Confucious said: "A mirror reflects the world because it does not obscure it...But water with its purity reflects accurately the inner qualities of that which it shows"

The kiss of the sun for pardon The song of the birds for mirth One is nearer God in a garden Than anywhere on Earth I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers. Song of Solomon 5:1

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground. California Coastal Live Oak, 'Quercus agrifolia', its beauty reflected in the reflecting pool of Rivenrock Gardens Is the sky really azure, or is it an illusion? What is the true nature of the sky? What is the true nature of the garden?

Monterey Pine, 'Pinus radiata', reflected in the water garden of Rivenrock Gardens, in February 2000. Winter rains have filled the pool, which dries away in summer. When standing still, the water is in the most perfect state of repose. Let that be your model. It remains quietly within, and is not agitated without. It is from the cultivation of such harmony that virtue results. And if virtue takes no outward form, man will not be able to keep aloof from it." Confucius

San Andreas Fault By Natalie Merchant Go west Paradise is there You'll have all that you can eat Of milk and honey over there You'll be the brightest light The world has ever seen Sun-baked slender heroine Of film and magazine Go west Paradise is there You'll have all that you can eat Of milk and honey over there You'll be the brightest light The world has ever seen The dizzy height of a jet-set life That you could never dream Your pale blue eyes Strawberry hair Lips so sweet Skin so fair Your future's bright Beyond compare It's rags to riches Over there San Andreas Fault Moved its fingers Through the ground Earth divided Plates collided Such an awful sound San Andreas Fault Moved its fingers Through the ground Terra cotta shattered And the walls came Tumbling down O Promised Land O wicked ground Build a dream Tear it down O Promised Land What a wicked ground Build a dream Watch it all fall down

Agave americana, Trichocereuas spachianus, Yucca. All growing above the reflecting pool. Opuntia galapagaia and Opuntia Robusta growing on a Rivenrock hillside with mushrooms Winter 2000. Opuntia Robusta and yucca filamentosa By the terraced walls over the Rivenrock water garden