"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 8

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

A WORD – Christmas

The Birth of Christ, on the west wall of the quadrangle at the San Antonio Mission de Padua.

It is a beautifully painted frame for the birth of the Christ Child. The colors are brilliant with Mary, Joseph, the Baby and a Wiseman, complete with angels in their appropriate places.

What is unique about this presentation is the fact that it is three-dimensional in the adobe wall.

A quiet piece of art done beautifully in this setting, looking out onto the Rose Garden.

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 7

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

A WORD-Quadrangle

A quadrangle is a four-sided enclosure surrounded by buildings such as the Padre’s Garden at San Antonio Mission.

It is a marvelous place to sit or just walk and feel tranquility all around you in the safety of the quadrangle. Birds sing, roses are fragrant and colorful in the summer sun and the winter’s snappy air.

A wonderful gathering place for family and friends, a wedding or a baptism.

Pictured is the walk-way on the north side of the quadrangle. From the back of the structure looking out to the parking lot and the statue of Father Serra, (front of the Mission.)

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 6

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

A WORD - DOOR

A door. Just a door but what words it could tell. It is a side door on the north side of the Mission.

The door leads into the Chapel. If you are walking to the kitchen from the front of the property you will see it on your left.

The entrance has the old olive trees on the left and an old, old redwood on the right.

The Franciscans introduced many plants and olive trees to the Mission. The Indian women pressed grapes for wine and olives for oil. Some of the men crafted furniture out of the oak trees.

The photographer, Vance MacDonald made a beautiful shot of this door. It is intriguing as is the foliage around it. Look for it when you visit San Antonio Mission.

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 5

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

(Click on the above picture to get a better view)

A WORD - FOUNTAIN

A massive Spanish style fountain stands today in the center of the Rose Garden at the San Antonio Mission de Padua.. It was designed and built by Brother Alexius Wagner and completed in July, 1965.

In years past it had become overgrown with weeds and brush but some 12 years ago the underbrush was cleared away and the water began to flow again. After years of dormancy it now elicits joy to those who see it and the birds that live by it. One lovely evening each year the fountain is in its glory. That is in November when the garden is celebrated with the annual EVENING IN THE GARDEN. The entire garden is lit by candlelight and the fountain is in all it’s splendor that evening with candles flocking it from every side and perspective. Gathering of friends will always be ‘by the fountain.’

Here the photographer has captured it as never seen before. Enjoy the picture and come to the Mission to enjoy its beauty.

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 4

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

(click on the picture above to get a better view)

A WORD-CRUCIFIX

On July 14, 1771 when the first Mass was held at the site of San Antonio Mission, Father (Padre) Serra rang the big bell as a call to worship. At that time the huge bell swung from an oak limb. The zealous Padre called the Gentiles to the holy Church of God. One could see that a large cross had been constructed of wood. It was raised, blessed and venerated and all was being readied for the first worship service.

That first crude wooden cross was no doubt as beautiful to the worshipers at that first service as a crucifix might seem to one visiting the Mission in 2011.

Pictured here by our photographer is a beautiful crucifix in one of the hallways in the Mission quadrangle.

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 3

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

(click on picture above to get a better view)

A WORD – CHANCEL

From the book “Inland Valleys Missions in California” it is noted that “in 1810 the population of San Antonio had grown to thirteen hundred. The mission of San Antonio had seventeen thousand cattle and sheep. The Mission was well known for its strong horses.” It is also noted that the people had begun a major building project. It took three years to finish the Chapel and the building had beautiful high ceilings. It was a source of pride at the Mission.

The photographer has captured the true natural beauty of the interior of the Church here as it stands today. Mass is said every Sunday morning at 9:00am and every soul is welcome. As a member of the military said recently as he and two other officers from Fort Hunter Liggett roamed the Mission grounds, “We have churches back home……..BUT………NOTHING like this. This is unbelievably beautiful.”

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 2

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

(click on picture above to get a better view)

THE WORD – Serra

Father or Padre Serra held the first Mass at San Antonio de Padua Mission on July 14, 1771 according to some historical publications. Padre Serra communicated “I trust in God and the favor of San Antonio Mission that this mission will become a great settlement of many Christians.”

This statue at the present day stands in front of the San Antonio Mission. You will note how the facial features are excellent in this picture. The photographer notes that the picture was done in the dark with flash and flashlight. A form of “painting with light.”

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD" - Series 1

"A PICTURE" by Dr. Vance MacDonald

"A WORD" by Barbara Starkey

(click on the picture above to get a better view)

MISSION SAN ANTONIO was built near the San Antonio River, 75 miles south of the Presidio of Monterey.

When settlers reached the now famous sight, they unloaded their pack mules. One of the first items unloaded was a huge bell.

Father Serra directed the men to hoist the bell and attach it to the branch of an oak tree.

“My heart…desires that this bell be heard all over the world” Father Serra yelled as he rang the bell.

The picture is a very recent one of the majestic bell now hanging at the San Antonio Mission……

"A PICTURE" and "A WORD"

Photo courtesy Dr. Vance MacDonald

(click on the picture above for a better view)

Since our roses at the Mission are still in sleepy time until spring I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the photography by Dr. Vance MacDonald of the San Antonio Mission de Padua. Dr. MacDonald is sharing some shots in his ‘photographic journey’ of the Mission in “A PICTURE” and Barbara Starkey, journalist, is writing “A WORD” for this series.

The Carriage House Inn in King City was the setting for Barbara to meet Dr. MacDonald when he came to photograph the Mission and he stayed at Barbara’s Bed and Breakfast. Thus the joining of the PICTURE and the WORD to benefit many and especially the San Antonio Mission.

Dr. MacDonald expresses his interest in photography by going back to high school and college as he took family ‘snapshots.”

His first camera of real note was a 35mm SLR. On his way to Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane,WA he approached the Tetons, for the first time from the East, and broke his camera trying to shoot from a “better angle.”

His mother-in-law, a noted Canadian portraitist from Windsor, Josephine Smith, then gifted him with a Zeiss Ikon Contessamat camera. With that he started his practice as a neurosurgeon in Las Vegas, Nevada and began to collect Nikon camera equipment.

“Camera equipment does not make a photographer” as noted by Vance but digital became a force in his world of photography. He recently spent some time with Al Weber, a long time photo educator from Carmel, California. A group of photographers met at Mission San Antonio de Padua where they photographed the Mission extensively. The goal was to produce a portfolio for their use and an exhibition at the Steinbeck center in Salinas.

Please watch here for the PICTURE and the WORD for the next month and make your own journey to the Mission to explore its beauty – with or without a camera.

Padre's Garden Blooms more than Roses

Fernando Fernandez, Owner Green Line Landscape Service

In a past article I shared my story about how I feel in love with the rose garden at the Mission. For many, the Mission plays a great role in their lives. For me the peace and serenity of the grounds I cherish every time I visit.

The recent “Cutting of the Roses” event I enjoyed working in the garden and talking to people about gardening. As I was working away this gentleman came up to me and we started a refreshing conversation about the roses and over-all landscape. It was apparent he was very knowledgeable and I could tell he has a passion for it, which later I found out began at the age of seven working in the fields in Mexico.

In our conversation I found out Fernando Fernandez is not only a California Licensed Landscape Contractor but something dear to my heart, he is also a Certified Advanced Green Gardener PLUS a Qualified Landscape Water Manager!

The Green Gardener program originally started in Santa Barbara county many moons ago. A dear friend of mine Phil Boise was one of the creator’s of the program. I myself, went through the classes because this is something that Ventura County wanted me to implement as apart of the “Our Water, Our World” IPM program I designed for them.

So here I was standing in Padre’s Garden talking to Fernando, someone who not only took his business serious enough to get his California License but went beyond in acquiring knowledge that is so important in the understanding the over-all landscape, which quite frankly, doesn‘t come with being a Landscape Contractor. For example, detecting pest problems and addressing them utilizing IPM and less toxic methods, proper water management (top issue in the landscape) and so much more.

The Monterey Bay Green Gardener program is coordinated by the Ecology Action Community and funded by the State Water Resources Control Board. To become certified 40 hours of hands-on instruction (by top Phd’s and the like) are required plus continuing education to maintain your status. So if you are in the market for someone who really knows what they are doing, explore the Monterey Bay Green Gardener’s website to find a educated knowledgeable landscape professional.

Okay, back to the garden and Cutting of the roses. As I went about my restoration pruning I say about a ½ an hour later Fernando popped back up with a cup of coffee in hand for me where he introduced his lovely wife Michelle. We chatted more and I felt new friendships were being formed. At the end of our conversation I was very excited when he handed me his business card and wanted to volunteer in the restoration project.

Yesterday Fernando picked me up from King City and away we went to the Mission. We spent the day not only restoring the roses, (which is a very tedious process) but we had the opportunity to develop a kinship based on the knowledge we share. Whenever I work with a professional such as Fernando, I realize the more I know the more I need to learn and I am grateful he shared the knowledge he has acquired with me.

The Mission is a magical place where all the people involved are what this world is about. It’s the good things in life, especially where friendships bloom just as beautiful as the rose garden come spring.

A big Thank you to Fernando! I encourages you to take the opportunity to have him pay you a complimentary visit and assess your landscape needs. His business is Green Line Landscape Service and he can be contacted at 831.682.6119. Happy gardening! Deborah

Gifts from the Garden

Tina Lopez, one of the many talented creators/founders of Gifts from the Garden with Lt. Col. Jill Sizemore, another happy customer!

Photographer: Frank Starkey

By BARBARA STARKEY

After the renovation of the Padre’s Garden in about the year 2003, the yearly event in November was founded which is “Evening in the Garden”. An evening of candlelight, entertainment, food, wine and fellowship with guests gathering from up to 500 miles away and now foreign countries.

At this time a supporter of the Mission began a canopied-lighted gift event in the Garden which featured gifts from the Padre’s Garden.

Several women were gathered and put their cooking skills to work. Experiments with herbs and fruits from the garden were made and the outcome was jars and jars of unique products..

Jellies and jams were made by these women. The fruits were acquired from the Padre’s Garden of course.

Now, becoming excited and encouraged by their new-found skills, this tiny group of determined women started fashioning trinkets to sell in their delightful tent. The trinkets were in association with wine and the jellies.

The herbs, jellies and jams were canned in ‘wide-mouth half-pint’ glass jars. Then ‘tied-off’ with country style materials, a note was added to the ribbon as to the contents of the jars and a St. Anthony Medal from the Mission Gift Shop attached.

Mint from the Garden was hand picked, cleaned and dried. . Then the women put the leaves through a hand process of candying and canned them. This usually seemed to be the favorite product sold but also the most time-consuming to prepare.

The women dried the rosemary, mint and citrus rinds to make hand scrub, another favorite.

The group of dedicated,-determined ladies were fortunate to have Betty and Jim Barrington of the King City area join them. Betty is an award winning canner. She grew up with fruits and vegetables in her hands at the side of her Grandmother and has been canning ever since.’

The Padre’s Garden is still giving after all these years! The fruits in the garden are apples, apricots, plums, cherries, quince, tangerines, pears and lemons. The herbs line up as mint, rosemary and chamomile.

One of the ladies always prominent in the middle of the “Gifts from the Garden” is Tina Lopez of King City. She hastens to add:” Each of these harvests depends upon Mother Nature (and the squirrels and raccoons) of course, so we do not always have every item every year.”

I’ll tell you this; if it’s THERE the ladies in the tent at the Mission functions will have it canned and ready to buy! They are one determined bunch! God bless ‘em.

All monies go to the Restoration Funds of the San Antonio de Padua Mission, the greatest gift of all. To find out other ways you can help please visit Campaign Preserve Mission San Antonio

Sounds in the Rose Garden

photo by Frank Starkey

BY BARBARA STARKEY

You may be very confused by this…asking, since when do sounds come from a rose garden.
This particular garden is the Padre’s Rose Garden at the Mission San Antonio de Padua near Jolon, CA.

The sounds come at different times and therefore are different all the time. Usually there is the sound of solitude, reference, only the rustle of the trees, singing of just a few birds and maybe the very far off sound of the voice singing inside the church by a Padre. That is one of my favorite sounds.

On occasion a bus of school children will be roaming the Mission grounds and you hear the totally free laughter of the children. Maybe they have spied one of the Mission cats and are thinking of catching it for a stroke of its coat.

Low quiet conversation between two or several adults is often heard. They have their tri-pods up in the garden trying to dodge the shadows that the fountain makes in order to get the most perfect photo that they possibly can of the huge Padre’s fountain built in the middle nineties by one of the Padres.

Low quiet conversation is heard when several people are standing under the plum tree in the south east corner of the garden. This is the location of Gigi’s grave. She was placed there in 1967, always to be in her beloved rose garden with its fragrant space about her.

Usually it is so quiet that one can almost hear the silent prayers being said by others around.

Once a year, around the first of November, sounds are heard for just one evening in the garden that are unusual sounds to the territory. This is the wonderful event of the Evening in the Garden. If candlelight could make a sound, it would drown out the other wonderful sounds that evening as hundreds of candles light the majestic garden

The garden is dressed that evening by many, many loving volunteers.. It is an evening of friendship, laughter, music and gathering.

Birds in song, just for this one evening, give over their singing to violins, harps, mandolin, guitars, accordions, voices, and the organ music by world renowned Ray Reussner on the organ in the chapel.
The music could also have been by the world famous Ciaramella Ensemble.

The sound of roaming and delight can be heard on this evening in November.

Your imagination could take you back over 240 years ago if you come to the Padre’s Garden and experience your own quiet time or offer to volunteer in the many avenues available there. Help is always needed and welcomed. Call 831-385-4478 and ask “what can I do?” for over-all volunteer projects. From the rose pruning team call 805-712-0203 You’ll be blessed.

The Start of Something New...Welcome to the Garden

I came upon the Mission San Antonio last year when I was working for Monterey County Ag Commission. As a inspector for the county I had to place several insect traps throughout the county for various pests we were monitoring. I selected a citrus tree that was in the middle of the courtyard for my ACP route.

Every time I had to go to the Mission to service the trap I always felt calm, peaceful and untroubled. I feel in love with the garden because it is an oasis of serenity.

I believe it was in September of last year I made my journey to the Mission and was delighted to meet Joan Steele, the Administer for the Mission. What a wonderful woman, who you can tell immediately her passion for the Mission. She is also an talented photographer and all of the photo's on the Mission's website where taken by her.

We got to talking about the rose garden and how it originally started back in the sixties. At one point there was over 400 hundred roses! The Plant Health Care Consultant side of me came out. I asked her, "How does this garden keep maintained?" She told me that there was a handful of dedicated volunteers that kept the garden going.

I offered to host a Rose Clinic to teach the volunteers everything they wanted to know about roses and more. And away we went.

I have been going back at least once a month, meeting with volunteers and working in the garden. Aside from the pruning, fertilizing and care of the garden, which I love, many friendships have also developed. The Mission itself is such a remarkable place and I encourage you to come for a visit.

Also a bit of history is that in 1773 the Mission San Antonio was the site of the first wedding in California! If you want to find out more about booking the facilities for your own retreat, special event or your wedding you can contact the Mission directly at 831.385.4478.

In addition, there are several special events that take place every year in support of the facilities, for example, Mission Days, Evening in the Garden (one of my favorites), Cutting of the Roses and Spaghetti Dinner, and Fiesta.

This blog is being developed to help foster more volunteers to get involved with the garden physically or even just virtually, via cyberspace. It is my goal to identify the roses and create an over-all map/list of the varieties. Come spring when the roses come into bloom I'll be posting photo's and asking for your help in the process.

Presently we are also working on restoration of the older roses in the garden and a few extra hands are needed. So if you are a rose lover and want to learn more about rose care please come join us.

However you want to help the garden please contact me at 805.712.0203 or email me directly at landscapediva@gmail.com

Happy Gardening,
Deborah