Ears Wide Open

The Quarterly Bulletin of the Acoustic Ecology Institute

This edition of Ears Wide Open marks the 4th anniversary of the first summary of the key news, science, and Institute happenings, produced for our paying members. I’ve continued to send it to everyone who’s ever ponied up for an annual membership, in hopes that it will remind folks to renew. That tradition continues now, and here’s your prod to go to the membership page and join for 2010.

My sense, however, is that these updates are not really being all that widely read or passed around. So, I’m beginning to ponder a new model for communicating with those of you who are especially interested in being more engaged in the issues AEI covers. I expect to have made some decisions about this by the time the next issue of Ears Wide Open is due, in May. If you have any thoughts about what would be useful to you — or if you like this approach — do let me know.

Here in the southwest, we’ve had an exceedingly cold and snowy winter. No huge Snowmageddon storms (though it can happen: we did get a 30-incher three years ago), but a steady stream of new small and medium-sized storms, leaving the ground snow-covered far more than is typical in the sunny southwest. Nonetheless, signs of spring are starting to be more noticeable, and some of these are sonic. It seems that the birds who have wintered over have become more vocal in the past couple weeks; there have been several times that I’ve been struck by the chorus of birdsong around me on days that have been warmer than the recent norm. The distinctive sound of tires in deep mud has also been a regular part of my days over the past week, as the last series of snow falls have melted! And, the least-pleasant acoustic reminder of spring has begun asserting itself more this week as well: the sneezes that accompany the first maturation of juniper flowers. For the next couple of months, the pollen will build into great yellow plumes that leave many of us peering in despair from the relative hermetically-sealed safety of our homes, and running through several handkerchiefs a week!

As always, feel free to share this link with those who you think may be interested in AEI’s work, and do stay in touch.

Keep listening,
Jim Cummings, AEI founder

Contact:
45 Cougar Canyon
Santa Fe, NM 87508
ph 505-466-1879 fax 866-571-0416