“Hollows and Wallows and Raven Rumbles,” Ep. 23

Episode 23: Celebrating AZ

Julie invites us on one of her favorite hikes in cool Northern Arizona before Lisa shares the secrets of a field of very smart creatures in Flagstaff.

Mug: Flagstaff Visitor Center Train Depot

From “Only At NAU”

by Lisa Schnebly Heidinger

“Animals operate on different time scales.  We operate on a life span of about 70 years.  Crickets operate on a life span of about two months.  A cricket chirp at a fraction of a second, slowed down to what it would be on a 70-year time scale, sounds just like an angelic choir singing.

       “Whale song speeded up 16 times sounds like birdsong; birdsong slowed down 16 times sounds like whale song. What we now know opens amazing possibilities.”

Copyright 2015 Northern Arizona University, used with permission

Forest

by Julie Morrison

Brown, scarred, and still

wild despite many visits,

quiet, though never silent—

accepting my need to talk—

allowing wind and birdsong

to fill in any conversational gaps—

bright in any weather,

storing light in every limb—

patient, without enabling—

listening, not lending,

to sorrows, struggles,

while planting

wise reminders

like: loss requires a having first—

we both reckon I’ve lost more

than many will ever have—

living proof

that one can be claimed,

cut down,

burned, badly used,

and survive beautifully,

wearing resilience

and adaptation

as timeless classics—

this better angel hums

spirituals—songs that sustain,

lifting from hollows

and wallows,

pointing toward wonder—

sacred space—

public land befriends

the same—I imagine—

as all heavens:

open to both coming and going,

while loved – and longed for –

as a place to be,

our wishes to stay

like raven hops: curious,

a little silly,

coming from some instinct

to stay planted

meeting the need to move on.