“The ploughman homeward plods his weary way”, Thomas Gray, English poet. It was the month of September in Amboseli National park, Kenya, the forth month of the long, dry season. From the hills three kilometers away, the elephant group descended leisurely, feeding on its way down, Marigold in the lead. She is a majestic one-tusked matriarch who has been regularly crossing the dry lake in front of me all her life. I waited until the elephants were at the edge of the lake and started crossing this barren terrain to head toward Lenkolong Swamp on the other side of the desert-like expanse. Then I drove to intercept them at their likely trajectory and waited. The group passed me by but Marigold came forward , out of curiosity perhaps, to check me out. Satisfied, the inquisitive matriarch moved on to lead the group once again. The resulting image speaks to me of a sentient self-assured being, shepherding the trusting group in her charge. Looking at the synchroneity of the group the message is clear: it is a beautiful world if you live and let live, if you share and wonder. And so, as the world around Marigold is changing, she keeps leading her flock through the bad times and the good times.