Joy in the Moment

Foday Musa Suso concert for Arivaca

On April 27^th, 2019 our Arivaca garden was alive with family, friends, and a sunset concert with kora music and singing from our dear friend Foday Musa Suso.   It was a very special night that we will always remember, and I’m sure all others who were there will remember it also.  Sitting together in the cool shade of the trees in the glow of the sunset and the blue sky, the colored lights all around, and the lilting sounds of the kora flowing through the evening air made the atmosphere just right, both within and without.   

Kora lesson

At the end of the concert, all the children were invited up to play the kora strings a little, which was a big thrill for them too.  Afterward, the kids called to me, “Come see!” because a tiny tree frog had come out of our fountain and perched on a rock right at eye level, and they thought that it had come out because it was enjoying the music too.  And I have no doubt that their reasoning was true! 

The morning afterward while sitting alone in the garden, I was reminded of my two favorite garden sayings: “More grows in a garden than was sown there” and “Live as if you will die tomorrow, garden as if you will live forever”. 

Making a "guessing box"

Helping get the chairs for the concert!

  




“More grows in a garden than was sown there” reminds me of the days before the kora concert, when our garden was full of happy sounds and laughter from our three great-nephews who had come with their parents on a first visit to our Arivaca home.  We spent those days watching birds and butterflies, making art, swinging in the hammock, following ant trails, and everything else in nature that their curious minds wanted to explore.   Be-ing with them in the garden, and in times past with our other great nieces and nephews, always brings new growth into it in a way that I treasure deeply.  In fact for me, no matter how many beautiful plants have been sown, no garden is complete until a child has found joy there.

Kora and fountain

“More grows in a garden than was sown there” also reminds me about the understanding and appreciation of kora music and Mandingo tradition that has grown in the garden during the two concerts we have hosted there since February 2018.  And it also fits with the new wildflowers that we never planted in the garden, yet have sprouted and bloomed among everything we purposefully planted.   The wind and the birds sowed the wildflowers just perfectly!  

 

“Live as if you will die tomorrow, garden as if you will live forever” reminds me that when we first arrived at our Arivaca home, it was far from my mind to build a garden here.  After many years of designing Seattle-area public and private gardens, I thought all those days were behind me.  I felt content just looking out on the forest and grassland around Arivaca Creek, taking hikes, and happy to leave my work life behind.  But life is funny, isn't it? Inspiration struck deep, and soon a new garden was born here.   

Seattle back garden from 2nd story window

From April 1986- October 2017, I watched the garden I created in Seattle grow and change, and to move away and leave it was actually sadder for me than leaving my house.  When creating a new garden in Arivaca, I knew from day one that I wouldn’t likely live long enough to see that amount of plant growth and "envelopment" here.  But guess what.... who cares?  My feeling is that however long I get to find joy here will be fine by me, and I know there will be plenty of joy left for whoever lives in this garden afterward!   

Arivaca garden scene

“Live as if you will die tomorrow, garden as if you will live forever” also reminds me that whether or not there is ever a kora concert or a jam session in our garden again, the energy and sound of all the music made here still remain an important part of its beauty. 






Photo credits:
All photos by Emily Bishton except Kora lesson by Conrad Uno