work practice

today i helped Dan build a wall for his mum's flower bed. it seemed easy but was tough work. we dug a trench a foot wide and about 6 in deep and leveled it and then filled it with a layer of gravel before laying bricks shaped like annular sectors. we had to haul the gravel and bricks using a lawnmower (or lawnmover?). i thought of it as work practice we do in sesshin. we didn't chitchat and all talk was technical.

the sunset was exceptional. the day started out with clear blue skies but by 3 PM fleecy clouds and wispy swirls started making their appearance. the birches and the red oak against the dark grey swirls looked interesting. and then by 5 PM, the sky was wine-dark as the Greek chap was wont to say but the horizon was still cloud free. the light and colours were extraordinary when the last rays of the sun hit the birches and the red oak tree. i loved taking crepuscular shots of the majestic oak trees and pines silhouetted against a dark orange sky. i had not enjoyed sunset like this in a long time (possibly the last time was on the beach in Diego, Dec 2000). by the time i drove out it was dark and moon deigned to peep out of the clouds. it was rounded, like a belly 6 months with child. i can't wait till next week for the Hunter's moon something tells me it will be cloudy !