I think the search for connection is the most powerful instinct I have witnessed in human beings. Even our twisted and angry notions of politics speak in their own way to the desire for people to find something to connected to. I witness this almost every day on the farm. In the morning, Maria and I go out to do the chores. I usually am hauling my camera around and sending Red on his outruns (you can see him at the top of this photo). This morning, as I closed the gate, I saw that all of the animals in the pasture, the donkeys and the sheep had clustered around Maria, and Simon was nosing the sheep out of the way so he could get closer.

Maria is the most loving human being I have known, as well as one of the most creative. She talks to the animals in the most direct way, and they to her. I am lucky to be able to capture this every now and then, standing back from it. After the photo was taken, Simon came over to me, and we had our own conversation. Connection is important.