Whale Talker II

The silent beauty of winter. Fear not, the winter is now half over (not just starting). Deer Woman will retrieve the sun for us as she has since the beginning of time.

The historical source of this holiday commemorates the return of the sun for all of human history, long, long before the advent of The Judeo-Christian-Muslim mythologies.

My own celebration here on the morning of the Solstice.

Another revered of earths creatures. These are the pinnacle of the plant world on this planet. All ecosystems strive for this ultimate expression of life. Forests are holy.

This is the Angel Oak, which can be found in Angel Oak Park, on Johns Island, South Carolina. This Southern live oak tree is considered to be one of the largest oak trees on the entire planet, with an age estimated at 400 years.

Me enjoying the world of trees years ago on the slopes of Mt. Shasta. And look what else can be found there. In the forests that is.

And in the protected under brush below. Not my photos – a share

I’m going to stay with animals for a bit as I usually do. Living by myself for the past 9 years in a relatively “natural” place much of my time is spent appreciating the free life (as opposed to the “wildlife”- a term I detest) here in Baja Sur. Though many of the animals I depict here are not native we are all connected as “The Quantum Foam” – they are in my heart and soul.

The always delightful Meerkats

One of my Osprey friends

Elephants - so cool!

Drinkin' at the waterhole with friends

Total tranquility!

Now, there is a problem in regard to all these “critters”. And here it is: climate change is beginning to express itself more and more rapidly as time goes by. It will effect all these critters one way or another and sooner than we in the scientific community thought possible – or wished not possible. It has to do with the northern ice sheets. Particularly glaciers.

Double Glacier, Aleutian Range, Alaska
The changes in glacial activity over the last 10 years has created a change in the major atmospheric conditions which effect the winds, tides and temperature gradients of the eastern north pacific.

This will require significant adaptation, migration and, in a worse case scenario, massive die offs of many of the critters already endangered.

This is very serious business. I am personally dismayed and not just a bit furious at the fact that we have known this would happen more that 30 years ago and I taught passionately at Mendocino college. I was even reprimanded by my colleagues in the natural science department for being an alarmist. FOOLS!

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205092142.htm

Sometimes better to just find your own place in nature and say goodbye to the ignorant.

I would like to add a point of historical importance in recognizing the contribution of First Nations men during WWII. Native Americans made an enormous contribution to the World War II effort. Sadly, their involvement in the conflict is widely overlooked. Sometimes, they are portrayed as code breakers and nothing more. This is not the case. Native Americans played a huge role in the war from its beginning to its end. Lieutenant Ernest Childers, a Muscogee, being congratulated by General Jacob L. Devers shortly after receiving the Medal of Honor in 1944.

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/more-than-code-talking.html

Speaking of Native Peoples here is an interesting little bit of anthropology I recently came across. Found exclusively on the secluded Nilgiri plateau in Southern India, the Todas are among the most ancient people in the country who have lived in this particular region for centuries. Theirs is a life very different due to their isolation – good read.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/11/24/rich-history-of-the-toda-people/

Somewhat related is this article about “story tellers” and their importance to a cohesive culture. I would like to think that my 30 years as a teacher was more story teller than “instructor”. Research shows that hunter-gatherer storytellers were essential in promoting co-operative and egalitarian values before comparable mechanisms evolved in larger agricultural societies, such as moralizing high-gods. Storytellers were also more popular than even the best foragers, had greater reproductive success, and were more likely to be co-operated with by other members of the camp, according to the research published today in Nature Communications.

https://phys.org/news/2017-12-storytellers-cooperation-hunter-gatherers-advent-religion.html#jCp

A new fossil find!

Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) South Africa's Cradle of Humankind, an expanse of farmland and rolling hills outside Johannesburg, has already unlocked some of the great mysteries of evolution. The unveiling of a near-complete fossil hominid skeleton dating back 3.67 million years will only solidify the importance of the region.

"Little Foot" is the oldest fossil hominid skeleton ever found in Southern Africa, the lead scientist examining the discovery said on Wednesday.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/06/africa/human-ancestor-little-foot-unveiled-

intl/index.html

And here’s another fossil of major importance in regard to our knowledge of the “whale people”.