Calling in the Rain, Patagonia-Style

A lot of energy and vision has been put into the Patagonia Community Garden this spring. The renewal includes new hoop house frames, pathway and mulch improvements, weeding and edging everywhere, and an herb garden within the sectors of a very large metal wheel ringed with terra cotta roof tiles. The 2025 upgrades were on display as the setting of a community event on Sunday, June 22, two days after the Summer solstice and two days before El Dia de San Juan, the festival of St. John the Baptist.  

As Father Simon of St Teresa’s touched on in his invocation, St John is associated with both water and renewal, the central regenerative energies of any garden. On June 24, The Day of (El Dia de) San Juan is widely celebrated in Catholic countries, our neighbor Mexico included of course. It was appropriate to connect with that culture with a couple of songs in Spanish by the opening band, String Benders, with a candy-filled piñata for the kids later in the program, and with homemade salsas and chips as the centerpiece of the light refreshments that were offered.  

Lots of watermelon was shared, the perfect fruit for a monsoon-encouraging event.  As a late afternoon event, the garden gathering wasn’t intended as a big sit-down dinner opportunity, and beyond water and herbal tea, the beverages were BYO. The gathering wasn’t dominated by fundraising either, but donation jars were available if you looked.

The ceremonial portion of the event began with organizer Mary Sky Schoolcraft herding folks into a circle, “like herding cats” she’d said. The circle was formed adjacent to the circle of flagstone at the Buddha, with probably about 70 folks in all. Stepping into the circle and speaking prayerfully from the wisdom of all cultures, Joni Stellar said, “In recognition of our multi-cultural heritage of honoring circles and cycles and water as the font of life, I now call in the Spirits of the sacred four directions to join us now,” and asked for their guidance.  

One stretch of the circle had the Gratitude Drummers, led by Lori Carroll and Mary Tolena. With a variety of instruments and help from a few in the crowd, the drummers created a moment of stillness into which came the sounds of breezes and raindrops, slowly increasing to a thundering crescendo and downpour, then tapering off again, just as monsoon does. 

To provide some actual drops of water in the circle, wet branches of desert broom were wildly and joyfully swiped around the space.  It seemed a great way to recognize and encourage the desert cycles as they pivot from dry to wet. 

As the sun settled into some clouds behind the trees toward Richardson Park, people chatted and began to drift away. It seems likely they’d be taking with them their own version of the positivity Stellar had described when asking help from the spirit-keepers of the North. She had read:  “The wisdom of the elders, the healers, the crones, the priests and the priestesses—please help us confront our fears, not react in anger or retract in fear, but to accept change as the only constant, and to corral our minds and bodies to help bring positive change to this world, this community, just as rain replenishes a parched planet.”