We walked around the Presidio campus of Industrial Light and Magic, and thought about Katy in front of the fountain of Yoda. We checked out Darth Vader and R2D2. Then, we got sandwiches and went to the tree that Elaine calls the Tree of Life. It is a cypress with wonderful welcoming roots. There is another tree next to it, three trees you can stand inside.
If you haven't seen the movie on Andy Goldsworthy, Rivers and Tides, you must. He makes beautiful natural art. We walked along his "snake".
I realized today that knowing Katy was "okay" allowed the grief to come through differently than before. I had cried, but the feeling of this was different, was deeper. Each part of this day dug a little hole in the pain.
I was then ready to talk to Will about the termite damage. Since we have to open our bedroom wall anyway, we will install a sliding glass door and he will build a little patio for it. In the moment, plants line the side of our house, which is beautiful, but an invitation to damp wood termites. Once the plants are gone, the problem will be solved, and the wood needs to be replaced, which means a sliding glass door. The plants are beautiful, a hedge of privets and camellias, and I couldn't imagine just murdering them, but Will has a friend who just bought some wonderful acreage with a small cabin near Grass Valley, and so tomorrow we will try to take the plants out, wrap their roots, and transport them there.
Big breath.
The snake undulates, and who knows how each turn feels to the scales, but its nourishing to know that even plants find new homes.