Afield of his own: Fahey in Salem, Oregon, 1996
BETTYHERZNER/DRAGCITY
THE meditation pond at the Swami Satchidananda Ashram in Lake County, California, was not a safe place by which to contemplate. Atroupe of turtles had made the pool their home and these were often found snapping at anyone who dared ponder at its edge. To solve this issue, the ashram employed one of their number, aguitarist who was also akeen amateur herpetologist.
“John Fahey was their official turtle catcher,” remembers friend and guitarist Leo Kottke. “They hired him to remove all the turtles from the pond. Iwandered around the grounds with him once in the early ’70s, when he showed me this one giant snapping turtle, right between the water and the shore, that he’d left there, just to keep the balance right. John thought the monks needed something to keep them on their toes.”