Shelter in Place, San Francisco, California, June 10, 2020
We decided to blow this joint today and head south of the city to visit the Filoli Historic Gardens - first time out of the neighborhood in months. The house/museum, of course, remains closed, but the gardens have re-opened this week and we went early enough to avoid the chance of crowds. It was a lovely day.
John tried his best, when we were dating, to show me something new every time I came to California both to entertain me and to lure me out for good. This is one we missed, somehow, but it seems fitting to discover it today, after months of seclusion in a tighter, fenced-in space. I take as metaphor the acres of luscious, formal flower beds and sculpted trees, each vista framed by a wilder, scruffier backdrop - the quintessential California hills. That’s how I feel - half free, half tamed, unsure of where exactly I belong today and where I’ll be tomorrow - tethered freedom - made all the more poignant by the dancing wire sculptures that floated above each garden bed, held steadfast with an iron stake.
sculpture by Kristine Mays
