I The farmers here don’t need politicians or scientists to tell them the climate is changing, and disturbingly, the corn fields here are filling up with water, and rain is predicted every day for weeks, in the heart of the summer growing season for corn and other crops. I feel Mother Earth changing,  crying, struggling, and as all the sci-fi movies predicted, we humans are too arrogant to listen, we are too worried about our money. In this world, animals seem more important to me every day, they are our connection to the natural world, they are our past and in many ways our future, and our inspiration. They live in the world without harming or destroying it, they encourage us to do the same. Maria’s connection with animals only deepens, and I am privileged to be able to photograph it.