Wandering about in the maze of paths, we then find ourselves in a small forest with amazing variations of ferns. My favorite is a fern with zig-zag rather than symmetrical branching patterns, and smooth dark brown stems contrasting with the soft green of the leaves. The redwood grove is on a simple hill overlooking the stream and other paths leading away. We sit cross-legged on the path, looking out over the ferns and paths in anticipation of the new shapes and colors awaiting along the paths. Once again we start wandering farther into the woods where quiet is deeper, richer with the subtle sounds.
Wind gently filters through the tree-tops, causing a pulsing or breathing motion.
My eyes watering with emotion, take in a diffused and glistening view of these dancing trees. My partner and I end up at the end of the botanical gardens, with a park bench and a small stream in a eroded gully. The rocks form fantastic cities and organisms, and the motion of the water forms all manner of reflections of the sky and overhanging trees. There is a strangely placed chain-link fence here, preventing people from leaving the botanical gardens at this point. We spend time on the bench, alternately gazing and resting our eyes from the spectacle of nature's external deitys.