iMonk | February 2005

Soquel, California — Monday, February 14th

Wonderful winter

The countryside is so beautiful here at the Seva Ashram at this time of the year. Because this area of California has a Mediterranean climate, the winters are wet, and with the above average rainfall that we have had this season, the verdant, undulating hills in Soquel are particularly lush.

This Mediterranean climate is relatively rare, compared to other climate types, and is found in only four locations outside of the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea: here in central and southern California, from San Francisco to Los Angeles; in the Western Cape of my native South Africa, around Cape Town; in southwestern Australia, where my mom and siblings now live in Perth; and in central Chile, around Santiago.

Everything is green now, and the first jasmine buds are beginning to appear on the tangle of vines covering the rail of the deck at entrance to Srila Gurudeva's cottage. Soon spring will be here and the air will be filled with the heady perfume of their fragrant flowers as they begin to bloom and cover the rail with their white petals, like a fresh fall of soft snow (an admittedly silly simile in this sunny Californian weather).

This climate and environment is doing wonders for Srila Gurudeva's health. Day by day His Divine Grace gets stronger as he convalesces in the tranquil and idyllic setting of the Seva Ashram after his recent operation.

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Layout by iMonk — February 14th, 2005.