whale talker

Just a few science contributions - speaking of entering caves where enlightenment lies.

Divers have discovered a primeval forest beneath 60’ of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The forest became exposed when Hurricane Katrina struck that region and removed 50,000 years of sediment from the forest. The opportunity to discover all kinds of things regarding the natural conditions of The Gulf Area in that time is breath taking – of course you have to be a scientist to understand the excitement generated by this. It is a perfect vindication of the value of Marine Archeology – another SCIENCE!

And now we have found that our solar system was not born within The Milky Way Galaxy at all, but a system ripped from the fabric of the neighboring Dwarf Sagittarian Galaxy by the gravity well at the center of our own Milky Way. For those of you who have no knowledge or interest in astronomy and therefore do not see the wonder in this you have my sincerest condolences. This site will help explain if you are interested: http://viewzone2.com/milkywayx.html

Blue is The Milky Way Galaxy, the yellow dot is our solar system, the red is what is left of the Sagittarian Dwarf Galaxy

Another scientific observation: the termites here in Baja Sur are champions of their species. The posts that I covered with a thick coat of asphaltum and then stuck in the ground as supports for my carport palapa have been totally eaten away. I couldn’t tell until I happened to lean against one of the posts the other day and the whole palapa leaned with me. I cut them shorter and have embedded them in a casing of cement. I have been told by one of my neighbors (btw: when I use the term neighbors I refer to my Mexican community since I am the only Gringo that lives here in El Cardonal) that that should hold them for a couple of years. Gotta hand it to those termites, eh!

I am also delighted to report that there has been a glorious return of the birds, chipmunks, lizards, snakes and other small critters that I used to see here now that the feral cats in the area have been controlled. The “flow” of the natural world has returned – hallelujah!

Here are two of my new friends that frequent Shangri-La once again - and the birds have been a sight to behold.

We had a VERY short but sweet rain on the 17^th of last month. As always everything in the desert started greening up immediately – a wonder to watch. Unfortunately we seem to be having another possible draught year – not one tropical storm has hit us yet.

I was reading some Carl Jung the other day and once again realized how sad it is for the human race that we decided to go with Sigmund Freud’s tortured notions of the mind instead of Jung’s much broader and natural interpretations. Of course Freud’s sick mind was exactly what fit the agenda of The Orwellian World we now live in. Sorry – a little dark I know but I am now half way through the 4^th volume (The Age of Faith) of Durant’s epic work and see ever more clearly the immense harm that religion has done to the human journey – particularly the mythology of The Judeo-Christan-Muslim faiths. OK, enough darkness!

I have had some real nice days in the water with my amiga Terry. I did some snorkeling around Punta Pescadero (usually don’t dive there but I wanted to share that fantastic beach with her) and found it a delight – will definitely go there more often.

A small school of Chancho Surgeonfish - "Barbero"

Then a couple of days ago we went out to the south point of Isla Cerralvo and swam with some Sea Lions there. At one point I had three of them within reach and one literally in my face – grand experience. Forgot my camera yet again but did have it on a second dive when Terry came in.

This is the group we swam with. The big guy on the right with the light brown head was to lazy to investigate us. BTW: these are California Sea Lions.

Terry getting up close and friendly. That's the male I had my eyeball encounter with.

I heard about a week ago that a large pod of Orcas were working La Paz Bay. I went out in my kayak the next day hoping to maybe have an encounter if they passed my way but the only critter I saw was a Masked Boobie. And yes, Alan, I did do the “paddle call” and damned if he didn’t buzz me! Some folks out in a boat caught some pics of the pod hunting a group of Bottle Nose Dolphins and here is one of their pictures.

Female Orca leaping 15' to zero in on a Bottle Nose Dolphin

Can’t you just feel the power, focus and skill of this Orca. She was successful by the way. Ah, the circle of life, the flow of energy, one creature to the next – a beautiful dance.

So, as another sun sets here in El Cardonal and I prepare to watch for the Perseid Meteor Shower up on my bodega roof sofa, I send you all warm greetings and love from Baja.

That's my funky old sofa you see on the roof - people pay huge amounts of money for my view. Some of you have spent a good evening or two with me up there - cherished memories to be sure!

BTW: I will be giving a slide presentation of my most recent whale work and developments regarding the marine lab here in El Cardonal on the 27^th of October at UPT in Ukiah. Please pass the word and come and enjoy an evening of story telling and whale lore. That’s a Sunday – 2-5 pm. The lecture itself will be about 1 ½ hours.

AND here are some quotes I just could not leave out – courtesy of my daughter Kersti from FaceBook.