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My company, ZAMARTZ, sponsors the local farmer’s market in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania—or King of Prussia, as it’s known to the locals. As part of this sponsorship, I have a booth at the farmer’s market. Recently, my long-time best friend, Hannah Biddle, came to visit me at my booth.
Hannah’s about to make a big life change and move to another state. In the meantime, we’re trying to find time to spend together amidst our respective busy schedules and the state of the world. Anyway, she came that day to give me a book she’d found: Water, Woods & Wild Things, a memoir by American writer Hannah Kirshner that recounts her excursion to a Japanese mountain town and her introduction to its culture, craftsmanship and community.
Angel and I are both Japanophiles, as I’ve attested to before, and Hannah knows our interests well. This book was a great way for us to get into the spirit of our balcony and its verdant garden. Hannah didn’t even know I’d just gotten my green Japanese maple when she gave me the book! And my garden, Japanese maple and all, is just the right, serene setting for me to sit down, do some weekend reading, and get into the mindset of the Japanese and their slower way of life.