“So, this was all thought up by the crows, themselves, you say?” one of the reporters asks.

Prof Bolo sits in a chair with Petunia on one side and a radiantly beaming Crowoman on the other.

“May I answer this one?” Crowoman offers. Prof Bolo assents gratefully.

“Actually, it was Great Spirit who initiated all this when he gave different peoples responsibility for one another. The Crow people and the Grasshopper people have a long standing relationship of keeping each other in balance. But because human people have worked the land with disregard for its natural inhabitants, then it has been difficult for crows and grasshoppers to honour their obligations. Recently, however, there has been a shift in planetary consciousness, a healing as it were, that is bringing to light the innate natural order of things, stimulating crow consciousness to action.”

“Let me see if I got this down right,” one of the reporters says. “This planet Earth is a conscious, sentient being who has gone through a shift in realization which in turn is rebalancing the natural worlds. In response to this, crow consciousness got the idea that they, the crows could be of service to clear insect pests off farmers fields, using you as their intermediary with human peoples.”

“Well said!” Crowoman beams at the reporter, who blushes at the acknowledgment, even as she is incredulous that this could be so.

“Tell us what your involvement is in all of this.” One of the reporters addresses Prof Bolo.

Petunia lets her mind drift as Prof Bolo informs them about his research project. Black, whose warm body she can feel pressed against one of her legs, has his beak tucked into his side feathers, his eyes are closed. She looks around to see what the other companion crows are doing. Prof Bolo's crow, Sharp, is positioned in his chosen person's lap. He is nodding sagely in support of Prof Bolo's statements. Crewman's crow is alert and watchful in his position beside the tripod holding the camera. Kaylar's crow is nudging her hand, asking to be noticed. Kaylar responds absently petting the crow while she is obviously deep into her own thoughts. Mave and Maybel are positioned by Crowoman's feet, their eyes at half mast.

“So what do you think about this business of planetary spirits being behind the organization of the crows?” a reporter asks Prof Bolo, simultaneously as another reporter waves his cell phone in the air and, clearly excited by his information, declares, “I am getting word from my radio station that people are calling in from all over the area, reporting huge flocks of birds landing on their fields, catching grasshoppers for several hours and then leaving again. Sorry to interrupt. Thought you'd like to know how the news is traveling. Prof Bolo?”

Petunia feels the shift in Prof Bolo's energy as his brain patterns change from the logical scientist personality to the dreamer, idealist, animist. She comes to full attention now, intending to support his story. She feels the comforting reassuring energy of the Being of Light within her, strengthening her intention.

“I must confess that I have become a firm believer of and the eager, willing participant in communications with Earth Spirits, Grasshopper Spirits, talking Crows and all that goes with it.” Prof Bolo smiles widely and pauses a moment to let that sink in.

“I think about it, how when I was a kid, before I ever had any notion of becoming a biologist, I simply, intuitively experienced the aliveness of the natural world. I had an awareness of how I responded to it and how it responded to me. That sense of interaction has never ended. It's been very much a part of the sense of purpose in my work all along.

My attitude, however has gone through many shifts. I never really had any ideas that I could, or even that I would even want to control Nature. I realized pretty quickly that all my studying was coming up with more questions than answers, even though I was becoming very knowledgeable about the observable details of plant and animal worlds.

The more I looked within, at my own motivations for pursuing this course of study, the more I realized that I simply enjoy being out in the natural world. Eventually, I came up with the idea that if I made it my own personal research project to listen for answers from Nature, herself, I would have my own unconditional permission to spend as much time as possible out in Nature. The thing is that I started to suspect that there was conscious, intelligent involvement in the clever adaptations and transformations of many species. Their adjustments to human efforts to control them were just too uncanny. I started to read about different people's experiences with the “other peoples and beings” who inhabit this world with us. And I started to think about how all this related to my field studies.” Prof Bolo pauses thoughtfully.

“And now, thanks to these two wonderful women who are sitting beside me, I have finally gotten some answers that even my pragmatic, scientifically trained brain can hear, see and perceive.” Prof Bolo reaches his hands out to Petunia and Crowoman. As Petunia links fingers with his, she can feel trembling and heat coming through the hand. She gives it an encouraging squeeze and sends comforting, reassuring energy through her hand back to him. Prof Bolo smiles appreciatively, as he turns towards the reporter asking the next question.

“Would you care to elaborate on what the Nature Spirits have communicated to you, sir?”

Prof Bolo takes a deep breath and relaxes his face as a mischievous gleam enters his eye. He launches into an animated account of the two encounters with Grandmother Grasshopper and his subsequent interactions with the crows. The more the audience focus in on listening, the more dramatic Prof Bolo becomes, embellishing the details in true storytelling fashion. He has the full, undivided attention and interest of all of his audience. Even Black is now fully alert and enjoying the story. Crowoman adds comments from time to time and the crows themselves make appropriate clicking and muttering sounds to further emphasize some point.

Whatever the camera persons and reporters thought about it all afterwards, in this magical moment, they are like children in Narnia, enchanted by a magical new adventure. The sun is low in the sky, softening the colours of the landscape they are in. There is a moment in which Petunia becomes aware of herself, on a breath, during a pause in the telling, This is when she perceives that there seem to be more presences than the human and crow bodies alone would account for. She looks around to see if they are visible and she feels a gentle nudge on her foot from Black, who then informs her with their mind-speak that different peoples have come closer to listen, that they are enjoying the story so much. Petunia in turn asks Black to tell her who is here. Land spirits, guardians and ancestors are here, different plant and animal spirits and the Wise One, too, Black informs her.

By the time that Prof Bolo is finally describing Grandmother Grasshopper Spirit bowing out of the picture, Petunia has tuned into the spirit audience clearly enough to be able to perceive their enthusiastic applause after the story ends. Prof Bolo turns to Petunia with a triumphant beam to his smile and he holds her gaze, as if he, too, is aware of the approving delight of the spirit audience.

“Well, that is different,” a reporter finally finds her voice and remembers her chosen role. “So, I guess I just have one more question for you, sir. What recommendations are you going to suggest as a result of this?”

“I will have to think about it and talk some more with the Nature Spirits. Now that they are communicating verbally with me, I intend to take full advantage of their good will and co-operation.”

* * * * * * *

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