Meandering through the wealth of words and images from Burning Man that fly by bits and bytes from the devices of the creators to my device, I drift to memories of my adventures on The Playa. In me, I hear the echo of the bass beat thrumming like my heartbeat, the kiss of dust on my skin and the joy of feeling untethered. While on The Playa any moment of the day or night would bring the possibility of experiencing someone’s creative energy. I carry that memory of the anticipation of astonishment with me every day. Living here, it’s not human creativity but the wonder of nature’s creativity that constantly astonish me. Burning Man creativity is usually enormous and bold. There the expression comes to you. Here, I want to notice the little flashes that pop up. I found this ”best-dressed” hanging out under the bottom side of a heliconia leaf.
Earlier today, the mono-titis (squirrel monkeys) were swinging through the branches of the Ice Cream Bean tree next to the garage. Yes, the white pulp covering the beans taste like vanilla. The monkeys pull the pods from the branches, tear them open, suck on the beans and pitch the remains on the ground. With a dozen or so in the troop snacking on this treat, there is a repetitive plopping like the sound of heavy rain drops as the refuse hits the dried leaves. This arboreal invasion drives Pinta crazy and she rushes into the undergrowth making excited squeals on a mission to give these invaders "a piece of her mind."
In the morning light, the trees are backlit from the sun's rays streaming from the east. The camera on my ancient Iphone 6 is not up to the task of capturing an adequate photo of these tiny monkeys that barely stop moving for a moment. The bold ones who peak out from under the leaf canopy keep a wary eye on me.
While I was carefully stepping around on the uneven ground trying to aim and zoom focus on the swift moving rascals, I happened upon this grouping of Shampoo Ginger plants, also called Awapuhi in Hawaiian. The plant's origin is Asia and is found in many tropical places. These plants are well shaded under the Ice Cream Bean tree and near the quebrada (creek.) It pulls up moisture from the ground and stores it in the pockets of the flower.
The structure of the flowers makes me think of an architectural rendering of a multi-balconied condominium tower. When the flower is squeezed a soft, ginger-scented liquid flows out of the"balconies." The liquid can be used as soap or shampoo. As this is the first time that we've had mature plants on the property, I'll harvest the liquid and try it out.
Though I'll probably never venture out to Black Rock City again, I have an amazing world of astonishing wonder just steps from my door.
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