It took so much for this photograph to happen, there is so much going on, so many things had to happen, so much time had to elapse, we had to learn so much, listen so much risk so much, love so much, I don’t really have words for it. I see Red staying back, as he seems to know to do sometimes, and Zelda reaching out to Maria, which took so long and was so difficult, and the donkeys coming for their treats, their brushing and the sun bursting out of the clouds behind our pasture, all the work to clear it and level it and clean it, all the time it took for all of this connection, this trust, this opening of the heart.

This is the soul of Maria, her love and great heart, her openness and emotion. The soul of us, our connection.

The camera saw this photo before I did, but I think only I and Maria can know – perhaps others can see it – how much feeling and emotion, time and life, hard work and spirituality are in this photograph. Wow. Pictures can tell a thousand words.