"I've never seen this before. They always just fly away."

Your Friday photo is a video…

Visitors to Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount are often surprised at what they find. "I've never seen this before," said Jackie DeSantis from the Ojai Raptor Center. She made this comment watching what happened after she released a rehabilitated American Kestrel at Avatar's Point next to Baba's Tree.

See the complete story and raptor release in this 3:15-minute video as told by guest caretakers Kristina Somma and Robert Turnage.

“Raptors” is an outtake (a scene filmed for a movie but not included in the final version) from the award-winning documentary film Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience.

“It reinforced the feeling that something powerful is at Baba’s Tree and at Avatar’s Point.”

— Robert Turnage, Guest Caretaker & Board Treasurer

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As Robert Turnage and Kristina Somma tell the story:

We were there on the first raptor release that took place, and this was a connection that Meher Mount made with the Ojai Raptor Center, which rehabilitates wounded birds of prey.

And an arrangement had been made to release two birds from Avatar's Point, which is right next to Baba's Tree. And the person from the raptor center, Jackie DeSantis, first released the kestrel.

And off it went, and it immediately flew into a tree right next to Baba's Tree. And Jackie, who has done this dozens and dozens of times, so she's an expert with raptors, is going, “I've never seen this before. They always just fly away.”

This one has decided to hang out. That kestrel hung out on the tree next to Baba's tree for 15 minutes, and Jackie DeSantis was saying, “I don't understand it.”

And some of us were sort of knowingly saying, “Well, I think they feel a connection, or the kestrel feels a connection to this magical Baba's Tree. It doesn't want to leave.”

But the issue was actually that the red-tailed hawk was getting a little bit anxious in its enclosure. And Jackie was feeling like, “We need to get this red-tailed hawk out of here.” So she pulls out the red-tailed hawk, and gently releases it.

The kestrel sees the hawk and finally says, okay, it's time for me to make my exit. But then the hawk does this amazing swoop, flies in a circle, goes right by the branches of Baba's Tree, and then lands in the tree next to Baba's Tree.

It reinforced the feeling that there is something very powerful at Baba's Tree and at Avatar's Point.

And then finally, it made its very graceful exit, sort of out in the direction of Santa Paula Peak in the distance.

~Robert Turnage & Kristina Somma, Guest Caretakers

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"I enjoyed the feeling of just getting muddy..."

Your Friday photo is honor of the anniversary of the planting of Baba’s Tree Grove after the 2017 Thomas Fire burned Baba’s Tree to the core…

Former caretaker Ellen Kwiatkowski and former board member Jim Whedon are planting a seedling germinated from an acorn of Baba’s Tree. Imagine from photographer and volunteer Juan Mendez.

Volunteers gathered six years ago in December 2019 to plant the seedlings from Baba’s Tree to help create Baba’s Tree Grove at Meher Mount.

“I enjoyed the feeling of just getting muddy and wet, knowing that here’s how the new life starts.”

— Robert Turnage, Guest Caretaker & Board Treasurer

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The following conversation is from Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience, a heartwarming documentary film about Baba’s Tree at Meher Mount.

After the fire, guest caretakers Kristina Somma and Robert Turnage collected and nurtured acorns from Baba’s Tree to become the seedlings that were planted as part of Baba’s Tree Grove.

Kristina Somma: The day that we planted that the seedlings, I had a very profound feeling about the process. I had been reading a lot of information about the network of the mycorrhizae of the trees — how all of the oak trees on that property had been sending energy and nutrients to Baba's Tree since the 2017 Thomas Fire in order to sustain it and keep it alive.

And so it really struck me that underneath my feet there was this huge network of communication and nurturing going on amongst all of those trees.

And so, we were actually kind of participating in that beautiful network and supporting Baba's Tree by planting the seedlings and adding to that whole communication and nurturing network. And when we were planting the trees, I kept thinking that we were really participating in that beautiful, deep, mysterious, somewhat unseen network of life.

Robert Turnage: And my recollection was that above ground there was fog and a light rain going on. So when all the volunteers started planting the seedlings, your hands, every part of you was starting to get muddy.

But it was fun. I enjoyed the feeling of just getting muddy and wet, knowing that here's how the new life starts.

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"What occurs to me around Baba's Tree as far as sound or silence..."

Your Friday photo…

Thank you to volunteer Stephanie Ervin for this delightful photograph of Baba’s Tree.

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“What occurs to me around Baba’s Tree as far as sound or silence is how profoundly calm and quiet it can be.”

— Robert Turnage, Board Member

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Robert Turnage and Kristina Somma shared their thoughts about silence at Baba's Tree while being interviewed for the documentary about Baba’s Tree: — Tree of Fire: A Story of Love and Resilience.

Robert Turnage: What occurs to me around Baba’s Tree as far as sound or silence is how profoundly calm and quiet it can be.

And there is a connection for me between that and the silence that Meher Baba observed for the last 44 years of His incarnation. You can definitely sense the silence at Baba’s Tree.

Kristina Somma: So if there’s any sound that emanates out from the sky or the tree, you’re listening. It's the silence, the calmness that allows you to be a deeper listener. I find myself listening very deeply at Baba’s Tree.

My nature self is listening for any sound of an animal or a bird or any movement in the bushes.

But also metaphorically, you could say that there's an opportunity to listen more deeply to your own inner self and more deeply to whatever Meher Baba might be asking you to hear. So they kind of come together for me.

I tend to like to go to Baba's Tree on my own the first time I get back to Meher Mount. Because I am trying to allow myself that deeper listening place in that relationship.

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Meher Baba’s Silence

Avatar Meher Baba began His silence on July 10, 1925. He said that His silence was not undertaken as a spiritual exercise, but solely in connection with His universal work.

After Meher Baba started His silence, He communicated by writing on a slate board.  After that, He pointed to letters on an alphabet board to spell out words. Later, He used a series of hand gestures that were interpreted by His close disciples.

He kept silence for 44 years until He dropped His body on January 31, 1969.

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