Neighbors.

June 18, Rancho Cordova.

Turns out I was neighbor to an oasis of a river, a 20-acre farm and a newfound friend and I didn't even know about it.
Late on Wednesday night when we pulled into the soccer field in Hagan Park, Dawn, her daughter Renna and her boyfriend, Matt, were getting ready to go to bed. Matt called out to Dawn that there was a semi tractor-trailer in the field. Whatever, said Dawn, thinking he'd probably not seen right. Shortly thereafter he called out again. There's a guy out walking and waving a flashlight, he must be drunk or something, he said.
Dawn told me the story when she came to visit us in the trailer on Friday afternoon. They'd discovered upon waking up the next morning there was a circus in their front yard, she'd gone and seen the show and looked up the website afterwards, ultimately stumbling upon the blog. Can I come visit?, she asked, we're going to be neighbors for three days.
Dawn has raised an adult son and is now raising her daughter, mostly by herself. Renna, who is thirteen, is a poised, shy girl who surprises you when she suddenly sparks to show you her artwork. Mother and daughter share a peaceful nonchalance.
Dawn was always fascinated by the circus, I with the farm. She took me to the river, the American river. It flowed just a few hundred yards behind the circus, the water wonderfully cold, straight from the Sierra snows, the currents so swift. She took me to the farm, a co-op owned and leased by the county of Sacramento. Ten people live on it, renting houses, raising chicken and sheep. The land was bought by the county some 20 years ago and is now an oasis of green amidst the infringing suburbs. She gave me a tour, introduced me around, held Dylan while I used her wireless connection. She sent me home with fresh eggs and grapefruits from the farm, fell in love with Dylan. She and Matt even took me to the farmer's market in downtown Sacramento and came to see the show a second time on Sunday.
Turns out I had a friend in Sacramento. She's living out one of my other dream life, waking up to the roosters every morning, looking out to the fields, walking to the river for a swim. Circus life: a day on the farm, thanks to my newfound neighbors.

Dawn and her daughter, Renna, 13, in front of some of Renna's paintings, in their livingroom.