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…and I’ll let you figure out how the story ends.

Hello Friends, Colleagues, and Fam,

I only have 8 minutes, but want to send this out today! (Day one of the Democratic National Convention).

I’d like to introduce you to three fantastic fellows (two of which are in Philly!), and encourage you to follow them on Facebook:

Justin Brice: A Bernie Delegate posting updates, a GIS Analyst, and grounded young man https://www.facebook.com/justin.brice.58?fref=ts

Paul Fenn: An environmental lawyer, activist, and champion for alternative, distributed energy https://www.facebook.com/paul.fenn.16?fref=ts

Steve Adams: A Rock Star, Bernie Champion flying to Philly today, and all around great guy: https://www.facebook.com/stevenrueadams

And, from Bernie Sanders Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/senatorsanders/?fref=nf) today:

"What I believe today is that change never takes place from the top down. It takes place when people by the millions sometimes over decades and sometimes over centuries, determine that the status quo – the world they see in front of them – is not the world that should be. And they come together. And sometimes they get arrested. And sometimes they’re on a picket line. And sometimes they die in the struggle.

And what human history is about is passing that torch on from generation to generation to generation. A people that pick up the torch that may have begun hundreds or literally thousands of years ago. And young people stand in front of the world today and say, "No, this is not the world that I am comfortable with. This is the world we are going to change."

There are major issues that confront us today. And we need your help. We need the idealism and the energy and the intelligence of millions of people to join us in the fight to make America the kind of country we know it must become."

I encourage you to follow these four leaders (including that Bernie guy), and take time this next several months to build and/or feed your networks of friends, colleagues, and family.

In my opinion, things are going to get worse for the planet under Trump or Hillary, and those of us that care will need to unite better and stronger than before.

Regards,

John

P.S. Yes, we are still moving forward slowly in the transition of the Democracy Digest list to another format (including auto subscribe/unsubscribe) and likely a leaderless leadership… please let me know if you can help with that.

Hi Friends and Family,

I’ve had some interest from some great folks about passing on the torch of Democracy Digest periodic e-mails. It is looking like it might be a committee. Please let me know if you would like to help.

In the meantime, facebook is helping spread the word. If we are not friends yet, please find me: johngallo99 and consider friending me.

I was trying to stay below 300 friends, but have given up on that . I post about life, the fam, the homestead, and passions, like politics for a better world.

Here is the post I just made:

You did not know this, but you are a participant in a Game. If you know the rules, your team might win:

IF you vote today, the underdog, Team Democracy, has a chance of making a major upset victory over Team Oligarchy. IF you encourage others to vote today*, Democracy has an even better chance.

But, that means you have to overcome the thousand things** that will try to keep you from voting or encouraging. Be strong. Go TEAM DEMOCRACY***

Hello Friends and Family

ACTION: I am looking for nominations (self nominations encouraged) for the new leader, supporters, and followers of Democracy Digest. One person will become the Team Leader and the rest of the supporters will help that person as they see fit, such as via an advisory role, or guest posts on the facebook wall. If instead you want to follow, you can start by liking the facebook page (link below).

There is too much at stake for us to not organize. Are you in?

* In 18 days California is going to decide (among other things) if the Democratic National Committee is fairly leading the party or if it needs to check itself.

* In the next year the US will decide if Trump will prevail. (In May 1999, I thought it was near impossible that Bush would win…)

* In the next decade society will decide if we are serious about common sense, like the Paris Agreement, or if our animal brain and all its vices will continue to destroy our home, and its diversity of life.

Democracy Digest was started after our System Failure in 1999, in which Gore won the popular vote, but corruption and cheating in over a dozen states (that were each led by a Republican Secretary of State) allowed it to be close enough to be decided by one person…. DDigest was a consistent e-mail service for about 7 years, then at around digest number 84 it decelerated in frequency. Somewhere in the recent years a facebook page was initiated, but not fed or promoted. Now is the time to rev back up, to a higher level. But my career now focuses on a very specific angle for preserving our home and life, and is non-partisan. So for time and career reasons, I cannot lead. It is high time to pass the torch.

Speaking of which, I need to get back to work, so, quick logistics.

1) The strawman strategy for year one is represented by the below message from Robert Reich. It will be fine tuned later.

2) If you are interested in leading, supporting or at least in following, please indicate so at https://www.facebook.com/Democracy-Digest-174604329294730/ which, yeah, needs work, and may get a new name, or e-mail me.

3) What is involved in "leading"? That will be answered by the new leaders. I have very little time for the torch pass. I’ll commit to organizing and facilitating an initial real-time rendezvous online and/or phone. And will suggest that the standing commitment is minimal, like a once a year real-time rendezvous of all leaders. In this call we’ll also choose the Team Leader, or the process for choosing that person.

So again, I ask, are you in?

To a better world!

-John

From Robert Reich in Facebook:

Many of you who support Bernie ask me what you should do at this point. My suggestion:

1. Continue to work like hell for Bernie, especially given upcoming primaries in California and New Jersey on June 7. Putting aside superdelegates, the difference between him and Hillary Clinton isn’t huge. So far, Bernie has won nearly 10 million votes and has 1,499 pledged delegates. Hillary Clinton has won 13 million votes and has 1,771 pledged delegates. California could make a huge difference.

2. Don’t demonize or denigrate Hillary Clinton. If she wins the Democratic nomination, I urge you to work like hell for her. She’ll be the only person standing between Donald Trump and the presidency of the United States. Besides, as I’ve said before, she’ll be an excellent president for the system we now have, even though Bernie would be the best president for the system we need.

3. Never, ever give up fighting against the increasing concentration of wealth and power at the top, which is undermining our democracy and distorting our economy. That means, if Hillary Clinton is elected, I urge you to turn Bernie’s campaign into a movement – even a third party – to influence elections at the state level in 2018 and the presidency in 2020. No movement to change the allocation of power succeeds easily or quickly. We are in this for the long haul.

What do you think?

Hello Friends,

I hope this e-mail finds you well and enjoying the change of season.

Our rental is coming available on Dec 15th, and I am hoping you can spread the word. More details are at: https://inglenookhome.wordpress.com/ Ideally we find someone that is interested in homesteading too, but that is not necessary.

We are going to try word of mouth for a few days before posting publicly. Do you know anyone that might be a good fit and interested? If so, please let me know or forward this to them.

Thanks!

John

John, Wendy, and Fam

962-9078 (Best to ask for Wendy)

p.S. If you want some news from here, Soccer season was a success, the kids are now in Jujitzu and ballet, and the big weekend is Dec 13-14 Nutcracker. We should catch up more soon! Cheers!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John Gallo, Ph.D.

707.962.9078

@johnagallo

linkedin.com/in/johnagallo

about.me/john.gallo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve transferred to Conservation Biology Institute! More about that below.

CBI Logo

But first, this has huge implications for our family:  I get to work from home!  This means I do not have to commute to San Francisco, so we can move to an area we can afford.  I remember in my Valedictorian speech I thanked Mendocino for being a great place to grow up, dedicated my life to biodiversity conservation, and said that I hope to return someday.  Now might be that opportunity!  It would be a long way from meetings with clients and donors, but I’m hopeful that it will have many benefits in community and family that yield a balance.

There are so many people and places in Mendocino I’d love to reconnect with and introduce my family to… I hope this works out.

We are thinking of putting an offer in on a house, but doubt it will be accepted due to our tight budget.  If anyone knows of a place for sale that we could move our family and goats to, please see the connections page.

More about the new job:

While The Wilderness Society is working for a noble cause,  this is a much better fit for my skills, expertise, and direction.  I feel that as a whole, the movement will be better off with me in this new position at CBI.  They “provide scientific expertise to support the conservation and recovery of biological diversity in its natural state through applied research, education, planning, and community service.”

I’ll be doing geographic information system (GIS) analyses, making spatial-decision-support systems for stakeholders and policymakers, supporting new clientele, developing programs, and securing funding/clientele for the programs.  The parallels and connections between CBI and my formative years at Conception Coast Project are many, including the letter of support that CBI Executive Director Jim Strittholt wrote for CCP back in 1998.  One of the reasons I was drawn away from CCP’s focus is that we were not addressing the biodiversity crisis on a multiscale, multiregion level.  CBI does! It seems fitting in many ways that I end up here. Pam Frost, the VP and Director of Operations, says much about the culture of CBI that I am drawn to, here.

I had the good fortune of receiving a Large Wild Turkey.

Elijah’s first anatomy lesson, gloves and all.

We’ll be taking the feathers to the Buckeye Gathering to share at Kids Camp and make lovely things.

Hello Friends and Family,

Congratulations and thanks to all of you that helped with the Election in November! Nice. Other good news happened on Election Day: Emerakaya Berdine Gallo was born! J

We started a blog up about family (with pictures) and sustainable progress. www.innereden.org and click on the Blog tab at the top of the page. (Speaking of which, this will automatically post to that blog).

And in case you missed it the first time, I’m posting sporadic Democracy Digests in facebook realtime at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Democracy-Digest/174604329294730 (I think that is the url).

Okay, on to today’s headline issue: Stopping Filibuster Abuse!

The Vote is today and it will be close. But Boxer and Feinstein are standing in the way!! This is really profound. See bottom of this e-mail and this editorial for more, or just cut to the chase and please sign the petition to them to get out of the way:

Click here to add your name to our petition calling for Senators Feinstein and Boxer to vote for an end to filibuster abuse, and then pass it along to your friends.

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On another note, I believe markets will steer us towards a more sustainable society if governments/banks cannot print endless amounts of money. Right now they can, and I think that is bad for us and our kids for many reasons. I encourage everyone to A) diversify their portfolio with physical gold and silver (it is a good investment now too) and B) support reform. Here is a start:

“GATA (Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee) has posted a petition on the US Gov’t website asking them to perform a full audit/assay and verification of ownership of the official US Gold holdings.

Please help our friends at GATA out by signing this petition and telling everyone you know to sign as well.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/perform-assayed-public-audit-all-treasurys-claimed-8100-tons-gold-and-net-swaps-loans-sales/rGyFTLwD

Will it force them to perform the audit?…it’s doubtful.

Is it IMPORTANT? Yes…VERY!”

With 25,000 signatures they will be required to provide a response, a key step in the dialogue.

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Dear John,

Tell President Obama to get Shell out of the Arctic

After months of mistakes and setbacks in its effort to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean, Shell recently lost control of its Kulluk drilling rig in stormy seas, and the vessel ran aground in Alaska. Shell’s second Arctic drill rig is now under criminal investigation. It is time to face the facts that oil companies are not capable of drilling safely in one of the world’s most remote and challenging environments.

It’s time for President Obama to pull the plug on Shell’s Arctic Ocean drilling.

Shell has lost control of its two massive Arctic drilling rigs. Its critical oil spill containment dome failed so catastrophically during sea trials that a government observer said it was “crushed like a beer can.” It has been chased off a drill site by a 360-square-mile ice floe.

The hazards of drilling in the Arctic Ocean’s extreme conditions are clearer than ever. Please take action now to tell the president that enough is enough — it is time to get Shell out of the Arctic Ocean.

Sincerely,
The Wilderness Society

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More on the Filibuster:

“Since Democrats took over control of the Senate in 2006, Republican abuse of the filibuster has skyrocketed.

Remember the GOP plan to make Barack Obama a "one term President?" In 2011-2012, there were more than 400 filibusters to block legislation and nominations.

Important progressive goals like a health care public option, immigration reform, climate change legislation, and the Employee Free Choice Act have all been stopped by the filibuster.

It’s not right for a minority to be able to gum up the works, without even having to explain why. Senators Merkley and Udall want to change the rules to fix the filibuster and at least require a Senator to hold the floor and explain why he or she is blocking movement on legislation—just like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Click here to add your name to our petition calling for Senators Feinstein and Boxer to vote for an end to filibuster abuse, and then pass it along to your friends.

Already, at least 48 Senators support the plan, which only needs a simple majority to pass.

A vote’s happening tomorrow (Tuesday.) But California Senators Feinstein and Boxer are standing in the way. Californians deserve a Senate that works, that can address our nation’s problems. California’s Senators must support the Merkley/Udall plan to fix the filibuster.

That’s why we created a petition on SignOn.org to Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Barbara Boxer, which says:

Abuse of the filibuster has paralyzed the Senate and stopped important progressive legislation. Please support the Merkley/Udall plan to fix the Senate.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Cynthia Liu”

Ok,

Thanks everyone!

-John

Note, as usual, reply with “remove me from this list” and I’ll do so, with no hard feelings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John Gallo, Ph.D.

Conservation Scientist

“Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will
spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass
will grow in the streets of every city in the country.”
– William Jennings Bryan

Be completley humble and gentle ;
be patient,bearing with one another
in love.Make every effort to keep
the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace
Ephesians 4:2-3

‘The chickens and the sheep have a real nice relationship, once I put the chickens in pens with the sheep, I realized that there was no longer a need to get my sheep wormed (a non-organic practice many farmers take part in to protect their animals from parasites). My chickens peck through the sheep manure and eat the worms–this slowed and eventually eradicated the worm population.’ said Kenny. Without having a permaculture certificate, Kenny has learned by experience how to stack functions. ‘Its a small farm, we are on about 2 acres here, I manage in ways that allow us to become increasingly more sustainable– in every way.’ A quote on Fibershed’s An Afternoon at Woolly Egg Ranch
http://fibershed.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/an-afternoon-at-wooly-egg-ranch/

Following up on the “To Be a Meat Eater” post:

The core RDNA crew came back and we butchered the meat.  Afterwards, we had a chance to all check in and discuss any aspect of the process.  By far, the most interst/brainstorming went into the issue of when/how/if to tell the kids.  Wendy and I talked about it after that some more and came to the perfect lesson learned: we wish we would have told Natasha before the goat kids were even born, in a really slow and understanding way, that if they were boys they would need to be eaten for food.   Next time.  As for this round, we’ve decided it would be best to not say anything now, or maybe ever, and hope for the best.  Those of you that we see in person: please don’t mention this issue around the kids.  Sigh.  I don’t like secrets like this.

Since we killed both goats at the same time, using different types of cuts, and butchered them at the same time using different approaches, I had several lessons learned for if there is a next time.  But those are beyond the scope of most people’s interest I think.  For now, lets add a photo or two:

Reflections:

It has been surreal being a goat farmer for a couple months.  (I was only a goat farmer’s husband before that.)  Tonight my headlamp batteries were dying so I did the milking in complete darkness to save them for later.  The patter of rain started a few minutes later on the tin roof of the arena, joining the laughing gurgle of the stream meters away, and countering the rhythmic swish swish of the milk into the bucket.  It was excellent.

But the moment ended.  Back in the house I reflect on society, eating meat, and our many disconnects.  Then I think about how little I know about farming and working the land, and how little time I’ll have for it, especially if my big ideas at work come to fruition.  So much will depend on Wendy and the kids.  This may be a passing time in our life or it may be here to stay.    Regardless, I’m grateful to have had the experience (and the yogurt, cheese, milk, steaks, ribs, and morracan goat stew, which have been fantastic!  😉

I might only have a couple minutes. Understanding the different dimensions of time has been a major theme during this Family Leave. If any parents of 2 or more, especially 3, have any advice about the following I’m all ears: both of my older kids want attention with more passion than ever before. It is trying on us all…

I’ve been asked about the blog, here is a quick stream of consciousnesses.

Wendy and I will be making posts. I can’t speak for Wendy, but I’m hoping we can post about 2 times a month, but won’t worry if we don’t. My Family Leave (thanks to The Wilderness Society and new CA rules!) ends in a few weeks. During that time, big chunks of time a the computer will be devoted towards finishing the paper I have drafted several times in the last 7 years.  Less than 15 minute blocks, and I’ll try to blog and sort photos.

The target audience for the blog is our Neo-Community. This is a made up term that recognizes that “Community” has changed dramatically in our lifetime. When we were kids, “Community” almost always meant the people that you interacted with, in person. Now, it is that, but it is also the people you interact with via the computer/phone. Several generations before that, with the number depending on your culture, there was a third group: The Extended family, was an important group of people you interacted with in person.

That is my quick sketch of the idea in text and Word “SmartShapes”.  So yeah, the blog is targeted for our the people in our Neo-Community that believe that a better world exists and are willing to take steps in getting there.  I contend that the steps are different for every person, that they know the steps when they stop to think about it, and which ones they can take and not fall…And if they do fall by accident, they get back up and try it again in a different way.

p.S. I drafted this a few days ago, but have yet to review it, nor has wendy.  time to publish though.  Happy Solstice!

We had the good fortune of celebrating the birthdays of Natasha, 5, Elijah, 3, and Emerakaya, at Traintown! Such a wonderful day with family and friends. So much to say, hopefully I’ll get to in the comments, or in an edit. Until then, here are some pics. Videos of the crew coming someday maybe. Thanks to all of you that graced us with your presence!

Natasha and Nono Teaching Each Other to Fly

The full set is below, here is the link to the slideshow below it.

Part of the Summer Harvest

this should link to the ful slideshow…

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Midnight Moose Dreams, originally uploaded by john_gallo.

Was a great trip to Alaska with the TWS Ecologists. (And the Alaska natives).

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20120422-ByTeamGallo-8432100-z, originally uploaded by john_gallo.

we are now living in Nicasio, Ca, and we have 2 mama goats, and now, two new baby boys!

Hey hey Folks,

Life has been quite fulll.  Good.  Will post an update by Martin Luther King’s Bday for sure, and hopefully by Jesus Christ’s Bday.  we don’t even have elijah on the banner yet!  Small posts are on facebook: John A. Gallo findeable by searching our e-mail addresses, e.g., the folliwing is a clue, but not character for character the address:  galloblue [at sign] gmail [dot] com.  You can find Wendy through me or in a similar search.

Cheers!

-John

P.S. To “meet” Elijah and see Natasha again, here is a video from several months ago that I just found again: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgallo/4896361819/

Hi Folks,

I just sent an e-mail out with the family update.  If you did not get it, and you want it, then send me an e-mail cause I must be using one of your old addresses. (Exception: I just got a strange e-mail from google.  If your e-mail addrdress starts with a  j, then you should be getting the e-mail when google figures out I’m not abusing their system)

Anyway, here is the rest of the story as provided by Bebe, with a small edit:  😉

“We made a mad dash for the windmill, everyone running fast, holding hands, with me in the back for protection.  Out of nowhere a lion leaps out of the grass and confronts me while the clan makes it to the windmill for protection.  I think that at least my family is safe, I’ve done my job, albeit sacrificing my life for the safety of my peeps.  The lion and I are face to face, expecting an attack at any moment I take off my jacket revealing a Dodger’s jersey to the Lion.  The lion sees the Dodgers jersey and says to himself, “this poor guy is a Dodgers fan?  I can’t kill him, he’s already suffered enough – poor guy.”  And the lion leaves me alone……Thanks Bebe!!   You saved my life.   Thanks for the Jersey even though you know that I’m an enlightened sports fan and the Giants are my team.   I hope you don’t mind that I only wear it when I want people to feel sorry for me.  😉

The job I mentioned in the previous post was doing bird and botanical surveys in the Oregon mountains.  Turned out to be a TON of work, including steep hikes off-trail on a tight time schedule.  I was up at 3 or 4 every day, and sweating hard and long from about 6 am.  70-75 hr weeks.  But it was great for the soul.

Now it is time to do the data entry, wrap up South Africa work, publish some of my findings, look for a job/house/car/etc, organize, etc.  Any free time is spent being with wonderful Wendy, Natasha, and Indi.  We all need that as a break to just logistics.  Wendy is about to start working to finish up her internship hours before the deadline.  Currently, we are going to base out of Santa Cruz, where Wendy’s parents live, but that could change any day.

It warms me up to see onthe blog stats that so many of you are still checking in. It pains me to be so close to you all, but to be so focused on this transition that I might as well still be in SA.

Maybe let me/us know how you are doing.  Would be stoked to hear from you.  I’ll update the contact info just now.

Cheers,

John

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IMG_4362, originally uploaded by john_gallo.

Here is one of the pics from Natasha’s first big hike, a couple months ago. The others posted on flickr. Meanwhile we have recently returned from the Kalahari, (fantastic!) and have decided to take a job back home. Heading to the America in the end of May! More soon.

2008

It was a good year

All things considered

People are starting

to wake up

To a new world

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hit busy 2009 on January 2^nd and did not stop for more than a day or two until March 13. Lots of good blog entries have passed, and are now good stories someday. I am sitting here at a “car boot sale” which is a centralized garage sale. Sales are slowing down, so I’ll take a quick stab at the titles of those missed blog entries, and you’ll see some of the corresponding photos on Flickr:

Moving to Sedgefield: from the foothills to the sea

Welcoming Gerry Wyman! Wendy’s Mom moves to SA.

Swinging from the Trees

Cheetah Girls

Andrew and Bethany Forever

Game Drivin’

The Great American Job Search (I’m still looking at options, if you know of any good ones)

Millwood Canyon Pools (Dropkelders)

Obama’s first 60 days in office

BioVision

Biodiversity Planning Forum (Put on by the South African National Biodiversity Institute… Why can’t we have one of these?)

Natasha Hikes a Half Mile…

And the list goes on. I’ll flesh out the latest one just now.  Bottom line is that work is good, life is exciting, and SA is fantastic.  We miss everyone, and are looking forward to coming home. Should be between June and August sometime…

the whole world is watching.

When i stop to fill up on gas the attendants (full service is required here, like Oregon) hear my accent and immediately start talking baout the election.  An especially animate pair told me about Obama visiting his grandma days before I got it on the NPR podcast.  The South Africa Podcast talks of it as the second story.  (As an aside, the top story is that the ANC (which gets 80% of the vote) has split, so now we will start getting some more democratic dialogue here.)

OK America. The whole world is watching.  Today is your day to start turning things around…

praying.

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Well, before catching everyone up on the last 5 months, let me start with the latest: Natasha is walking! She is loving it. The look she was getting on her face as she crossed the living room was fantastic; arms held stiffly out, body tottering, face concentrating at first, then brightening with excitement with every step, she would arrive at my open arms a bundle of joy. But I write in past tense. That was a few weeks ago. Now walking is old hat– the new new is finding new places, and getting to where she wants to go.  Gotta feel good.

Speaking of Natasha, I hear from the other room that it is time to have dad back. (I took a few minutes of valuable writing time to post the new header). Hopefully I’ll be back in a few minutes, but if not. More soon… 😉

P.S. Pics from trip home are now posted. We did not replace our point and shoot till the end though.  Was fantastic seeing everyone. Thanks again to those of you that helped make the whirlwind tour possible: yeah, I’m talking about Corey and Gillian Linberg, Great Uncle Patrick and Aunt Susan, Mike and Mel Coulter,Uncle Matt and Aunt Tina, all the Grandparents, especially Norm (thanks again for the wheels and the wings!), Misty, and many others. Thanks!!!

We are not finding the time for a “real” post.  I (j) keep thinking it is on the upcoming weekend…  Life is good, but busy; and we are trying to keep the balance. At least we have had a chance to post some pics, and a fun movie of Natasha and the “i’m gonna get you” game.  See the flickr site. More soon.

Random nature moment: Last weekend, the four of us hiked down to the river from our place.  At the river Wendy found a spider the size of an argentine ant that had a metallic silver conical butt.  Wild. Then we watched it act out “shooting” its invisible web, then cinching it tight once it attached to the nearest object.  Then, no acting involved, it started its escape– crawling perfectly horizontal.  We repeated a couple times to discern that it was using the wind to shoot the web.  Nice to finally figure out how they do that.

paddling through the breakers

I spy a fin

a moment of dread

turns to joy–

dolphins!

a whole pod,

and me.

bottom-turn,

digging fins in deep

dolphins pumping hard

fins cutting air

same wave

same planet

having fun

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I was sitting on my board after that special moment, I was wondering if I should write a poem about it.  Just then two dolphins porpoised right in front of me.  “Done,” I thought.  I wonder if it was the same two?

-J

Things are going great here, just a bit busy. Natasha is growing and changing increadibly. On the surface: she is no longer a brunette– now a blonde. We did not dye here hair, promise. Teeth are coming in too, early. They surfaced at four months. Pre-Dawn is a good time to be awake, they say. Also we got her official birth certificate: Natasha Kate Nolitha Gallo. Nolitha means “warm like the rising sun” in Xhosa. John learned the name last winter when he visited their village. And after we got to know her, decided that it had to be part of her name.

WE don’t know where the time goes. But, we have managed to update the Flickr site. A highlight was visiting Addo Elephant National Park in March. Flickr set with those photos is linked below and on right side bar. We had a fun Braai (BBQ) with fire dancing on Earth Day. alas, no pictures, were caught up in the moment. And, big news today, 6 chicks hatched! Ok, maybe that is not such big news compared to this: we are coming home early summer for a visit! Yay. Then John heads to Society for Conservation Bio conference. Then we are probably going to come back here and hit up the Kalahari, with the wonder Bean and world traveler Cory G! Super stoked they are making it out.

new sets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgallo/sets/72157604744622411/show/

addo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgallo/sets/72157604740519912/show/

natasha: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgallo/sets/72157603474343757/show/ (in reverse chronological order)

and if you have dial-up, you can go to the above links, just delete show/ from the url.