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I remember in High School enjoying geometry as the only math I could grasp. There was something familiar about it and it helped me understand matter in a way that later became useful in my appreciation of my true love biology. It is in every sense sacred and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn some of it’s many faces.

In one of the great tragedies of our age, indigenous traditions, stories, cultures and knowledge are winking out across the world. Whole languages and mythologies are vanishing, and in some cases even entire indigenous groups are falling into extinction. This is what makes the news that a tribe in the Amazon—the Matsés peoples of Brazil and Peru—have created a 500-page encyclopedia of their traditional medicine all the more remarkable. The encyclopedia, compiled by five shamans with assistance from the conservation group Acaté, details every plant used by Matsés medicine to cure a massive variety of ailments.

http://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/amazon-tribe-creates-500-page-traditional-medicine-encyclopedia/

"This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls".- John Muir

Space - the endless frontier......and we are just getting started!

http://www.sott.net/article/301120-There-may-be-a-massive-disturber-beyond-Pluto

After New Horizons probe's historic flyby of planet Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA plans to get the tiny craft even further. New Horizons is now slated to reach a tiny icy body in the Kuiper belt on New Year's Day, 2019, but scientists believe that beyond that region a hidden planet may be lurking, the famous Planet X. This is not to be confused with the Planet X in the 50’s SciFi movie, “The Man from Planet X” that gave me nightmares for years. What is cool about this is that IF there is another planet out there then it too is of course a part of the ebb and flow of our solar system. It is interesting to imagine what that might be.

Here on our own planet science continues to open new vistas in the understanding of plate tectonics and it’s influence on our planetary super-structure. Check out this latest model of what might be going on under the mid-pacific and that has created the islands we have become familiar with.

http://www.sott.net/article/301184-CT-scan-of-Earth-links-deep-mantle-plumes-with-volcanic-hotspots

In a unique and ground-breaking operation, scientists plan to search for evidence of Stone Age human activity on Britain's very own 'Atlantis' - a vast prehistoric land, once located between England and southern Scandinavia, which was engulfed by rising sea levels some 7500 years ago. This is especially interesting because a good 10% of the ancient coastlines of the continents are now submerged and could have evidence of a far larger and older human occupation then we currently accepted.

http://www.sott.net/article/300971-Britains-Atlantis-Scientific-study-beneath-North-Sea-could-revolutionise-how-we-see-the-past

And then there are questions raised by structures such as this. Highly controversial but fascinating to contemplate...and why not?

 http://www.maltanow.com.mt/?p=3708

First Nations “Mrs. Universe” not going to go into the night lightly – Hurrah!! Her name is Ashley Callingbull.

A “high” moment (two years ago) during my campaign to include the El Cardonal area in the proposed Protected Area for Breeding Humpbacks.....and we got it. Now the laboratory! Still in the works and I am confidant it will happen – patience as a virtue is particularly the case in my dear Mexico.

The picture below was taken a couple of years ago when I captured my really good friend and neighbor Carla playing with her grand-daughter Case-Noel. Sweet moment!

And here is a pic of my dear and good friends in Palo Alto who put me up in their home for a number of days before my flight down here.

 Steve & Briel

 And this -

Ahhh….levity, subtle humor – where would we be without it?

I am El Cardonal once again. This time staying in the beautiful home built by my partners, "The Q's". I am open for very special company. e-mail first!!

I have not been inspired to write much but it's nice to sometimes just say hello.  I have been in California since July and will be here for some time yet to come. I’m feeling pretty good and continue to enjoy the presence of family. My intention is to stay here in California and return to El Cardonal only for the whale season - if able.

No whale or dolphin news of course or Baja sunsets etc. but some good stuff happening elsewhere. The galaxy is becoming more familiar to us and just as suspected we exist in a manifold universe/multiverse where mysteries and delights abound....and discoveries to be made beyond imagination. These new planetary discoveries are favorites of mine. You have to understand that when I was a child we were told with absolute conviction (at least by those who wrote and chose our test books) that there were only 9 planets in the universe and weren’t we lucky that God gave us this one! Here’s a close one.

By the way when I was a child we didn’t have any digital electronics to play with (only some of our families had televisons) so we spent our time at each others homes playing sports and riding our bikes to the limits of our endurance. You could always tell who was where by the parked bikes.

I transgress – back to space!

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/news/1792-ssc2015-02-NASA-s-Spitzer-Confirms-Closest-Rocky-Exoplanet-

Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have confirmed the discovery of the nearest rocky planet outside our solar system, larger than Earth and a potential gold mine of science data.

Dubbed HD 219134b, this exoplanet, which orbits too close to its star to sustain life, is a mere 21 light-years away. While the planet itself can't be seen directly, even by telescopes, the star it orbits is visible to the naked eye in dark skies in the Cassiopeia constellation, near the North Star.

HD 219134b is also the closest exoplanet to Earth to be detected transiting, or crossing in front of, its star and, therefore, perfect for extensive research.

"Transiting exoplanets are worth their weight in gold because they can be extensively characterized," said Michael Werner, the project scientist for the Spitzer mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "This exoplanet will be one of the most studied for decades to come."

The planet, initially discovered using the HARPS-North instrument on the Italian 3.6-meter Galileo National Telescope in the Canary Islands, is the subject of a study accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Study lead author Ati Motalebi of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland said she believes the planet is the ideal target for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in 2018.

"Webb and future large, ground-based observatories are sure to point at it and examine it in detail," Motalebi said.

Only a small fraction of exoplanets can be detected transiting their stars due to their relative orientation to Earth. When the orientation is just right, the planet's orbit places it between its star and Earth, dimming the detectable light of its star. It's this dimming of the star that is actually captured by observatories such as Spitzer and can reveal not only the size of the planet but also clues about its composition.

"Most of the known planets are hundreds of light-years away. This one is practically a next-door neighbor," said astronomer and study co-author Lars A. Buchhave of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For reference, the closest known planet is GJ674b at 14.8 light-years away; its composition is unknown.

HD 219134b was first sighted by the HARPS-North instrument and a method called the radial velocity technique, in which a planet's mass and orbit can be measured by the tug it exerts on its host star. The planet was determined to have a mass 4.5 times that of Earth, and a speedy three-day orbit around its star.

Spitzer followed up on the finding, discovering the planet transits its star. Infrared measurements from Spitzer revealed the planet's size, about 1.6 times that of Earth. Combining the size and mass gives it a density of 3.5 ounces per cubic inch (six grams per cubic centimeter) -- confirming HD 219134b is a rocky planet.

Now that astronomers know HD 219134b transits its star, scientists will be scrambling to observe it from the ground and space. The goal is to tease chemical information out of the dimming starlight as the planet passes before it. If the planet has an atmosphere, chemicals in it can imprint patterns in the observed starlight.

Rocky planets such as this one, with bigger-than-Earth proportions, belong to a growing class of planets termed super-Earths.

"Thanks to NASA's Kepler mission, we know super-Earths are ubiquitous in our galaxy, but we still know very little about them," said co-author Michael Gillon of the University of Liege in Belgium, lead scientist for the Spitzer detection of the transit. "Now we have a local specimen to study in greater detail. It can be considered a kind of Rosetta Stone for the study of super-Earths."

Further observations with HARPS-North also revealed three more planets in the same star system, farther than HD 219134b. Two are relatively small and not too far from the star. Small, tightly packed multi-planet systems are completely different from our own solar system, but, like super-Earths, are being found in increasing numbers.

JPL manages the Spitzer mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Spacecraft operations are based at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Littleton, Colorado. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive, housed at Caltech's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center.

Also check out the anomalous bright spot on the asteroid Ceres.

Not fully understood yet but definitely something new. And something else to ponder, how about this?

 The Resonance Project

POINT TO THINK - science has evolved changing the language. It has not evolved by changing the perception. Newton observed apple falling to perceive Gravitational Theory. Einstein perceived a spider moving on a globe, blew the globe, and perceived the curvature. Newton looked to matter and visualized a minimum speed and motion in nature. Einstein looked to light and visualized maximum speed and motion. Heisenberg looked at motion and saw uncertainty. This struck down Euclidean geometry of Newton and Riemann's geometry of Einstein. Scientist failed to comprehend and perceive why and how motion occurs. They adopted a new language- statistical mechanics. The world failed to visualize and understand why and how motion occurs. Instead, they went about exploiting material nature. The present state of the world squarely exist in this failure – Here is a figure that summarizes and gives new perception and foundation to science that can unite ancient and modern knowledge answering most of the key questions science left behind.

Believe it my friends – we are like children in our understanding of reality. Nevertheless, that is our present state so why not enjoy it, eh?

 One day perhaps

A short and deeply respectful honoring of just one aspect of the female energy within our species. I did not write this but concur whole heartedly.

Once upon a time sexual women ruled the world. They were independent, empowered and embodied love. Their energy flowed through every crevice of the earth with the capacity to heal and restore. These women were Sacred Prostitutes, and it’s time they were reawakened. The History of the Sacred Prostitute. In ancient Sumeria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece, there were no brothels. Instead there were Temples of the Sacred Prostitutes inhabited by holy women who embodied love, owned their sexuality, and held the highest spiritual authority.

These women were known as Priestesses, or Sacred Prostitutes.

 Within those Temples men were cleansed of battle scars and nourished with divine sexuality. A common practice that took place in the Temple was called “Taking the War out of Man”. Upon returning from war, men were invited to pass through the Temple doors. The Priestess would bathe, soothe and knead their physical, emotional and spiritual wounds. She would expand her magnetic field to absorb all of his wounded energy, literally drawing the effects of war from his system. Through the power of her energy, and purity of her femininity, she would gently and tenderly love him back to wholeness. These Women Were The Original Sexual Healers

The Priestess was luminous and, because of her power, purity, and willingness to love with her entire body and soul, she enabled man to reconnect with both himself and higher forces through pleasure and prayer. Within society, and to the families of the men she served, she was not seen as a threat. On the contrary..

 The Sexual Priestess was regarded as holy and celebrated for her sexuality.

Men entered the Temple with the full permission and blessing of their families, and emerged cleansed of the nightmare of war. This process was a natural and essential part of life. The Sacred Prostitute was not shamed, viewed as a victim, or “forced into prostitution.” She willingly took the office of Priestess, and acted from an empowered place of service.

    Not everyone saw it this way.

The Biblical Patriarchs saw the practices and beliefs of the Priestesses as immoral. As a result, as the Patriarchs came to rule the world, Priests systematically replaced Priestesses as intermediaries between men and ‘God’. Where the world of the Sacred Prostitute considered love, kindness and sensuality as necessary elements to maintain healthy balance – the world absent of her presence became secularized, impersonal, and detached.

Speaking of balance here is something said by one of the many great Native orators of The First Nations – Chief Seattle circa 1854:

In 1854, the “Great White Chief” in Washington made an offer for a large area of Indian land and promised a “reservation” for the Indian people. Chief Seattle’s reply, published here in full, has been described as the most beautiful and profound statement on the environment ever made:

 Chief Seattle: Suquamish

"How can you buy or sell the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

ALL SACRED

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.

The sap, which courses through the trees, carries the memories of the red man.

The white man’s dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man.

We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters: the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man – all belong to the same family.

NOT EASY

So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. The Great Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children. So we will consider your offer to buy our land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us. This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is just not water but the blood of our ancestors.

If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred,and you must teach your children that it sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The waters murmur is the voice of my father’s father.

KINDNESS

The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember, and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers, and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the same kindness that you would give any brother.

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on.

He leaves his father’s graves behind, and he does not care. He kidnaps the earth from his children, and he does not care. His fathers’ grave, and his children’s birthright, is forgotten. He treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky, as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. His appetite will devour the earth and leave only behind a desert.

I do not know. Our ways are different than your ways. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the red man is a savage and does not understand. There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in the spring, or the rustle of insect’s wings.

But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand.

The clatter only seems to insults the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whip-poor-will or the arguments of the frogs around a pond, and the smell of the wind itself, cleaned by a midday rain, or scented with the pinion pine.

PRECIOUS

The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath – the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath.The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench.

But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grand father his first breath also receives his last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadows flowers.

ONE CONDITION

So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition: The white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers.

I am a savage and do not understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie,left by the white man who shot them from a passing train.

I am a savage and do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive.

What is a man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For what ever happens to the beast, soon happens to man. All things are connected.

THE ASHES

You must teach your children the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground,they spit upon themselves. This we know: The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. This we know.

All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see.

One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover – our God is the same God.

You may think that you own him, as you wish to own our land, but you cannot. He is the God of man, and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white.

This earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to reap contempt on its Creator. The whites to shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. But in your perishing, you will shine brightly, fired by the strength of the God who brought you to this land, and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and the red man.

That destiny is a mystery to us, for we do not understand when the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills are blotted by talking wires.

Where is the thicket? Gone.

Where is the eagle? Gone.

The end of living and the beginning of survival.

I am happy to say that this kind of wisdom is finding it’s way into our judicial system ie:

WASHINGTON -- The Senate quietly made history on Wednesday night when it confirmed Diane Humetewa as a federal judge -- the first Native American woman to ever hold such a post.

Humetewa: Federal Judge

Humetewa was confirmed 96-0 to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. She is a former U.S. attorney in Arizona and a member of the Hopi tribe. She is now the only Native American serving on the federal bench and just the third Native American in history to do so.

In a different vein, the new Mrs. Universe chosen this year is a Native Cree from The US.

A few extra pics:

 My son Zack after his first swim with a whale

My first sighting of "Odin" - to return three more times to my search grounds.

"Ain't it the truth"

It continues to amaze me how there are so many wonderful events occurring in our space program and we hear so little about them. I know that some of you find it a bit of waste of money with all that needs to be done here on Earth but I find it inspiring and really quite wonderful. Here is an example of just one of the many incredible successes we have had recently.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/06/hibernating-comet-lander-robot-philae-wakes-up-rosetta-mission/395819/

And this: Stephen Hawking just announced that he will partner with billionaire science enthusiast Yuri Milner to undertake the most expansive search for extraterrestrial life to date.

Nice to know that Stephen is using his brilliant mind to expand ours! 

In a press conference held at the Royal Society in London on Monday morning, Hawking and Milner unveiled their plan to combine the strength of social networking and some of the most powerful telescopes on earth to look for alien life. The project will be able to collect and analyze five times more of the radio spectrum and cover 10 times more of the sky than any previous effort to find life outside of Earth.

The two-part, $100 million project, called Breakthrough Initiatives, will be funded by Milner and span 10 years. The first observations, which will be of broadcast signals from the one million stars closest to Earth, are slotted to begin in 2016.

Part one of the initiative, called Breakthrough Listen, will have access to the Parkes Observatory radio telescope in New South Wales, Australia and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory dish in Green Bank, West Virginia. In addition to radio observations, the project will also look for optical laser signals using the 2.4-meter Automated Planet Finder Telescope at Lick Observatory in California.

http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/hawking-just-announced-expansive-search-alien-life-ever-undertaken/

I often drove to Los Barriles especially during the last two years while dealing with my various emergencies. Just a few weeks ago before leaving Mexico I needed desperately to go in again. When I went out to my loyal car I suddenly thought that perhaps I should check the oil etc seeing as I was going to drive 15 miles through the desert and over two mountainous areas. I lifted the hood and yes – no oil, anti freeze gone and one of my battery connectors was rusted all the way through and kinda hanging there. In my weakened condition I was already exhausted just thinking about what I needed to do. I drove to Cesar’s (our local and very good mechanic) in the village but he was gone so I drove past Jose’s (our local major contractor) and there he was just getting ready to leave his yard for a job. I pulled in and asked for his help. He dropped everything and took care of it all immediately – these are my neighbors, my amigos, mi familia! I didn’t fasten the cap properly on my radiator so going over the hill I heated up and almost didn’t make it. Fortunately I did. In every way I was incredibly lucky – and I appreciate the kindness of The Great Mystery because I just didn’t have the energy to have been caught out there with a “broken” car.

I have had a whole series of events like this recently – at first appearing very difficult, if not insurmountable, and then somehow something/somebody comes along and rescues me. 

I also had the opportunity to apologize to a norte Americano neighbor whose essence, space and good soul I totally disregarded a year ago. Her name is Lauren and a year ago I came upon her in her kayak joining in a moment of pure joy and play between a mother humpback and her calf. Lauren was respectful and kept her distance but was definitely close enough to “feel” the moment. I was on a photo run so entered this very special space and disrupted it totally. I got my ID’s. A week later Lauren caught me in Chapito’s and really chewed me out. I defended myself as a researcher with the need to gather data. She didn’t buy it. It took me some time to realize how off base I was. On the 22^nd I saw her while having dinner with my dear Pomeroy’s and had the opportunity to apologize. I did with a sincere heart and Lauren HEARD me! We hugged with deep appreciation for each others essence – what a wonderful experience.

I was gifted with a beautiful fox that evening that went through my yard – gratitude.

 

Not my pic

There was a nice calm sea on the 23^rd of July and I took the opportunity to swim my goal of twenty laps. Good as it felt there was also the specter of increasing weakness as time goes by. It is absolutely essential for my mind, body and spirit to keep up my exercise but at times it is a struggle. No matter how much I try to bring my body back it seems that I continue to weaken – very, very frustrating. I even fretted that I would not see the kids again (felt rel bad for a couple of days) but here I am in NCa surrounded by their love and good will.

An expensive but delicate timer for the drip system went kaput so I got a manual spring loaded one that my friend Luis will activate for me while I’m gone.

On the 27^th I took my longest kayak in a while. A mile out, then north to visit a part of the Schaeffer clan and then over the reef home – a bit much but no serious outcome. Watched a real nice series of leaps by a good sized swordfish, a turtle and some dolphins a distance away. Nice time for me all around.

This pic from 2013 - now that's a flat sea, perfect for kayaking.

A whole series of small disasters followed: broken faucet, car problems, solar panel Problems, computer fiasco, SD car registration (charged $5,300.00 instead of $73.00 – causing a major bank episode as my acct. became over drawn) ETC!

OK, enough of the kvetching!

Here’s a real informative and sensitive article about Orcas. And just as I have been maintaining, they are incredibly intelligent, peaceful and completely benign. I am so very glad I chose to swim with them when I did – a really highpoint in my whale work and will engage again if at all possible.

 A friendly Orca come to say hello

Whales Can Teach Us (Overlook Press, 2015) by Dave Neiwert

What Killer Whales Can Teach Us -- It Might Surprise You

An excerpt from David Neiwert's new book, "Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us."

By David Neiwert / AlterNet

June 23, 2015

7/3 kayaked two miles and swam five laps in the embrace of Grandmother. Same on the 7^th except did 20 laps....so I’m still in the running. 

Some extra pics:

 

Out with Antonio for a morning search - 2012

 

My intern Jessica at the internet cafe - 2009

 

One of my favorite perks - Linea and Christine 

 

Really contented - 2010

 Left for The States on the 21^st of July arrived tired but sound in Sacramento where I am once again in the embrace of family – grateful.

 

On the 28^th of May I was reading in my trailer when I noticed that there was a major commotion in my palo verde tree created by a Grey Thrasher (bird). It went on for some time so I went outside to investigate. I sat in my favorite observation chair (very comfortable reclining lounge chair donated by my dear friends Chris and Christina). There was only one Thrasher so it wasn’t a mating ritual and though other birds (three Cactus Wrens, a Verdin, a Pyroloxia and a Northern Cardinal) came by and added to the ruckus, I couldn’t make out what was happening. I continued watching believing something was going to happen and stood up to take a closer look. I had to relieve myself anyway so walked over to where the major action was going on but saw nothing until this critter came “slithering” down next to my shoulder. 

            

It was a 6’ long “CoachWhip” that had apparently been looking for some delicacy to feed on and the birds were pissed!

He continued down the tree and then curled up under the ceruelo tree where he remained until the birds gave up and then he slithered off again into the brush. I have never seen a white CoachWhip before – very beautiful and a gift from The Great Mystery for sure. I love snakes – well, I love most critters but snakes are very cool.

I saw this as a good sign and found that my picture was viewed by john of God the next day. I felt empowered and since the sea was calm I did some laps – 18 actually. That’s the most I have done since my stroke! I also got the terrific news that my son Zack had been offered a fulltime job with The Prevention Institute in Oakland – real proud of you son! He has always been “in the trenches” for freedom – Justice – Equality and now he can take it further than ever before.

I tried for a kayak and swim a couple of days later but found that climbing back into my kayak in deep waters was difficult. I may have to give up that particular part of my scenario down here. Rest of the day was unusual. Had a trembler that rocked the trailer and made some ruckus (sounded like an explosion), some banditos hit one of the empty houses next door and then I observed the strangest bird behavior I had ever seen. I was watching an intensely beautiful sunset when I noticed a large bird (first though a vulture or osprey) about 200 yds off and at about 50’ flapping his wings vigorously but going nowhere. There was no wind at all so I watched and wondered what it was doing. The light was not good or the angle so I just couldn’t make out what it was. Too big for an osprey – wrong wing flap for a vulture.....and it was going NOWHERE! I watched till the light was gone and it was still there, same exact spot. I have watched plenty of birds and seen ospreys suspended above the tidal zone looking for prey but this was different – magical really.

Early hurricanes this year, expecting 19 with 4 of them major cat. 4 – plus an El Nino. I may be here to see some of it but hope to be back in the States by mid-August. Blanca was a troublemaker – electricity.

I have a sweet Cactus Wren family nesting in my palapa and I have been observing their behavior (once a biologist, always a biologist). Right now it’s all about feeding the young. Mostly small bugs but an occasional small lizard. Lots of dialogue between male and female particularly when approaching the nest. Totally different calls when I am about and moving.

On the 6^th of June I decided to take a morning swim even though the surf was up a bit from Blanca. I didn’t wear a suit because the water was warm and it seemed that the shore break was lessening so I went in. After two laps I realized the swell was greater than I had thought so I started in. Of course I had to come over many rocks to get in and got thrown by a wave on to them opening a nasty cut on my elbow and leg. Could have been a lot worse – no more next time for sure. What I learned was that I have two very different personalities in my human body. One that says, “don’t do this it is stupid and YOU know it”, and another that says, “you can do it, you HAVE to do it”.....and 9 times out of ten I will follow the second voice. What I seem to like about it is that when I go against the first voice, time is SUSPENDED!

Two days later was a bad water pump day, pila leaking, over heated pump etc. Took all day to straighten things out but successful. Getting plenty of OT/PT down here believe me.

On the 11^th of June I had another gift from The Great Mystery in introducing me to a beautiful, and large, Isla Cerralvo Whip Tail lizard. First one I have ever seen – what a treat. Then this young Zebra Tailed lizard climbed on a nearby rock and posed for me.

 

Isla Cerralvo Whip Tail

 

Zebra Tailed Lizard

 Next day I went and did laps again but wore my skin suit. Good thing – I swam into a large group of “Aqua Malos” (our Pacific version of the Portuguese Man O’ War). I only got stung twice but had to make a hasty retreat from the area. Then I stepped on a large Diamond Sting Ray and that was a surprise, altogether I saw 6 sting rays during my swim – exciting day!

 

Diamond Sting Ray: NMP

 Some extra pics just for the sake of color and variation :

Hawks Bill Sea Turtle by the reef

 Crew of Dariabar after arriving in Hawaii from San Francisco, 1998

 

My great, great grandfather, Peter All. Grand Patriarch

 of the Mender (my mother's family) dynasty - sea men all!

The Universe continues to boggle the mind. I know that for most folks astronomy/cosmology are not “hot” items in our everyday contemplations (for those of you in that category may I suggest seeing the movie “interstellar”, and for the more serious; “Mind Walk”). Ever since I was a child I was fascinated by the cosmos and enjoyed learning as much about it as my sorry higher math and physics skills would allow me. Nevertheless I plodded on and now feel that I have successfully incorporated an appreciation and basic understanding into my daily existence even if it is a brief moment to stop and gaze at the stars on a star bright night.

A “super nova” is the remnant of a previously exploded massive star that leaves behind a colorful and energetically varied region of space where all kinds of surprising events may occur. Here is one that “boggles” the mind. I include it just because it’s so damn other worldly and beautiful!.

http://www.sott.net/article/296292-Mysterious-supernova-still-astounds-astronomers

A bit closer to home, and in yet another academic field I may have found a place – anthropology, A recent discovery of an ancient bracelet carved 40,000 years ago has opened new vistas in the human saga. Once again attesting to our extremely ancient origins and our predilection toward aesthetic art. It by far predates even Egypt and Sumeria and the earliest cultures of what is now Turkey (where a great many very ancient sites, ie: Catal Huyuk – 8,000/10,000 BPE) have been unearthed. What fun it would be to trace the human path over this planet (as is now so brilliantly made more accessible by the Genome Progect) as the bits and pieces accumulate.....ah, another lifetime.

  http://www.sott.net/article/296220-40000-year-old-bracelet-made-by-extinct-human-species-found

I’ve been delighted by the number of chipmunks that have begun to appear here in the last few years. I get daily visitations now and they remind me of my childhood vacations with my mother and brother in Yosemite Natl. Park. Those were days of such happiness that the memory instigated by these little guys is truly precious. I even had one in the trailer the other day going after my bread basket – right while I was eating. Poor guy panicked when I stood up but when I opened the screen door and moved aside he was out like a flash. He literally flew out of the trailer – got a chuckle out of me.

And check out this handsome guy. This is a Desert Iguana, and are found in large numbers here in spring and summer. They are always a treat to watch – they are very fast, beautifully colored and extremely aware in that ancient Reptilian way.

 Not so handsome was a 2 ½ spider in my bathroom the other night right off my right shoulder as I was brushing my teeth. I told him to stay there, got a glass to cover him, slipped a card under him and took him outside. I have no problem with spiders but I didn’t like the idea of this big fellow in my bed later. Though this sounds to some as an uncomfortable and possibly even traumatic experience, check out this article about media violence and children. I mean come on, is this really surprising to anyone?

http://www.sott.net/article/296278-Violence-in-media-creates-symptoms-of-PTSD-despite-no-real-life-exposure-to-trauma-study

Contrast a culture that encourages the acceptance of violence on this level as “entertainment” to one such as epitomized by some Native American Peoples. Understanding full well that they too engaged in violence but it is the blatant encouragement and insidious delivery that is disturbing.

http://www.idealistrevolution.org/10-quotes-from-a-sioux-indian-chief-that-will-make-you-question-everything-about-modern-culture/

Sort of along these same lines is this very interesting concept.

http://www.thesacredscience.com/blog1/how-many-times-are-you-willing-to-die-in-this-life

I thought I would add some of my favorite photos from earlier years before I launch into an update of how things are for me at this time.

Mi casa for the past 11 years

Main street of El Cardonal before pavement came in 

 Out 4 miles in my kayak – way quiet

My first hurricane – magnificently nature

New, very special friends 

My other family, The Q’s

 The “dynamic duo”

I am getting older. My recent light brush with mortality has made me far more aware of my time on this earth and how I shall use it. More on this in a bit but first something to get a chuckle. This is worth watching.

http://www.greenvillegazette.com/she-leads-the-audience-in-prayer-but-then-youll-be-laughing-so-hard-that-tears-will-flow/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=boost&utm_content=marketing_api

Another month has passed since my last post so I guess it’s time to catch up. A lot has changed over this month, not the least of which being some major decisions regarding life changes. Without going into too much detail (and that’s why I leave this for the end since I am sure not all of you are particularly interested) these are the high points.

I am moving back to CA to be closer to family. During my convalescence from my stroke I realized how important they all are to me and I want more time with them. It is also more difficult to live here now than I had imagined it would be for a number of reasons I won’t get in to – they just are. My activities in the sea have been significantly curtailed and I miss that strongly. I do not have a  definite timeline but hope to make the move as soon as I finish up some things here in Cardonal (weeks – possibly 1-2 mths)

I will try to return here each whale season (1-2 mths?) to continue my research and to help develop the programs I would like to see implemented at the school and the Lab (which I am assured will happen).

I have also decided not to have cancer therapy for now and instead will focus on diet, supplements, meditation etc to aid my body’s wish to return to it’s balance.

The consequences of the stroke are noticeable to me but are not evident to the casual observer and for this I am terribly grateful. I owe that to my daughter Kersti’s immediate loving care and advice and the gentle and always strong support, physical and mental/spiritual, of her husband Bill.

I am approaching this major change as yet another adventure in my life saga and look forward to new experiences, challenges, people etc.

I intend to locate somewhere between Oakland and Sacramento. I’ll be looking for a small rental (apartment, spare room, out building, use your imagination) if you know of a place, let me know.