4 Months (or so)

I don't know if there is a kid or former kid out there who hasn't tried to dig all the way to the other side of the Earth. China is the usual assumed destination if you are in the U.S.. My agent told me that the word for the opposite side of the earth is an antipode. The almost (very nearly) antipode of where we live in California- is Mauritius. And so for four months now, we have lived here on the other side. 

You can't predict how a place is going to be from reading about it or looking at pictures. Before moving here that was what I had to go on- that and Fred telling me about Mauritius.  At first it was all so overwhelming. A van came to pick us up at the airport with our pile of suitcases and bicycle cases. The funny thing about the bikes- they are useless here. Riding on the roads is taking you life into you hands, but the cases came in handy during a flash flood where Fred and I had to divert the water away from the house. We used the bike cases as dams , along with some kitchen trash bags we filled with water and some others we filled with rocks. 

Many mornings, we wake up and open the accordion doors onto the back yard and let in the breeze. The birds have gotten used to that sound as the "breakfast is being served" sound and they all come; Madagascar Fodys- especially an orange colored one with spiky feathers on his head we call "Billy"- after Billy Idol. Billy hangs with a group of sparrows. He is with them, but keep to himself. At first he was terribly shy- didn't come near the house and sat out on the lawn- an orangish red dot out there- and gradually, he became pretty comfortable and now often times, he is the first bird waiting for breakfast and complaining if we are late to deliver it. I love Billy. There are red bearded bulbuls that travel in pairs and zebra doves...the Mynas have a complex and varied range of calls and the village weavers are family centered birds who build their nests in palm trees that they enter from the bottom . Clever birds. I never grow tired of the birds.  

I can't remember a time in my life without birds.  At home we have our little parakeets ( who are under very good care of their new flock leader)- parakeets are flock birds who are used to having their voices carry over long distances and the unsuspecting pet buyers who come into per stores are often unaware of this and so many birds wind up being abused or neglected because of their natural instincts. 

In California we have our hummers. They zip through the air in every which direction at high speeds, yet they are so small and delicate. During the day their hearts beat at 1260 beats per minute, but when they are sleeping, it drops to 50-180 bpm. Incredible creatures- and far older than us homo sapiens .

Birds have been around some 150-160 million years (present day estimate). Homo sapiens - about 200,000 years...we are youngsters compared to them...

So birds- they are making this place feel more like a home- not the people, not anything else- the  birds.  After I post this, I will cut up some baguette from our local boulangerie for the birds breakfasts. I look forward to opening the doors and seeing Billy- or the rest of our flock. 

Joni Mitchell-California (The Johnny Cash Show)

The Earth is a Very Small Place

I had meant to do an Earth Day Post last week, but that just didn't materialize. So, today, I found this to put our teeny weeny little dot into perspective. 

Carl Sagan once said that all of the biota on Earth was equivalent to the veneer on a classroom globe in relative scale.  That puts our place in the Cosmos in perspective and highlight the fragility of life... 

Me and my Pookie

Today we drove to the south end of the island. Tristam took this picture at a little Indian restaurant by the beach. 

Ahem...

My editor suggested that I start keeping a journal here. She thinks that something will come of it- a book in the future. So in the morning, I do some sketching, some writing- not all of it about Mauritius and our experiences here- some of it about another book I am writing (which I am SUPER excited about). 

You what is so interesting about the topics for these books? They seem to find me. My last book -STAR STUFF: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos- (available in November- I will be plugging this labor of love for a long time, so get used to it :) ) started tapping me in the shoulder when I was 12...it took until just over 2 years ago for me to have the skill set and to see a need/opportunity to create it.  The next book has a similar pattern- I got my little tap on the shoulder when I was a kid too and the tapping has not let up. Now that we have gotten to Mauritius the tap has turned into a rather insistent, "you need to write about this." 

I've always been a little mystified abut writers' assertions that the characters of novels, for example, come into their lives. As they write the narratives, the events seem to surprise the writers- I am now having this happen to me... funny. 

Catching a GLIMPSE of the Milky Way

Quote

Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive.

                                            -Elenore Roosevelt

Bill Nye: I Took Astronomy From Carl Sagan

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos- Advanced Reader Copies!

Here they are! Sitting on my editor's desk in Manhattan, ready to go out to reviewers, book buyers and some special Carl Sagan fans. 

San Luis Obispo California Travel: "Roads to Romance"1949 Chevrolet

A time capsule from 65 years ago of our little neck of the woods- the opening sequence seems to show where our neighborhood is just off the 101.

COSMOS Introduced by President Barak Obama

Date Night

The sky last night was even more over the top gorgeous than this little image can convey

These little holes are the homes of crabs on the beach- tiny ones. 

The pattern of the waves on the beach

Fred took a picture of me taking it all in. 

Afterwards we went to a French restaurant and had a really lovely dinner. There was a saxophonist and the most charming woman singing jazz standards in French.  

It was the first night in many weeks that we truly relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. i finished another Princess Posey book last week, started another one and am working on my next biography (another surprise subject- another fascinating and impactful person- SO excited about!!)

Birds

It's my fault. I started to feed them bread when I was having breakfast outside in the morning- and now...

Bikram Yoga SLO

Missing my yoga friends in SLO- so happy to see this!