it was hands-down the best sound bath I’ve ever been to. It wasn’t as long or involved as others I’ve attended, but the combination of it being in a natural space and open to anybody at an event where there were lots of families with young kids, meant that instead of the only sounds being of singing bowls, gongs and other instruments (usually strict silence is expected from attendees, so as not to disturb others immersion in the sound bath), the experience was also peppered with little bodies rustling and fidgeting and small (and at times loud) voices asking questions and wondering aloud. It was fantastic! I was able to let go more than I ever have a sound bath, maybe I just needed more of that little kid energy. It was also less ritualistic than some of the sound baths I’ve attended, with just one person doing the work. I was so relaxed and happy afterwards, reveling in how positive it felt in that space.
Later I wandered through the 33 sounds exhibit which broadcast the sounds of a variety of water sources, including the pond on the property, through a series of bendable plastic tubes set along a pathway next to the pond. It was trippy and very cool.
In another place there was an area with blankets and pillows where you could lay down and listen to nature sounds broadcast through small speakers in woven bags suspended in the surrounding trees. They blended in so that at first you didn’t really notice them. They broadcast bird calls, frog croaks, dogs barking and a host of other animals from different places around the world. I heard the artist speaking briefly about how the exhibit was created – when they played the animal sounds to similar animals in other parts of the world, they ended up synchronizing their voices with each other, amazing!
Throughout the festival there were eco craft projects for kids and adults. I got invited to make wildflower seed balls and happily dug in, literally! It involved mixing clay soil and compost with a variety of different wildflower seeds, adding water and rolling them into small balls. It was fun, muddy, messy work! I haven’t done enough hands on messy art like that lately. Another thing to add to my list of stuff I want to spend more time doing. I took my finished seed balls to dry in the car, cleaned my hands and brought my lunch back with me.
While I ate my lunch, I sat near a group of about a half a dozen middle school aged girls who were coming up with a song to sing as part of the performance part of the festival taking place later that afternoon. They each had come up with different stanzas for the song that they were going to sing. It was fantastic to hear them working together negotiating and finding a path that seemed to work for everyone, where they all had a part. No one appeared to be in charge, and when one of their fathers would stop by to see how they were doing, they would just shoo him away, happy in their own creative bubble. After each rejection, he would sit on a bench nearby, staring at his phone. I wished that he would get up and explore on his own, enjoy the beauty of the place that we were in. The farm was the location of the first Japanese settlement in the United States, a tea and silk farm, where apparently the first Japanese-American person was born. I would like to come back when they have tours to learn more about the history of the farm.
Later in the afternoon I listened to a talk that was advertised to be about color in the natural world and ended up veering into completely different directions about the need to be aware of nature as it is, not how humans try to force it to be, how rivers naturally flow, living simply in community with people and nature. I learned how beavers make a huge difference in ensuring minerals stay in the soil by building dams that create varied water flow instead of man made straight canals that strip the soil. The speaker had spent more than 50 years educating youth about nature and the importance of connecting themselves to the land. He talked about the importance of living a simple life and spending time doing what important to you. As he said, ‘I didn’t come here to pay bills!’ Amen to that!! He had recently been awarded a grant that covered his living expenses for two years which has enabled him to travel to Egypt, Italy and other places to study architecture and color. It’s wonderful to hear about somebody being recognized for their contributions in such a positive and meaningful way.
Over the course of the day I returned a few times to the sound area amongst the trees and just lay on the blankets with my eyes closed, listening. It was so peaceful. I appreciated that while there were lots of activities at the event, because the space was so large it never felt crowded, there was always room for someone to sit or stand nearby. It was so much nicer than many similar Bay Area events, which are usually very noisy and crowded.
Later in the evening, I started watching American Symphony, a Netflix documentary about John Batiste and his wife, Suleika Jaouad. It centered around the period that he was working on his first symphony and had been nominated for 11 Grammys. On the day the Grammy nominations were announced she began chemotherapy for a second recurrence of leukemia. In one part of the film they alternate between showing him performing on the road with so much energy and enthusiasm, receiving love from the audience to her being in the hospital, alone, waiting for a bone marrow transplant (her second one, having had one the last time she had leukemia 10 years earlier), not being able to read or write (as an author and journalist two things that were vital to her) because of medication that made her eyesight blurry. Instead she took up watercolor painting to express herself. It was heart wrenching to watch, as was the scene when he shaved her head right before she went in for her transplant. Whew! So many scenes captivated me-him playing joy-filled music both on his own and with the diverse group he brought together for his symphony, the two of them playing together in earlier days before she got sick, people dancing and clapping along enthusiastically to his band performing in the streets or the subway, the somber songs he played when thinking of his wife. I can’t believe I had never heard of John Batiste before I saw this movie, I guess since I’m not a late night TV person and don’t tend to pay attention to the Grammys, he never entered my radar. I’m so grateful that is no longer true. He is incredibly talented and I can’t wait to see what they both do next.
Finally my day ended with the sounds of crickets singing and bats chirping. ❤️
