Fall and winter

In the wake of the fires, the wilderness area is springing back to life. Green shoots cluster around the burnt skeletons of the trees and bushes.

In the monastery, the quiet of practice period has finally arrived after several weeks of intense work preparing Tassajara for the winter rains. Tangaryo came and went to the sounds of heavy earth-moving equipment. By the time the Ventana Engineering crew left last week, many walls had been built, endless sandbags filled and placed.

The first, gentle, rains have fallen and we have been shown how easily the hills can flow down to the valley floor. Several small slides came down by the pool and lower garden and the creek bottom is black with fire-darkened silt.

In the months to come, we'll try to keep friends and family informed about conditions at Tassajara and to show you some of what we've been doing to prepare for the winter.