
The author writes: In the poems and photographs inside this book, are stories told me by an ancient redwood fence. It lives in the fertile Pajaro Valley near the coast of California, and I visit it each morning as I walk. This fence is older than I am by at least a decade and still, despite decay, it steadfastly does its job of protecting fields of strawberries and raspberries, and orchards of apple trees. Gradually, over years, I grew awake to the diverse voices of this fence community, and now, at last, they have generously agreed that I could share their pictures and these poems. Listen with your heart; that s the only way to know an aging fence.