People often asked me if I have ever lived at Green Gulch. I haven’t – the longest time I spent there was a Genzo-e sesshin with Shohaku Okumura in 2012 – and a part of the reason for that, beyond the fact that Tassajara and City Center both kept me very busy over the years, was that it took me about a dozen visits for me to see the temple in sunshine. Cold, damp and fog are not my favourite conditions, and that seemed to be the default setting for Green Gulch – even when the sun was shining elsewhere in the area.
Last Sunday I took myself over there by bike, and it was a beautifully warm day, with soft spring light ideal for taking photos, which was my main intention. I did not go to the talk, although I have enjoyed hearing Wendy Johnson in the past, and I did not stay for the Arbor Day work on the valley. I did get to meet a lot of people I knew, and some I didn’t, most of whom I was not necessarily expecting to meet, so it was a very sociable occasion.

Plum blossom by Cloud Hall

Teacups ready for the crowd

The fields were green

The newly reworked watershed in action