The natural rock path extends toward the south from here, as well as to a convergence of paths to the north. Thin trunked trees grow here, their bark smooth and grey except where it peels naturally from the trunk. These trees do not have a thick canopy of foliage, but their leaves give thin, intermittant shade, allowing the sunlight to filter in through the leaves during the day. The ground is covered with ivy whose leaves measure about five inches across. Along the east side of the path, a stream flows eastward, gurgling merrily, fed from the south and, it appears, the west, perhaps from an opening in the rock beneath you. Along the west side of the path, toward the south, is a flowerbed.