I love my wife. And each time I see her with her beloved donkeys (mine, too) I love her a bit more. I appreciate her permitting me to photograph these moments, as she is private, poor thing, and they are intimate. But they capture the extraordinary dialogue going in among many people – mostly women – and many fortunate animals. You can see the communication. Some of it revolves around food, some of it, much of it around love, quite a bit around instinct. Maria has the gift of listening, the gift of emotion, the give of genuine love. Animals read that like classical scholars. I see it every time, and I love it and never tire of seeing it. I feel obliged to capture it. And I thank Maria for permitting it.