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Notes


1 Roman fountains were decorated with bronze or stone masks of animals or heroes.

2 The Book of Ingenious Devices, describing the works of the 1st century Greek Engineer Hero of Alexandria… described fountains which formed water into different shapes and a wind-powered water pump.

3 Under the Medicis, fountains were not just sources of water, but advertisements of the power and benevolence of the city’s rulers.

Chapter (1)
~ The Forest Fountain


Us entered the forest from the north side, through the meadow, at about 4½ hours before sundown. Obviously, to say, “the north side” is ridiculous, because Us knows the “north side” of the forest, to be neither straight nor distinct. But, if recall serves Us well, Us will remember there is that small clearing, which at some point started to be referred to as “the meadow” — and, there is a distinct path there. Us loves how the branches of the oak and pine parallax with smooth beauty in the canopy above. The smell is peaty and sappy; the path is sometimes spongey, but in some areas something like hard-packed gravel. Us thinks that these areas without moss are caused by sunlight coming through at certain times during the day. After walking for about 2 hours Us sees that there are stones bordering the trail and mostly gravel underfoot. After walking for another 10 minutes, the path rises up a distinct grade. When Us gets to the highest point, Us is stunned to see a very large, round, marble fountain in an unwooded circular area. The marble is grey and blue, and the fountain is round with concentric tiers, the smallest on top. Blue-ish water is spilling down, from one tier to the other until splashing in the large pool at the bottom. Us jogs down to the rim of the fountain. The rim is about knee high. Us is unsure of how the fountain is powered, or where the water generates from. But Us is happy to sit on the ground and leaning back against the low marble wall and listening and smelling and seeing, in the last remaining hours of daylight. Us removes the un-networked reader from the backpack and continues to read from favorite passages of verse, well into the evening.