ABSTRACT
The sea anemone flows with the rhythm of the ocean’s currents; its colored and sensitive sepals feel the plentiful sea for food. Human beings are also connected to the ebb and flow of a living earth; the sensual fibers of an animate world tug and pull to connect culture with the land. When we listen to the landscape, we can fall back to our primitive roots-we can smell and taste the flesh of the land. In my coastal bioregion, a wealth of images, sensations and feelings are produced by the intermingling of the sea, maritime community and landscape. A mosaic of habitats support a number of creatures that interact to form my community and place: bishop pine forest and tan bark oak forest; coast live oak and riparian woodlands; chaparral-coastal sage, purple sage and coastal dune scrub; coastal strand with freshwater or salt marsh; vernal pools and seasonal wetlands; and blowing grasslands on coastal bluffs with rocky headlands. Shells from nearby shores and roaming fog are part-time residents. These sights, sounds, feelings and tastes are part of my sensual memory of place.
