tuesday . thicket . trope
It's always a wonder to see a familiar spot in a different light. This one, in mid-January, is that little thicket of Australian tea trees at the northwest corner of the Fort Mason Great Meadow, which I pass by on my way to Safeway or to the Marina Green.
This afternoon, the ground under the tea tree thicket was thickly carpeted in clover-like sourgrass, thanks surely to the rains of December and early January; and the green of it all, backlit by the winter afternoon sunlight, was magical, transporting...
I lingered in the sudden Irish glen awhile, turning 'round this way and that, looking above, down, and just enjoying the new dimension of a locus of ground I have become intimate with after countless passing-bys.
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It occurs to me that this would be a good spot for zazen; the challenge being to integrate the sound of vehicular traffic nearby at the always-busy intersection and entrance to the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture; as well as the sounds of bicyclists and runners mere steps away along the main paths, and the walkers who, like me, choose the 'desire path' through the tea trees just above the old train tunnel exit, now closed for good.
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Hmmm... yeah, maybe the next time passing here soon.
Those tea trees, just like the ones a block away from home at the Larkin Street steps up to Francisco Park, and the clusters of them at various parts of Golden Gate Park, are — with their distinctive ground-hugging trunks — nothing if not 'entities.' Or, ents. ::chuckle::
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At times in the past, I've seen a homeless person or a camper set up temporarily under (or within) the tea trees, and it strikes me as a nice place to do so. Pretty sure they're eventually shooed away by park rangers, though (Fort Mason being part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area).
Still, it's my secret oasis within the FM grounds itself, just like the much larger one of the FM Community Garden; perhaps shared by a few other discerning neighbors or visitors. May it always be so, in green seasons and in brown.