2015-05 5enses by 5enses

Celebrating art & science in Greater Prescott

Alan Dean Foster teaches an old robot new tricks P. 10

Ty Fitzmorris

reflects on the nature of beasts P. 14

Jacy Lee

plays telephone with antique tech P. 19

Erica Ryberg

pens a gut-wrenching tale P. 20

And much2 more

AMPERSAND: Joseph McCaffrey gets back to nature MAY 2015 | VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5 | 5ENSESMAG.COM

P. 16

WORLD BISTRO LIKE US ON

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5enses In which:

Mara Kack

4 5 6 7 10 11

springs back into nature with the ﬁnest ﬂowerings worth following and best beasties to boast about.

Farrish Sharon

James Dungeon

watches the skies like a hawk for an commonly uncommon bird that’s got an uncommonly common name.

talks about head space, head shrinking, and heading outdoors with ecotherapist Joseph McCaﬀrey.

Peregrine Book Co.

Helen Stephenson

Kathleen Yetman

Jacy Lee

Alan Dean Foster

Erica Ryberg

reads up on String Theory, postapocalyptic pilots, a cold kin murder, the spice trade, and African spiritualism.

Plus

14 5/6 16 8 18 19 20

Ty Fitzmorris

does a double take and lets a weedy lookalike bloom, yielding a primly ﬂower that’s a May moth magnet.

May 2015 • Volume 3, Issue 5

Copyright © 2015 5enses Inc. unless otherwise noted. Publisher & Editor: Rev. Nicholas DeMarino, M.A. Copy Editor: Susan Smart Read a new 5enses the ﬁrst weekend of every month. Visit 5ensesMag.Com, Facebook, & Twitter for more. Contact us at 5ensesMag@Gmail.Com & 928-613-2076. Ad pedem litterae.

Flip Photo

A visual puzzle from the Highlands Center for Natural History

Left Brain/ Right Brain

Find out what’s going on in Greater Prescott

22 22

Oddly Enough Smart, quirky comics by Russell Miller

Not-as-holy-days

Enjoy some alternative reasons for the season(s)

schools readers on the recently relaunched recreation of the Yavapai College ﬁlm program.

gives the green light to a seasonal vegetable around Prescott that’s been a year or two in the making.

phones in a story about the early days of talkie tech and puts the antique business through the ringer.

updates James Herriot with emergent technology that could turn man’s best friend into man’s best automaton.

has a gut reaciton to a nascent ﬁeld of science that’s put a No. 2 in the spotlight, with appologies to Mary Roach.

Valerie Irvine-Karinen

COVER: Found object art pieces by Jodi Skjei (left) and Brad DeVries (middle) for “One Man’s Treasure.” Prescott Creeks courtesy photos.

talks art and recycling with some of the activists and artists behind the One’s Man Treasure art auction.

A “One Man’s Treasure” found-object art piece by Ron Miller. Courtesy photo. See Page 11 for more.

Adorn Your Lifestyle

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UNIQUE APPAREL & EXOTIC GOODS

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5ENSESMAG.COM • MAY 2015 • CONTENTS • 3

Plant of the Month

Tufted Evening Primrose Tufted Evening Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa). Photo by Sue Smith, Cals.Arizona.Edu/yavapaiplants. By Mara Kack

The

temperature is rising and the days are getting longer, thus triggering a new season. The trees have woken up and spread new shades of green across the landscape, but they’re not the only plants emerging from dormancy. Under the

spreading canopies, new leaves of all shapes and sizes are bursting out of ground. Basal leaves are the ﬁrst to develop in many herbaceous (nonwoody) plants that showcase ﬂowers through spring, summer, and fall. One herbaceous perennial has especially unique leaves that stand out. The delicate leaves of Tufted Evening

Nature Based Wellness Develop Your Inner Resources to Navigate Life Transitions

Primrose (Oenothera caespitosa) stay low to the ground throughout its life with only its petioles (leaf stalk) supporting them. (O. caespitosa has no true stems.) These leaves may be mistaken for common weeds if not regarded closely. The petioles have a creamy pinkish color and support long, narrow leaves that have serrated (or crenate to lobed) edges, each of which are rather hairy. This hair may deter some predators, but not the caterpillar of the Sphynx Moth (Sphingidae sp.) who commonly indulges on the leaves.

you give these plants a chance, you’ll soon be graced with astonishing beauty. Large flower buds will begin to develop in a shape which reflects the lancelet leaves and the color of the petioles. Then one early morning, a transformation occurs. Now a delicate display of pure white blooms that fade to a soft pink with age poises on the ground. These Primrose flowers are a significant size, may commonly fill the palm of your hand, with four wide petals embraced by pink sepals

and topped with tantalizing yellow anthers spotted with pollen. They emit a sweet fragrant smell that’s worth getting down on one knee for. You won’t be the only one mesmerized by the simple beauty or drawn in by the fragrance of the Tufted Evening Primrose. The caterpillar of the Sphynx Moth has also completed an astonishing transformation. The adult of a Sphynx Moth is an insect of proportional size and grace. The Primrose is a favorite to this large moth, and you’ll probably be sharing the space as the moth hovers in for a sip of sweet nectar. ***** Mara Kack, education director at the Highlands Center for Natural History, grew up in Prescott surrounded by its natural wonder and now teaches through science and nature to inspire new wonder in current and future generations. Visit the Highlands Center for Natural History at 1375 Walker Road, 928776-9550, or HighlandsCenter.Org.

“Tell me ... what is it that you plan on doing with your One Wild and Precious Life?”

Experience within Yourself Balance, Mindfulness, Serenity

- Mary Oliver

Discover Your Unique, Soulful Place in the World

Experience the Nature Based Wellness healing approach that takes you into nature to connect with your authentic self in order to grow. Your session will take place in the natural surroundings of Prescott, Arizona. Call for a Free Introductory Consultation

970-217-8698

Joseph Paul McCaffrey – Ecotherapist – MS Counseling/Ecopsychology, MA Ed Psych

4 • FEATURE • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Visit me on www.josephpaulmccaffrey.me

Bird of the Month

Common Black Hawk. Photo by Ted Grussing.

are identiﬁed and closed to hikers during the breeding season. Enjoy this unique and beautiful raptor. For more info, see Brian K. Wheeler’s “Raptors of Western North America.”

Common Black Hawk By Farrish Sharon

Despite

its name, the Common Black Hawk species is uncommon in the United States and is almost exclusively found in Arizona. The species migrates short to moderate distances from the wintering sites in Mexico to its breeding areas in Arizona. The Common Black Hawk can be reliably seen during migration in Southeast Arizona beginning in mid-March. The birds follow the Santa Cruz River north to ﬁnd breeding sites in various riparian areas. Prescott is fortunate again this year to have a breeding pair in the Watson Woods Riparian Area. Other than being an urban environment which is an unusual choice for this usually reclusive species, Watson Woods represents the Common Black Hawk’s ideal summer habitat of an arid hot region with permanently ﬂowing shallow streams. They prefer semi-open areas with a gallery of mature cotton-

wood or sycamore trees where they construct a nest of sticks. This species perches on branches and rocks near the ground and mostly feeds on small ﬁsh, amphibians and reptiles. Unlike other hawk species, you will not see the Common Black Hawk on utility poles and wires along highways.

***** Mark and Farrish Sharon enjoy birding and live in Prescott. They have lived in Tucson, Seattle, Minneapolis and Denver, all wonderful areas for ﬁnding birds. Mark is the photographer and Farrish helps ﬁnd the birds. Visit Prescott Audubon Society at PrescottAudubon.Org. Contact them at Contact@PrescottAudubon.Org.

Highlands Center for Natural History’s

pilF Photo

The

Common Black Hawk has a loud, high pitched call that can sound like a laugh and is similar to some calls of the Bald Eagle. It is highly vocal during the breeding season. The Common Black Hawk, in addition to being black has broad wings and a short tail that has one stripe seen best during ﬂight. The Zone-tailed Hawk also nests in the Prescott area but prefers higher elevations. It is a black hawk as well and has a longer tail with two white stripes. If you come upon a nesting site remember that this shy bird is susceptible to human interference so keep your distance. Often nesting areas

Whoo-OO-oo’s brooding? 5ENSESMAG.COM • MAY 2015 • FEATURES • 5

Peregrine Book Co.

Staff picks By Peregrine Book Company staff

“The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality” By Brian Greene An easily accessible book about String Theory and how we perceive time and space. —Jon “The Dog Stars” By Peter Heller All the devastation of the apocalypse — the sadness, loss, guilt — blended with beauty, humanity and humor. An engaging story, meditative and original. —Kim

Highlands Center for Natural History’s

Mourning Doves.

Spring

has arrived and local birds are starting to ﬁnd partners and build nests. Mourning Doves are monogamous. After courtship, the female starts making her saucer-shaped nest of loose twigs and sticks. She places it on or near the ground, often in a small shrub or tree, and lines it with grass, leaves, feathers, and other things her partner brings to her. Soon after, the female lays two or three small, white eggs and starts incubating them. She’ll switch oﬀ with her partner throughout the day until the eggs are ready to hatch. Chicks emerge from their shells hungry and growing fast. The chicks are tended to by both parents, and are fed crop milk — a highly fatty and protein-rich liquid. Grown doves feed on seeds and other grains and can be seen in large groups throughout the Prescott area. Mourning doves can repeat this process as many as six times in a single year.

6 • FEATURE • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Smilla’s Sense of Snow By Peter Hoeg A harsh, fierce story with a harsher, fiercer heroine; a murder mystery with many moments of visceral beauty and insight. Smilla, half Danish and half Greenlandic, refuses to accept the official version of how a child, her former friend, met his death. Her pursuit of the truth will take her through the bleaker wastes of human nature and her own heart. —Reva “Cumin, Camels, & Caravans: A Spice Odyssey” By Gary Paul Nabhan Gary Nabhan skillfully blends cultural history and natural history, botany, and geography making it all

both personal and universal. He is one of my favorite writers. Nabhan is a lecturer and research social scientist at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center. He has received a MacArthur “genius” award, the John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing, and many other honors. —Tom “The Famished Road” By Ben Okri A truly extraordinary work of hallucinatory magic in the style of Gabriel García Márquez. —Ty ***** Visit Peregrine Book Company at PeregrineBookCompany.Com and 219A N. Cortez St., Prescott, 928445-9000.

Vegetable of the Month

Highlands Centerforfor Natural History Highlands Center Natural History

Nestled in the Lynx Lake Recreation Area, two minutes from Costco, The Highlands Center for Natural History invites you to experience the wonder of the Central Arizona Highlands.

Don’t miss these upcoming events

Asparagus Asparagus photos from Whipstone Farm Photo by Shanti Rade.

Free Family F.U.N. Migratory Bird Day, Saturday, May 9 10:00AM- 1:30PM Bring the whole family to celebrate National Migratory Bird day the way a F.U.N. camper would.

Naturalists Chautauqua Series – Rachel Carson, Thursday, May 21 6:30PM Registration required. $14 (10% discount for members) - $8 students

Day in the Life of a Camp Kid – For Adults, Friday, May 22 9:00AM-1:30PM Registration required. $20 (10% discount for members), lunch included. Friends Understanding Nature (F.U.N.) Summer Camp Begins! May 1 – June 30 Dual Membership Drive with the Heritage Park Zoo, discounted from $135 to $90 a year for your family.

Check our website for details on these and many other upcoming events.

Asparagus

is low in calories and high in vitamin B6, A, C, E, and K. It provides a variety of minerals and is a good source of fiber. Young shoots are the best for eating; they are tender and flavorful. Shoots start to lose flavor after a few days and become woody and dense. Asparagus can be prepared in a variety of ways: steamed, blanched, roasted, sautéed, etc. One simple way to prepare the shoots is drizzled with olive oil, lemon and salt, then baked in the oven until tender. Asparagus makes a great addition to salads as well. Take advantage of this delicious vegetable while it’s locally in season. ***** Kathleen Yetman is the Managing Director of the Prescott Farmers Market and a native of Prescott. Visit the Prescott Farmers Market every Saturday, 7:30am to Noon from May 9 through October at Yavapai College.

Wonder

•

explore

•

discover

Prescott’s 4th Friday

ART WALKS

4FRIDAY ’S

now is the time to enjoy fresh asparagus. Local farmers generally harvest asparagus shoots only between March and June, which makes them a temporal delicacy. This short season also means that growing asparagus requires a great deal of patience. Asparagus grown from seed isn’t harvested for the ﬁrst two springs in order to establish strong roots, so most farmers and gardeners order “crowns” or year-old roots, which can be lightly harvested one year after planting. A well-cared-for asparagus plant can produce for up to 20 years. Asparagus has been cultivated for thousands of years in Europe and in many countries, the asparagus season is still a reason for celebration. Purple asparagus originated in Italy and is becoming more common in the U.S. White asparagus is actually just green asparagus grown underground. Farmers pile on soil as the asparagus grows and without sunshine, the shoots stay white. Here in the U. S., most asparagus found in the grocery store comes

928-776-9550 • highlandscenter.org

COT T

Right

from Peru, Mexico, and China. California, Michigan, and Washington produce most of the domestic crop.

PRE S

By Kathleen Yetman

EVERY

2015 January 23 February 27 March 27 April 24 Beginning at 5 PM May 22 June 26 July 24 August 28 September 25 October 23 November 27

See Special Events

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5ENSESMAG.COM • MAY 2015 • FEATURE • 7

Left Brain: May’s mind-full events Events

senior research specialist discuss asteroid discovery and recovery of meteorites in Arizona. A Prescott Astronomy Club Third Thursday Star Talk. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)

“Grow Native!” Plant Sale • 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 2: Kick of planting season with an exceptional variety of native plants, plus local artwork designed for outdoor spaces. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) Free Comic Book Day • 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2: Enjoy a free comic book, a live DJ, a costume context, and visiting comic artists and writers. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

“Kaleidoscope of Color” • 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2: Annual iris exhibit and sale including hundreds of potted irises via the Prescott Area Iris Society. (Mortimer's Nursery, 3166 Willow Creek Road, 623-980-6627, PrescottIrisSociety.Org) “Let's Get Wild!” • 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2: Edible plant foraging walk and luncheon. Bring a large salad bowl and scissors. (Heaven on Earth retreat, 928-308-2146, Happy@HappyOasis.Com, RSVP for directions, $20-$25) LAN party • Noon Saturday, May 2: Play multiplayer computer games like “Quake,” “Counterstrike,” and “Tribes.” A monthly Local Area Network party via Western Sky PC. (Game On, 1957 Commerce Center Circle Suite C, Prescott, PPCGG.Com) Kendall Camp owl walk • 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2: Local, guided owling at Kendall Camp with Micah Riegner. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP)

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“Collecting the West” • 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3: Gary Fillmore discusses collecting and appraising Western art. (Phippen Museum, 4701 Arizona 89, 928-778-1385, $5-$7)

Fain Park bird walk • 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 6: Local, guided bird walk at Fain Park with Johanna Shipley. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP)

“Barnstormers, Daredevils, & Flying Waitresses” • 5 p.m. Thursday, May 7: Historian Steve Renzi discusses a time before women could vote — but they could still ﬂy. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324) Evening forest walk • 7 p.m. Friday, May 8: A family-friendly adventure in the evening forest. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550)

Prescott Audubon Bird Walk • 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 9: Monthly Audubon bird walk. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) “National Trends in Water Reuse” • 10 a.m. Saturday, May 9: Guy Carpenter talk. A monthly Citizens Water Advocacy Group meeting. (Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation Building, 882 Sunset Ave., 928-445-4218)

Family F.U.N. Migratory Bird Day • 10 a.m. Saturday, May 9: Celebrate National Migratory Bird Day and learn about Friends Understanding Nature summer camps. Bring a picnic lunch. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550)

“Filmmaking in Yavapai County: 100 Years in Focus” • 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17: From Tom Mix to Billy Jack to Zombies on the Yavapai County Courthouse steps, Andrew JohnsonSchmit and Tom Slaback discuss movies made in Yavapai County from 1912 to present. Presentation includes information about the upcoming supernatural thriller, “Witch Child,” currently being funded via Kickstarter. Incidentally, the "Witch Child" casting call is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 16 at Gateway Mall. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) IMAGE: Angie Johnson-Schmit, Andrew Johnson-Schmit, Dino Palazzi, and Kevin Goss discuss a scene from “Dead Votes Society” (2013), a satirical zombie short shot at the Yavapai County Courthouse Square. Photo by Stellar Photography.

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“De-wrinkling the Fabric: Geologic Structures of Northern Arizona” • 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12: Brian Gootee, of the Arizona Geological Survey, talk. A monthly Central Arizona Geology Club meeting. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)

“Mysteries on the Colorado Plateau” • 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 13: Santa Fe author Anne Hillerman discusses “Rock with Wings” and Tucson author Susan Cummins Miller discusses “Chasm.” (Hassayampa Inn, 122 E. Gurley St.) “The Atomic Bombings of Japan — Right or Wrong?” • 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 13: Historian William Weiss discusses President Truman's controversial decision to use atomic bombs against Japan. (ERAU Davis Learning Center, 3700 Willow Creek Road, 928-777-6985)

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“Botanical Assessment of Springs in Coconino County” • 6:30 a.m. Thursday, May 14: Dr. Vera Markgraf, research professor emeritus of the University of Colorado, discusses ﬁndings from her studies. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) Banning Creek bird walk • 7 a.m. Friday, May 15: Local, guided bird walk at Banning Creek with Bonnie Pranter. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP)

8 • EVENTS • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

“House of Mammoths” reception • 4 p.m. Friday, May 15: Reception for author Craig Childs prior to his 6 p.m. presentation at Prescott Resort. (Smoki Museum, 147 N. Arizona Ave., 928-445-1230, $20) “House of Mammoths” • 6 p.m. Friday, May 15: Author Craig Childs discusses the relationship between humans, animals, landscape, and time, as well as his books, “Apocalyptic Plant,” “The Animal Dialogues,” and “House of Rain.” (Prescott Resort, 1500 E. Arizona 69, 877-942-5052, $10)

“Pollinator Garden Party” • 9 a.m. Saturday, May 16: Help the Prescott College Natural History Institute install a pollination garden and monarch way station. (Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave., 928-350-2280, free lunch, RSVP)

“On the Brink of Shards” & “Joe Long Road” • 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16: Authors Nancy Rivest Green and Annette Schobe discuss their new books. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

Watson Woods bird walk • 7 a.m. Thursday, May 21: Local, guided bird walk at Watson Woods with Eric Moore. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP) “Asteroid and Meteorite Connections … Arizona Style” • 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21: Rik Hill, University of Arizona senior research specialist, Robert Ward, Iron from the Skies Meteorites, and Dolores Hill, University of Arizona

Rachel Carson performance • 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21: Fiona Reid, education director of the Highlands Center for Natural History, performs as marine biologist and “Silent Spring” author Rachel Carson. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550, $8-$14, RSVP)

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“Wild Women of Prescott, Arizona” • 2 p.m. Saturday, May 23: Author Jan MacKell Collins discusses Prescott pioneers and the events that've made the American West what it is today. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) Ice cream sundae Sunday • 2 p.m. Sunday, May 24: A Sunday sundae celebration of the beginning of the Skull Valley Historical Society's summer season. (Skull Valley Museum, 3150 Old Skull Valley Road, 928-442-2314)

Stricklin Park/Thumb Butte bird walk • 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 27: Local, guided bird walk at Stricklin Park/Thumb Butte with Bonnie Pranter. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP) “Wildlife Adaptations” • 7 p.m. Thursday, May 28: Zen Mocarski, of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, discusses the many ways animals have adapted to life in the desert for survival with a focus on Arizona and, especially, Prescott. A monthly Prescott Audubon meeting. (Trinity Presbyterian Church, 630 Park Ave., Prescott Audubon.Org)

“Forbidden Entry” • 2 p.m. Saturday, May 30: Mystery author Sylvia Nobel discuses her new book as well as four entries in the Kendall O'Dell Mystery series, one of which — “Deadly Sanctuary” — is now a major feature ﬁlm. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

Multi-day Prescott Area Boardgamers • 5 p.m. Wednesdays, May 13 & 27: Play board games. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500) Naturalist City Walks • 8 a.m. Wednesdays: Discover more about local insects, birds, geology, plants, and more on city trails. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) Naturalist Field Walks • 8 a.m. Saturdays: Discover more about local insects, birds, geology, plants, and more at the Highlands Center for Natural History. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) Drop in chess • 2 p.m. Saturdays: Play chess, all ages and skill levels welcome. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500)

May’s art-full events :niarB thgiR

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Events

“C Bar” premier • 7 p.m. entertainment, 8 p.m. movie Friday, May 1: Premier of the locally ﬁlmed Western movie based on a novel by Mark Baugher. Directed by Patrick Ball. (Elks Theatre, 117 E. Gurley St., 928-777-1367, $10-$12)

Cinco de May Fiesta • 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2: Second annual celebration of Mexican heritage. (Yavapai County Courthouse Square, Facebook.Com/ PrescottCincodeMayoFiesta) “Stepping Out for Step Up” • 6 p.m. Saturday, May 2: Silent auction including more than 60 hand-decorated step stools. Proceeds go toward creating The Parent Co., a new Quad City family space. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223, StepUpKids.Org, $50)

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Poetry discussion group • 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 6: Dr. Janet Preston’s monthly poetry discussion group. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500)

Poets’ Cooperative • 6 p.m. Thursday, May 7: Share your work with other poets in a supportive atmosphere. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500) “Transforming Trauma Through Spiritual Awareness” • 2 p.m. Saturday, May 9: Dr. Elaine Hodge leads a workshop about experiences of loss including the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, or money. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

Heaven on Earth grand opening & Illuminate Film Fest preview • 6 p.m. tour, 7 p.m. ﬁlms Saturday, May 9: Tour the new retreat and enjoy a sneak peak of ﬁlms from Sedona’s Illuminate Film Fest led by its executive producer. (Heaven on Earth retreat, 928-308-2146, Happy@ HappyOasis.Com, RSVP for directions)

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“Man & Superman” • 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14: Via satellite, The National Theatre Live’s presentation of Bernard Shaw’s provocative romantic comedy meets fairytale meets ﬁery philosophical debate. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $15) “Brewing Your Own Kombucha” • 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16: Experience a Kombucha taste test and learn some how-tos for creating delicious twists on this DIY ancient elixir. (One Root Tea, 500 W. Gurley St., 928-778-5880, RSVP, $25)

Organic Garden Club/Raw Vegan potluck • 1 p.m. Sunday, May 17: On an edible lawn beside canyon pools, enjoy an organic, vibrant vegan potluck plus optional swimming, yoga, music, and sharing. Bring an organic, vibrant vegan dish plus a cup and plate. (Heaven on Earth retreat, 928-308-2146, Happy@HappyOasis.Com, RSVP for directions) “Ivan the Terrible” • 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17: Via satellite, the Bolshoi Ballet’s presentation of the story of Ivan IV. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $10-$15)

“One Man’s Treasure” • 4 p.m. Friday, May 22: Art auction featuring recycled trash from the annual Granite Creek cleanup. Proceeds beneﬁt Prescott Creeks. (Prescott College Crossroads Center, 215 Garden St., 877-350-2100, RSVP, $25)

“Point of Time & Texture” • 5-7 p.m. Friday, May 22 4th Friday reception, May 22-June 26 show: A colorful, textural exhibit of peace featuring meditative photography by Esmeralda Ruiz and handmade paper art by Annie Alexander. (Yavapai College Art Gallery, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2031)

PC Graduating Senior Exhibition • Through May 9: Art by 2015 Prescott College graduating seniors. (Prescott College Art Gallery at Sam Hill Warehouse, 232 N. Granite St., 928-350-2341)

4th Friday Art Walk • 5 p.m. Friday, May 22: Monthly art walk including more than 18 galleries, artist receptions, openings, and demonstrations. (ArtThe4th.Com)

“Drip, Dribble, & Splat” • From May 11: Go abstract and have fun with painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, metal, and glass. (Prescott Center for the Arts Gallery, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286)

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Contra Dance • 7 p.m. lesson, 7:30 p.m. dance Saturday, May 23: Contra dancing. Via Folk Happens. Calls by Archie Maclellan, music by Chupacabras. (First Congregation Church, 216 E. Gurley St., 928-925-5210, $4-$8)

“Synergy of II” • Through May 12: Nature-inspired and Asian-inﬂuenced ﬁne art paintings and prints by Donna Carver and sculptural fused and slumped glass by Patty Lindsey. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223)

Open mic poetry • 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 27: Dan Seaman emcees monthly open mic poetry. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

AZ Plein Air Painters • Through May 13: Group show featuring artwork by the AZ Plein Air Painters. (Mountain Artists Guild & Gallery, 228 Alarcon St., 928-445-2510)

Skull Valley Farmers Market • 8 a.m. Friday, May 29: First weekly Skull Valley Farmers Market. (Skull Valley Elementary School, 3150 Old Skull Valley Road, SkullValleyFarmers Market.Weebly.Com)

Bruce Haughey • From May 15: New ceramics by Bruce Haughey. (Mountain Artists Guild & Gallery, 228 Alarcon St., 928-445-2510)

Multi-day

“Figments of the Imagination” • From May 15: New works by Judy Kaufman and friends. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223)

Modern-day meditation • 7:20 p.m. Wednesdays, May 6 & 20: Open. Calm. Think. Act. An active, four-part practice. (Blackbird Yoga 332 W. Gurley St., 303-903-2630, ﬁrst class free)

YC Student Art Exhibition • Through May 16: Juried work from current Yavapai College art students. (Yavapai College Art Gallery, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2031)

“The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley Jr.” • 7 p.m. May 7-9, 2 p.m. May 9 & 10: A musical travelogue from Stanley, who scours the globe for a solution to his unusual problem. Directed by Deb White. (Prescott Center for the Arts, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286, $10)

Prescott Highland Games • 9 a.m. Saturday & Sunday, May 9 & 10: Eleventh annual highland games. (Watson Lake Park, PrescottHighlandGames.Com) Prescott Farmers Market • 7 a.m. Saturdays, May 9 forward: Weekly farmers market oﬀering fresh produce entertainment, and more. (Yavapai College, 1100 E. Sheldon St., PrescottFarmersMarket.Org) “Never the Sinner” • 7:30 p.m. May 14-16, 21-23, & 29 & 30; 2 p.m. May 17, 24, & 31: The trial of the century in which Clarence Darrow defends a pair of teenage boys against capital punishment. Directed by Don Langford. (Stage Too, North Cortez Street alley between Willis and Sheldon streets, 928-445-3286, $15)

Saturday Night Talk series • 7 p.m. Saturdays: “Principles of Inner Work on the Path,” “Instinct Versus Reliance on Mind,” “The Fine Art of Letting Go,” “Practical Self-Study & the Development of Being,” and “Relationship.” (Vigraha Gallery, 115 E. Goodwin St., 928-771-0205, $5)

Art

IMAGE: Handmade paper art by Annie Alexander. Courtesy photo.

Prescott Fine Art & Wine Festival • Saturday & Sunday, May 9 & 10: Annual ﬁne art and wine festival. Via Mountain Artists Guild. (Yavapai County Courthouse Square, PrescottArtFestivals.Com)

Mindfulness meditation • 6:30 p.m. informal sit, 7 p.m. formal sit Tuesdays: Meditation group open to people of all faiths and non-faiths. (First Congregational Church, 216 E. Gurley St., PrescottVipassana.Org)

“Eclectic Works in Various Media” • Through May 19: Various media. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223) Santo Domingo Pueblo Jewelry & Art • 11 a.m. Saturday & Sunday, May 23 & 24: The Calabaza family and Buﬀalo Dancers, plus 10 other Santo Domingo artists, share jewelry and artwork. (Smoki Museum, 147 N. Arizona Ave., 928-445-1230, $6-$7) Western Art Show • Saturday through Monday, May 23-25: Forty-ﬁrst annual Phippen Museum Western art show. Special events include the “Miniature Masterpiece” show and “Quick Draw,” plus live auctions and sales. (Yavapai County Courthouse Square, PhippenArtMuseum.Org) Community Yoga • 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 a.m. Saturdays: Free community all-levels yoga class for people from all walks of life. Come heal your whole self. No experience necessary. (Deva Healing Center, 520 Sheldon St., DevaHealingCenter.Org)

Michael Wilson • Through May 20: New work by landscape photographer Michael Wilson. (Arts Prescott Gallery, 134 S. Montezuma St., 928-776-7717) “Journeys in Spirit” • From May 21: Annual American Indian art show featuring traditional and contemporary paintings, jewelry, basketry, mask making, sculpture, and more. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223) Carolyn Dunn • From May 22: New work by photographer Carolyn Dunn. (Arts Prescott Gallery, 134 S. Montezuma St., 928-776-7717) Sonja Schenk • From May 22: Artwork by Sonja Schenk describing the changing and evolving dichotomies of man and nature, structure and voice, life and death, and future and past. (Prescott College Art Gallery at Sam Hill Warehouse, 232 N. Granite St., 928-350-2341)

Leash or lease?

Alan Dean Foster’s

Perceivings

By Alan Dean Foster I suppose we could blame Disneyland. Specifically, the Enchanted Tiki Room. Now don’t get me wrong. I loved the Enchanted Tiki Room. The tropical storm that came and went on schedule, the talking flowers, the carved tiki walls that surprised you by coming to life just when you thought you’d seen everything. But I didn’t care for the birds. See, the birds were just too close to reality for me to entirely suspend disbelief. Talking walls, flowers, drumming tikis: The child in me knew they were fake. But I’d seen talking birds on television. Yet, when the quartet of heavily accented Psittacidae started conversing in the Tiki Room, and in multiple European accents, it freaked me out a little. Because I knew real birds could at least approximate what I was seeing and hearing. But these weren’t real birds. They were patently fake. Unlike the flowers and the tikis, with the birds the line between reality and unreality was so much thinner. What I didn’t know at the time was where all this was audio-animatronic (as the Disney folk called it) enchantment was leading. Nobody did. Where it was leading was to ... robot pets.

They’ve

been around for awhile now. It started with simple talking dolls. Soon these were turned up a notch. Remember Chatty Cathy? Then some enterprising toy manufacturer thought: If talking human dolls, why not talking puppies? Or kittens? Or seriously down-sized horses? Because the price of the requisite electronic components has dropped so steeply over the years, you can now buy novelty talking birds for a fraction of what the original Tiki Room schmoozers cost the Disney corporation. Cuddly dogs chat on command, kittens canoodle, ponies with manes that look like they came out of a Beverly Hills salon will learn your little girl’s likes and

Fido ﬁnds the Uncanny Valley dislikes and parrot them back to her. There’s no escaping this trend. In Japan, researchers have found that robotic pets make life better for lonely senior citizens, especially those with developing mental issues. So, I suppose that’s a good thing. But as I watch these developments from afar (our two dogs and eight cats are entirely organic), it creeps me out a bit. It’s one thing to try and build a humaniform robot and fool people with it. But if we’re getting closer and closer to surmounting what the cyberneticists called the Uncanny Valley. As we approach that achievement, you realize how much easier it will become to build a fully animate, fully responsive, and entirely believable robotic dog or cat.

But

while providing companionship, what else might a robot dog or cat do? Responsive electronic eyes would be everywhere in our cities. In our homes. Samsung recently ran into trouble when it was found that some of its hand gesture controlled TV’s could, theoretically, be set to spy on their users. And what happens when the cute robot puppy gives way to robot pit bulls and robot rottweilers? Designed and built for personal protection, they would offer great defense for live-alones, but what if they too prove hackable? And then we have to worry about the pet canary with the camera eye. We live in an age on the cusp of all manner of affordable, programmable, responsive robot pets. It remains to be seen whether the benefits will outweigh the potential hazards. What hath Walt wrought?

suppose there are advantages. No need for food or water, no waste to clean up, no worrying about having to take Fido 2.0 for a walk, no ***** Alan Dean Foster is author of more than 120 drifting fur or dander to activate one’s allergies. books, visitor to more than 100 countries, and Yet in these days of private drones and electronic still frustrated by the human species. Follow him surveillance, I worry about what’s to prevent at AlanDeanFoster.Com. someone from hacking your dog (cats already do their own hacking, of a sort). Robotic pets will certainly have their place. Manhattan, Hong Kong, Tokyo — these are cities where both living space and personal time are at a premium. If you don’t have either to spare for a live pet, a robot that can be programmed or turned on and oﬀ would certainly present an attractive option. Even a goldﬁsh requires more personal attention. Honey, I think maybe the A robot dog, like today’s robot vacuum cleaners, could be set to Kotzwinkle/Murray model isn‛t recharge itself, for us. freeing the owner from even that small concern. Why, a semi-autonomous pet could even take itself for a walk.

10 • COLUMN • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

“Man’s new best friend.” Components public domain. Illustration by 5enses.

Cycles By Valerie Irvine-Karinen Car parts. Dishes. Carpentry. Tools. Cans. They all come out of Granite Creek covered in mud. It’s easy enough to throw them away again, but where’s the fun in that?

Since

the 1980s, people have been pullmultiple senses of the word, community. ing trash from Granite Creek as The fourth annual “One Man’s Treasure” aucpart of cleanups sponsored by various groups, intion is 4-7 p.m. Friday, May 22 at the Prescott Colcluding, at one point, a city committee. Nine years lege Crossroads Center. Tickets are $45. RSVP by ago, the local nonprofit Prescott Creeks picked up Friday, May 15. Proceeds benefit Prescott Creeks the torch. which, incidentally, celebrates its 25th anniver“You would think that after all this time there sary this year. would be nothing left,” said Paula Cooperrider, a Prior to the event, pieces from this year’s aucPrescott Creeks board member. “But, every year, tion were (and, depending when you read this, we drag out anywhere up to 10 tons of trash out of are) on display at ‘Tis Art Center and Gallery, Van Granite Creek.” Gogh’s Ear Gallery, Granite Mountain Brewing, In recent years, more than 500 volunteers have Keller Williams Realty, The Hike Shack, and the participated in the annual Granite Creek Cleanup Raven Café. — which boasts some 4,000 volIn its first couple of years, unteers under Prescott Creeks. “One Man’s Treasure” barely And, on April 18, about 2.4 tons netted four figures, though last of trash from the creek, bringyear’s auction added another ing the total amount of trash zero to the tally and brought in collected during the last nine nearly $11,000. years to around 42.6 tons. While you’re waiting on this Though some of the collected year’s event, here’s a peak into trash is bound for recycling the world of some of the found centers and landfills, some of it’s object artists who give life to given new purpose in artwork creek-borne art. sold at “One Man’s Treasure,” an annual found object art show Perfect things and auction via Prescott Creeks Edie Dillon’s art studio gets a founded in 2012. lot of sun. There are a lot of ideas tied up Rays bounce from colorful in these objets trouvés. Implicit glass bottles and doilies to cups Edie Dillon. Photo or explicit, their reemployment brimming with paintbrushes, is commentary on consumption, pens, and scrap metal. by Tom Fleischner. waste disposal, watersheds, con“Tools and objects have personservation, art, aesthetics, and, in alities and a past,” Dillon says.

“Shorebirds,” by Edie Dillon featuring found metal and glass. Dillon’s artwork is part of this year’s “One Man’s Treasure” show and auction. Photo by Christopher Marchetti. “When I make found object art, I try to honor that history.” “I love that the edge of a piece of metal can look like a piece of lace,” she adds. For Dillon, the “One Man’s Treasure” show and auction not only fits her approach to art; it’s a callback to her roots. “I like to see environmental issues in a different way or an artistic way,” says Dillon, who was an environmental activist for almost two decades before becoming an artist. During the rest of the year, she usually plucks materials from local thrift stores. “What’s really true with found object art is the universe handing you the perfect thing, and it happens unbelievably frequently,” she says. “It just clicks.” To whit, Dillon once procured a piece of granite that looked like a torso. She decided it would make a great angel, so she fashioned silk wings for it. She needed something to attach them, though. “I went out and hit the thrift stores, and the first place I went, I put my hand in a bin and out it came,” Dillon says. “(It was) a brick pointer, which is used for making the mortar between bricks smooth.” A fine find made more poignant by auspicious lettering. “It said ‘Angelus’ on it, and I was like, ‘OK, I’m scared,’” she says. “It was the perfect thing.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 >>>

5ENSESMAG.COM • MAY 2015 • PORTFOLIO • 11

... FROM PAGE 11 This end up, probably For a long time, Jacqueline Herst’s primary mediums were weaving and stained-glass. “Then they showed me how to use the acetylene torch, and I just played,” Herst says. “I love the strength of metal,” adds the latter-day sculpture artist. “Now I try to combine all of it.” In many cases, Herst’s pieces appear to defy gravity. In every case, they’re subject to personal whimsy. “I follow the material,” she says. “ I don’t envision and I don’t draw, so I never know where I’m going. I think it’s wonderful fun to let things happen.” In the past nine years, Herst’s Prescott home has evolved into a giant studio. She first got involved with “One Man’s Treasure” last year. “I like that it’s connected to preserving the creeks; that’s something I can care about,” she says, adding, “It was interesting — not static at all — and ended with a nice to-do.” Although Prescott Creeks lends her art some figurative context, it’s literal context remains relative. “It doesn’t matter, you see?” she says, pulling a piece from the wall and flipping it upside down. “My art used to be that way, where it didn’t matter,” Herst says. “I used to go into the gallery and turn it upside down and laugh.” That isn’t necessarily the case today — especially considering her sculptures, for which gravity is often a mitigating factor — but art pranks have had a lingering affect on Herst’s work. Namely, she doesn’t put much stock in monikers. “I don’t like to name things,” Herst says, “because everyone sees them differently.” Meddling, scrap Rick Hartner’s artistic path is inextricably linked to recycling. Call it “welded,” even. Hartner was setting up the California Resource and Recovery Association Conference for the California Compost and Recycling Department when it

12 • PORTFOLIO • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

started. “We needed some easels to set up at the front of the ballroom to indicate event times, and the hotel would have rented us some, but I said, ‘Hey, we’re recyclers, why don’t we make something fun?’” he says. “So I went down to the 33rd Street Naval station, and the Navy throws away some amazing things.” He couldn’t weld at the time, but enlisted the help of a colleague to create pieces for the conference. “Everyone loved them and we even sold every single one at the conference as a kind of beneﬁt,” Hartner says. “And everyone said, ‘You know you should keep doing this,’ and I thought yeah, you know, I’d like to keep doing this.”

COUNTER CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: New recy sure,” courtesy photo; Jacqueline Herst, courtes his Sitting Duck Studio in Kirkland in 2014, 5ense 5enses file photo; Paula Cooperrider works in her Aquarium,” a piece for “One Man’s Treasure” by P next to her and Johanna Hawley’s ne That was then. Now, Hartner’s an eight-year resident of Kirkland and welder extraordinaire. His sweet spot, as far as sales go, is outdoor garden art, though he’d like to transition into more abstract, gallery pieces in the coming years. “I don’t have any degree in art, my educational background is in environmental resource geography,” he says. “I’m self taught, but since I’m interested in environmental causes, I do a lot of work for the Highland Center and ‘One Man’s Treasure.’” “I’ve beneﬁted as well,” he adds. “I usually go there at the end and make sure all the metal scraps are being picked up.” Then Hartner gives them new life as recycled art. Gearing up A 33-year resident of Prescott, Sue Knaup has worn a lot of hats, although “helmets” might be a more accurate metaphor. As the founder and 13-year owner of Ironclad Bicycles, Knaup often traded her bicycle helmet for a welding helmet.

“When I founded it, half of the business was welding,” she says. Today, Knaup employs those skills at “Grunt Design,” her collaborative eﬀort with Johanna Hawley. Knaup handles welding and Hawley does design and details. “We always like to, if we can, get bike parts or bike elements,” Knaup says. “[That’s] because both of us are bike advocates and community advocates — and the two go hand in hand.” As such, “One Man’s Treasure” was a natural ﬁt. This year, Knaup and Hawley are submitting a piece that, despite its complexity has a simplistic origin. “The funny part is that about ninety percent of the sculpture

ycled art by Jacqueline Herst for “One Man’s Treasy photo; Rick Hartner works some scrap metal at es file photo; recycled metal birds by Rick Hartner, r studio, photo by Neil Cooperrider; “Granite Creek Paula Cooperrider, courtesy photo; Sue Knaup sits ewpiece for “One Man’s Treasure,” courtesy photo. is from the 2014 creek cleanup, Knaup says. “We just took a truckload of scrap material, and then we were standing in my driveway of my job thinking, ‘Hmm what do we do with all this?’” Inspiration struck in a proverbial ﬂash. “It just kind of came together with the base when we realized that it could be a rock, and the rest could be a tree,” Knaup says. “The cool thing about a tree on a rock is that you can sit under it, and then we got the idea of the picnic with the bike, and the two people that could be enjoying it.” The bike may be small, but it’s a big part of the piece. Natural advocacy Paula Cooperrider has a plan for the knee-high fake leather dress boots she found in Granite Creek, but it’s probably not what you’re thinking. “I have a tree branch that looks like a walking stick man,” Cooperrider says. “So, my husband and I are going to pour

concrete in the boots and put the stick man in them.” As one of the founders of the “One Man’s Treasure” event, Cooperrider has seen the art show and auction grow from humble beginnings. “For a couple of years, it was just kind of spur of the moment. It wasn’t really organized; it was just fun,” she says. “The second year I was involved, a friend and I realized that this had the potential to be a really big deal fundraiser for the organization.” Given Cooperrider’s artistic background building and designing furniture, you might suspect that salvaged and recycled pieces have a minimal, tangential role in her work. But that’s not always the case these days. “This whole project changed the way that I approached my art,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of metalworking, small sculpture, and jewelry [as a result].” This year, Cooperrider is catering a so-called “aquarium piece,” that’s both made from materials found in Granite Creek and a commentary on the state of the creek itself. “When you look at everything that gets pulled out of the creek, you wonder what the wildlife is experiencing,” she says. “I looked at the garbage and thought, ‘Well, I think this is what they’d look like if they kept eating what we’re pulling out of the creek.’” ***** The “One Man’s Treasure” art show and auction is 4-7 p.m. Friday, May 22 at Prescott College’s Crossroads Center, 215 Garden St., 877-350-2100. Tickets are $45. RSVP by Friday, May 15. Proceeds beneﬁt Prescott Creeks. Find out more at OneMansTreasure.Org. Contact Prescott Creeks at 928445-5669 and PrescottCreeks. Org. Valerie Sonia Irvine-Karinen is a 20-year-old MexicanAmerican who’s spent most of her life in Canada. She’s an environmentalist, an acid ink artist, passionate about ceramics and poetry, and a vegetable enthusiast.

News From the Wilds May weather

Greater Short-horned Lizards (Phryosoma hernandesi), specialist predators of harvester ants, become active now in higher elevations. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris. By Ty Fitzmorris

May

is the great turning of spring to summer in the Mogollon Highlands of Arizona. Winter is firmly past, and the seasonal creeks usually run with the last percolating snowmelt, while extraordinary flowers abound. But May is also the beginning of the dry season, as regional climate patterns shift, and the winter storms that had been flung off of large storm systems over the Pacific are replaced by northering warm, wet air masses from the Sea of Cortez. Eventually these air masses will mature into the titanic cumulonimbus and torrential rains of our summer monsoon, but they are fueled by heat, which will not build sufficiently until late June. We are lucky enough to have not one, but two distinct flowering seasons per year — our first great flowering happens this month, while the other great flowering is after the monsoon rains of mid-summer. Interestingly, many of our flowering plant species are unique to one or the other period. This bimodal flowering season is matched by peaks in activity in our animal species, as

well. Insect activity follows flowering very closely, as insects either pollinate flowers or disperse the seeds that result from that pollination. The peak in bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian activity follows shortly after insects, as insects constitute much of the diets of these animals. Because of this, the diversity of species and behaviors that can be seen by the observant naturalist this month is nearly bewildering. More new groups of insects emerge day by day — look especially for the first damselflies of the season, flying near water like little, graceful dragonflies, blue and iridescent red. New butterflies continue to appear, such as the Sisters, Great Purple Hairstreaks, metalmarks, snouts, checkerspots, skippers, and buckeyes.

This

year departs from the norm in one important way — this past winter was the single warmest in our 115-year record. We received almost no snow, and none at all remained on the north slopes of the mountains through the late winter. Usually these last, slowly melting snowﬁelds provide the water that trees and other plants

14 • FEATURE • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

use to ward off the first attacks of pest insects and to provide flowers for their pollinators, but this year much of this water has already run off. Combined with the nearly total lack of killing frosts, which would have kept pest insect populations in check, we could see outbreaks of certain pest species, such as aphids and bark beetles. In fact, the resinous shine on the needles and around the bases of Ponderosa Pines is the evidence of aphids that are feeding on nearly every Ponderosa in our region — as they feed they exude a sugary honeydew that ants and other insects consume, but much of which falls to the ground. In exchange, ants will herd the aphids from tree to tree like livestock and defend them in case of attack by predators and parasites.

temperatures rise and relative humidity falls, the risk of wildﬁre increases in our region dramatically, and this is exacerbated by woody plant die-oﬀs from pest outbreaks. Fire has long been an integral part of the landscapes of western North America, and many of our ecosystems rely on it, but due

Average high temperature: 75.5 F, +/-4.0 Average low temperature: 41.0 F, +/-3.9 Record high temperature: 97 F, 1910 Record low temperature: 5 F, 1899 Average precipitation: 0.46”, +/-0.49” Record high precipitation: 2.35”, 1992 Record high snowfall: 6”, 1915 Record low precipitation: 0”, 24 percent of years on record Max daily precipitation: 1.3”, May 10, 1922 Source: Western Regional Climate Center

to long-term fire suppression and changes in the fire regime, fires now are often much larger and more destructive than any time in the past. It is extremely important that humans, as the primary cause of fires, handle all incendiary material carefully during this time, and refrain especially from throwing cigarettes out of car windows and driving cars and ATVs off road or in dry grasses. With careful management fire can be reintroduced into our wild areas, which will benefit all of our wild areas. ***** Ty Fitzmorris is an itinerant and often distractible naturalist who lives in Prescott and is proprietor of the Peregrine Book Company, Raven Café, Gray Dog Guitars, and is a founder of Milagro Arts, a community arts nexus, all as a sideline to his natural history pursuits. He is also the Curator of Insects at the new Natural History Institute at Prescott College. He can be reached at Ty@ PeregrineBookCompany.Com with questions or comments.

News From the Wilds, too A very brief survey of what’s happening in the wilds ... By Ty Fitzmorris High mountains • Raven young begin hatching, and both parents begin around-the-clock nest brooding. During this time pairs are rarely seen flying, though groups of young Ravens can still be seen together. • Fendler’s Meadow Rue begins flowering. • Fendler’s Ceanothus in full flower. Visit: Maverick Mountain Trail, No. 65. Ponderosa Pine forests • Whitetail Deer finish their spring molt, acquiring their soft reddish to tan summer coats. • Porcupines begin giving birth. These remarkable mammals are rare in the Central Highlands, but can be found sometimes in high Aspen glades. • Acorn Woodpecker young begin fledging, and can sometimes be seen leaning out of nest holes in Ponderosa Pines. They might do this for weeks before attempting flight. • Spikes of violet lupines (Lupinus spp.) and flocks of pink Woodhouse’s Phlox (Phlox speciosa) abound, drawing bumblebees and digger bees. Visit: Miller Creek Trail, No. 367. Pine-Oak woodlands • Oak species continue to drop last year’s leaves, changing from orangered to a soft light green as new leaves unfurl. Oaks flower during this time as well, causing allergies for many. • Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus) flowers abundantly. Look for hummingbirds visiting the flowers. • Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) sets seed now. These spiral seeds are fire-adapted, and drill themselves into the ground deep enough to survive mild fires. They drop now in advance of the upcoming fire season. Visit: Little Granite Mountain, No. 37. Pinyon-Juniper woodlands • Wolfberry (Lycium macrodon) flowering. • Clark’s Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus clarkii), though furtive, can be seen as they conclude their mating season and prepare to lay eggs.

Grass-skippers, such as this Orange Skipperling (Copaeodes aurantiaca), begin flying now, and can be seen in canyons in the Central Highlands. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris. • Piñon pines (Pinus edulis and P. monophylla) flower as they put on new growth on their branch-tips. • Parry’s Agave flowers, beginning in the lower elevations, drawing bats, hummingbirds, and bees to its red and yellow blooms. Visit: Tin Trough Trail, No. 308. Grasslands • Pronghorn young are now over 2-months-old and can routinely be seen with herds, running as fast as adults. • Globemallow (Sphaeralcea spp.), yellow evening primrose (Oenothera spp.), and Spanish Bayonet (Yucca baccata) flowering. • Antelope Horns (Asclepias asperula) flowers from now until August. This is one of more than 20 species of milkweeds native to Arizona, all of which provide crucial food sources for Monarch Butterflies, the populations of which have been recently discovered to be declining rapidly. Many milkweeds can be cultivated, which helps Monarch populations. For more information visit MakeWayForMonarchs.Org. Visit: Mint Wash Trail, No. 345.

Riparian areas • Fremont Cottonwoods continue to release their fibrous, cottony seeds in large clouds. Cotton can form drifts several inches thick, especially in areas of dense cottonwood such as the Granite Dells, Watson and Willow lakes, or even Granite Creek in downtown Prescott. • Young Anna’s Hummingbirds begin fledging, while Black-chinned Hummingbirds finish building their nests of spider webs and lichen and lay eggs. • Warbler migration reaches its peak early in the month. Many exotic warblers have already been seen this year, including Olive, MacGillivray’s, Northern Parula, Prothonatary, Townsend’s, Wilson’s, Nashville, Hermit, Golden-crowned, and the Common Yellowthroat. Our resident species are nearly all returned now, as well, including Lucy’s, Yellow, Red-faced, Virginia’s, Grace’s, and Orange-crowned Warblers as well as the Yellow-breasted Chat and the rare Painted Redstart, all of which are beginning to nest and lay eggs. Visit: Willow Lake Loop Trail.

Deserts/Chaparral • Many species of cactus flower, including pink and yellow prickly pears, hedgehog cacti, and, at the upper limit of the Sonoran Desert, Saguaros. Look for native solitary cactus bees visiting all of these flowers. • Palo Verde trees continue to flower, along with Velvet Mesquite and various acacias, mimosas, and some species of yucca. • Sub-shrubs (small woody plants less than 2’ high) flowering abundantly. Look especially for Feather Dalea (Dalea formosa), resplendent with vibrant, though tiny, purple flowers, which are surrounded by feathered filaments. • Gila Monsters become active, searching for mammals and bird nests in dry desert uplands. Visit: Agua Fria National Monument.

Skyward • May 3: Full Moon at 8:42 p.m. • May 5: Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower. The peak of this moderate shower is after midnight, with meteors appearing to radiate from the constellation Aquarius. The recently full Moon makes for less-than-ideal viewing conditions, but the brightest meteors will still be visible. • May 7: Mercury at greatest eastern elongation. Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, is at its highest in the evening sky, just shy of half the height of Venus in the west immediately after sunset. • May 17: New Moon at 9:13 p.m. This is the best time of the month to observe deep space objects, many of which can be viewed from our region with the naked eye, and are especially stunning viewed with binoculars. • May 23: Saturn at Opposition. The planet is exactly opposite the Sun from Earth, making for optimal viewing conditions. A medium-sized telescope will reveal Saturn’s rings and several moons. Saturn rises in the east at sunset and is at its zenith at midnight.

Back to the land

Joseph McCaffrey proffers ecotherapy with Nature Based Wellness By James Dungeon [Editor’s note: The following interview was culled from conversations between the reporter and ecotherapist Joseph Paul McCaﬀrey, founder of Nature Based Wellness. Contact him at 970-217-8698 and JosephPaulMcCaﬀrey.Me.]

cally evolved through our interaction with the natural world. Fifth, there is synergetic relationship between people’s interaction with nature and optimum health, psychological development, inner peace, compassion, service, and trust. Finally, people’s interaction with nature has physical and psychological beneﬁts.

How long has ecopsychology been around? Theodore Roszak is one of the founders of the field. It’s been around for over 20 years. It’s new, an uprising field. There’s a split within it at the moment. I think it’s important also to mention that there are a few different tenants upon which ecopsychology was built. I really resonate with the following tenants, because I have seen them so clearly in the work I do. First, there is an unconscious reciprocity existing between all living beings and the Earth. Second, people’s relationship to the natural world allows them to cultivate their psyche into a coherent whole or the process of becoming the full, actualized self. Third, people’s ecological ego matures toward a sense of ethical responsibility that there is an interdependent relationship between humans and the animate natural world. Fourth, humans have biologi-

You practice ecotherapy. What exactly is that? Ecotherapy is a healing modality that takes individuals into the natural world to work with psychological wellness and healing. Ecotherapy recognizes the reciprocal relationship between the human psyche and the animate natural world. It’s really important to understand that ecotherapy is not just going into nature and doing modern objective psychotherapy. Rather, ecotherapy focuses on a few diﬀerent areas. First, ecotherapy practices can be aimed at addressing people’s emotional and spiritual conditions underlying our current ecological crisis. Ecotherapy can be aimed at re-collective practices, which are those activities aimed more directly at recalling how people’s psyche is embedded in and nurtured by the larger psyche of nature. Or, another way to say that would be, ecotherapy guides people in relearning the es-

Be fire vigilant If you see it, report it. Call 911. Granite Mountain Outfitters 320 W. Gurley, Prescott 928-776-4949

16 • FEATURE • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Ecotherapist Joseph McCaffrey. Courtesy photo. sential art revering, giving back to, and maintaining reciprocal relations with the animate natural world. What I really think is powerful about ecotherapy is that it supports people in fully feeling, experiencing, and assimilating emotions as a way to cultivate psychological health. This is where I think ecotherapy really diﬀers from traditional psychotherapy. What I observed about traditional psychotherapy is that it often wants to get rid of the psychological ailment. However, ecotherapy supports the individual and fully feeling and assimilating the emotion as a way to promote overall health and wellness.

send them wandering on the land. Wandering is a practice that invites people to move across the land without time or destination. I often ask people to follow their curiosity, bring awareness to the ﬁve senses, and notice how the landscape is bringing forth emotions or sensations in their body. It’s always amazing to me — the healing that takes place when people engage with themselves and the natural world in this way. They often ﬁnd metaphor, symbols, or insights through this process that leads to deep psychological healing. Often, I just have to get out of the way and let nature do its work.

What does what you do actually look like? It looks like getting out into nature with a clear intention and purpose. And, it often looks like me getting out of the way and letting nature do its healing work on the client. I take my clients out into nature with the deep understanding that we are not here to take from the natural world, rather experience it more fully as a way to heal and become more authentic. Essentially, I guide people into a deeper and more aware relationship between themselves and the natural world. I give people tasks to engage in when wandering on the land. A task may incorporate contemplation or mindfulness as a way to promote wholeness or healing. One of the core practices of ecotherapy is wandering. After working with an individual in a one-on-one session on the land for about 45 minutes and getting a clear picture of what the individual needs, I’ll often

I understand the idea of personal growth, but how would this help someone with an acute problem like panic attacks or a long-term issue like a low-grade depression? I really believe that the practices and principles of ecotherapy can have a powerful eﬀect on a person with these types of challenges. Let’s look at depression. From an ecopsychological perspective, depression is a bad case of suppressed emotions, emotions that have been managed instead of being felt, digested, understood, simulated, and acted on in a way that preserves and improves a person’s relationship with their self or the world. What a depressed person needs is to feel more, not less. Ecotherapy provides this opportunity. What I’ve experienced and witness within my clients is that the animate natural world often provides such a strong container for an individual to

open up and feel emotions that they would have not otherwise done so. Again, it’s as if nature does its work on us or knows what we need. I have heard, experienced, and witnessed numerous stories of where a tree, rock, ﬂower, etc. triggered a release of suppressed emotions. Often these suppressed emotions block or cover up strong and healthy qualities of the person. Ecotherapy is so powerful, because there is also a trained eco-therapist on-site to support the individual in processing and assimilating this powerful release of emotions. An Ecotherapist can also guide the person in discovering what healthy aspect was covered up by this suppressed emotion. What does a typical session look like? What are some of the nuts and bolts? I typically recommend two-anda-half hours sessions on the land. The session begins with about a 45-minute check-in where there’s a dialogue between the client and myself. This check in time often looks like a coaching session or a counseling session, where the client discusses areas that her or she would

like to focus and work on. Once I have a clear understanding about the clients needs and the client has a clear intention about what they want to work on, then I’ll invite the client out onto the land alone to engage in an ecotherapy activity. I will invite the client to engage

would like to continue their work. I always follow up with my clients within 24 hours of our session providing them with homework assignments that are aimed at supporting speciﬁc areas that they want to work on.

Read an extended interview with Joseph McCaffrey at 5ensesMag.Com. in experimental ecotherapy activity for about 60 minutes as a way to support their speciﬁc needs that are rising in the session. Once the ecotherapy activity has come to a completion, then the client and I have a ﬁnal 45-minute check-in. The 45-minute check-in at the end of the session involves processing what happened on the land during the ecotherapy activity, summarizing the pertinent topics that arose during the session, and working together to set up a plan for how they

To play devil’s advocate, this could be construed as a Western, romanticized version of nature, an almost Christian return to an idealized version of nature à la the Garden of Eden. I don’t see it that way. The way I see it is that humans are of nature. In my opinion, we don’t need to return to nature, but we do need to remember or recognize that we are not separate from nature. Us humans are a part of the nature world and our survival depends on

sustaining healthy, viable ecosystems. Humans come from a very natural, biological ecosystem that we’ve disconnected ourselves from psychically and psychologically in a lot of ways. It can be argued that this disconnection is the root cause of all mental illnesses. For me, ecotherapy is about returning to those healthy relationships with an ecological system upon which we survive. It’s not so much coming back to a Garden of Eden but, rather, listening to a world that is ultimately a part of all of us. What I’m asking people to do is remember their unique place within the earth community. ***** Contact ecotherapist Joseph Paul McCaff rey, founder of Nature Based Wellness, at 970-217-8698 and JosephPaulMcCaff rey.Me. McCaff rey holds an m.s. in counseling/ecopsychology from Prescott College and an m.a. in educational psychology from University of Colorado Denver. James Dungeon is a figment of his own imagination. And he likes cats. Contact him at JamesDungeonCats @Gmail.Com.

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Prescott Film Festival’s SCRIPT NOTES

Reboot!

Yavapai College relaunches ﬁlm program By Helen Stephenson

“I’ll

be back.”

OK, not an Arnold Schwarzenegger sequel but just as cool: The Yavapai College film program is back. It’s been relocated, renamed, and retooled. Formerly the Sedona Film School at Yavapai College, the updated program has been dubbed the Film and Media Arts Program. The program’s core is located on the Verde Valley Campus in Clarkdale with some classes online and via streaming. How many ways has the film and media business changed since the film program launched in 2000? Let me count the ways: Netflix (OK, that was 1999 but it didn’t really get legs for a few years), YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime … and the list continues. Executive Dean Dr. James Perey had a vision: He wanted to see how we could revamp the program and asked me to explore how other colleges run their film and media programs. What we found was that it’s nearly impossible for colleges to keep up with the quickly changing equipment for film and media (unless you’re USC, UCLA, NYU, or Dodge Film School). On top of

that, jobs that our graduates will be hired for will use a wide variety of equipment. So, it’s not economically feasible, nor really (in my opinion) logical, to spend your budget for the latest cameras and computers. This was conﬁrmed when we spoke with Bethany Rooney, a director for shows like “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS,” about what she wanted from her entry-level employees on the set. “Thousands of 24-year-olds ﬂock to L.A. every year wanting to get into the business,” Rooney said. “It takes three things: Persistence, Talent and Skills. Well-rounded and well-traveled people who know about human behavior will do best in the industry. They can be taught how to wrangle cable when they are PAs. In fact a lot of things will be re-taught.” From all the gathered information, we revamped the program, moving from a production focus to storytelling across the curriculum.

One

of our most forwardthinking classes is “YouTube Storytelling and Monetization.” Google/YouTube wanted to reach out to educators to help increase the quality of the content on YouTube. Unto this end, they started YouTube

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Thatcher Bohrman and Helen Stephenson talk at YouTube Creator Space, NYC. Courtesy photo. Certified for Education. This is a beta program. The college was invited to participate via a connection made through the Prescott Film Festival. “Chad Matt & Rob” came to film festival to screen their interactive adventure film, “The Treasure Hunt” and had a wonderful time. As they boarded the plane to fly back to L.A. they said, “Let us know if we can ever do anything for you!” (A dangerous thing to say to me.) Rob later got a job at the YouTube Creator Space in L.A. When the college wanted to look at college film schools in L.A., we added YouTube to the agenda and Rob gave me a tour of the amazing facility. The first thing he said was, “Colleges are always five to seven years behind the times.” That really struck us as something to avoid. So adding YouTube to the curriculum turned into a focused “YouTube Storytelling and Monetization” class. As part of the program, YouTube allowed two co-workers, so Thatcher Bohrman, who manages the college’s YouTube channel, and Kim Kapin, from the college Marketing Department, were able to attend.

Classes

focus on screenwriting, pre-production, analyzing classic ﬁlm scenes, and basic editing and production skills. Additionally, business skills are taught along with copyright issues and intellectual property rights. The program also includes industrial media such as marketing/sales, social media content, educational media, documentary storytelling, YouTube, and television. Industry standard, professional software is, of course, a given. Students who successfully complete both editing classes will be Avid Certiﬁed. Budgeting and scheduling software is also explored. Film and Media Arts Program classes start this fall. Registration opened up on April 20. Find out more online at YC.Edu/Webtools/Apps/Kiosk. ***** Helen Stephenson is the founder and executive director of the Prescott Film Festival and the director of the Sedona Film School at Yavapai College.

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18 • FEATURE • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

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Get the phone

It’s a dead ringer for an antique By Jacy Lee

Sometime

in the 1870s, A.G. Bell accidentally “spilled” upon the formula for transposing the human voice through wire. Shortly after this, “Get the phone” became a battle cry of both the home and office. Had he not been experimenting with acid at the time (Sorry, not that kind of acid), who knows where telecommunication would be right now? But he was, so this article continues. Widespread phone use didn’t occur until the first quarter of the 20th century. Radio makers like Stromberg-Carlson jumped into the blossoming field. These early phones were composed of heavy iron and copper materials encased in oak with Bakelite earpieces. The earpiece was cradled on one side, usually the left, and a mouthpiece of iron was attached to the front. Also attached to the front, above the mouthpiece, were one or two bells, shaped like inverted bowls with an iron clapper inside. On the right side was the crank. There were no dials or numbers. You rotated the crank a specific number of times to reach a certain party or the operator.

The

next major style of phones were known as candlesticks. These were basically shaped like, you guessed it, candlesticks. The mouthpiece was attached to the main stick, while the earpiece hung on a rack on the side. The earpiece was attached by a thick cord. These phones were mostly iron, some Bakelite, and were almost always black. AT&T and Bell were serious competitors in this market. Whereas the old wood phones were attached to a wall because they were too heavy to be portable, these candlesticks were made to be portable. Any man, woman or child, could pick one up and move about within the length of the wall cord.

Imagine that — being able to walk around within a room while talking on the telephone! Now, the issue with any of these phones, up to this time, was the providing company and the mechanics behind placing a call. When you cranked them, once or multiple times, the call went through the wires to a switchboard, located in your town. These switchboards had operators. These operators sat on stools waiting for a call. Small towns had one operator with a switchboard that housed, maybe, 20 to 40 lines. When a call came in, the caller vocally told the operator what number to reach. The operator inserted a plug into a corresponding hole on the switchboard to allow you to reach the person you were calling. These plugs were similar to today’s speaker cords for P.A. systems. The operator was privy to the conversation if they so desired. Then there were also party lines. Several phone customers shared the same line. You could pick up your phone to place a call and listen in on your neighbor’s conversation if they were already on that line. Luckily, no such privacy or security issues exist today with any of our various means of communication. Although many of the oak phones and candlesticks are readily available in antique shops today, you’d be hard-pressed to ﬁnd a switchboard, let alone one for sale.

The

next denomination of telephones evolved in the 1950s and ‘60s. These were the rotary phones. Their morphological roots trace back a decade or so earlier when they were cranked, only in rotary fashion. Now, these rotary phones had speciﬁc numbers that you dialed to, which cut out the operators. The age of the switchboard was over; calling was done with seven digit personalized numbers and area codes to speciﬁc areas of the U.S. These phones

A candlestick phone in red, white, and blue sold by Bell around 1993. Photo by Изогиз, public domain.

minimally processed recycling each were plastic, originally black, but as the ‘70s wore on, the drab olives and year. blues gave way to a multitude of colors and shapes. There were wall-mounted and table top models. They could be basic or shaped like Woody Woodpecker. This was the era that ushered in the corner pay phone. A dime no longer got you a cup of coﬀee, but it did If it feels like you’re trying harder let you make a local call. There is a collectible market for old and harder and getting less and pay phones. less in return, it might be time to I really don’t know if any try something different. technological advancements have been made in the teleSubconscious resistance is often phone industry since the present when we can’t seem to 1970s. I’m sure, sooner or move forward; without the later, someone will attempt to sophisticate them even support of the subconscious mind, further, sacriﬁcing their simyou’re simply not going to make plicity in the process. To these the changes you need. When you people, I feel pity. They really have it, though, the sky is the limit! don’t get the phone.

Have the awareness but struggling to make the changes?

***** Longtime Prescott resident Jacy Lee has been in the auction business for 37 years and is directly responsible for a fraction of a million pounds of

Read to make changes the funfast-easy way? Call or text Erica at 928-308-7650. Mention the code Change5 and receive a free 20minute phone session.

5ENSESMAG.COM • MAY 2015 • FEATURE • 19

Gutsy measures

A tale of the amazing microbiome By Erica Ryberg Michael Hurst struggled with gastrointestinal issues almost from birth. By the time he was in his 20s, those issues had developed into a full-blown case of scarring colitis, one that surgeons told him could only be treated by removing his colon. He didn’t like the idea, but the doctors said it was the end of the line. You as superorganism Sometime between your conception and birth, the bacteria arrived from your mother, taking up residence in your infant guts and digging in for the long haul. Your body, it turned out, was a fertile microbial substrate, and you, when you were born, were more of a confederation than a sovereign nation. From an evolutionary viewpoint, this partnership is nothing new. Eukaryotes, the cell lines from which all animals, plants, fungi, and protists arise, are by deﬁnition chimeras; in these cells dwell legions of tiny, interdependent mitochondria, former bacteria turned energy factories complete with their own DNA. The microbial mat, hence, is but another layer, albeit one that contains 8 million genes to your 23,000. It’s this genetic wealth that scientists call the microbiome. The organisms themselves are collectively known as microbiota. The process of colonization that began in utero picked up dramatically after you were born. If you came out the old-fashioned way, the trip down your mother’s birth canal was a richly microbial experience — for the ﬁrst months of your life, your microbiota would resemble that of your mother’s vagina. If you were born via Caesarean or if

your mother was (wisely) taking antibiotics to avoid inoculating you with her resident Strep B bacteria, your gut profile might more closely resemble your mother’s skin; you would have had some catching up to do. The end result might look a little different (and often does, with different health effects including obesity and asthma), but by and large, catch up you would. By the time you were 3-yearsold, your microbiome would be fully staffed and, if you’re lucky, functioning in an ideal manner. A pain in the gut Michael Hurst wasn’t lucky. His microbiota never seemed to come online properly, nor had that of many of his family members. Maybe that was why, three days before the surgery, his mother handed him a Wikipedia article detailing the potential to resolve symptoms via fecal transplantation, i.e. fecal microbiota transplant, or FMT for short. “After being told

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for a dozen years that this was an incurable illness, this was amazing,” Hurst said in a March 2015 phone call. The microbial connection made sense to Hurst, who had, at times, found relief by taking antibiotics. Here’s the idea behind fecal transplantation: Because “donations” are largely bacterial, recipients receive a donor’s functioning microbiota. It appears to work, too: A study of FMT for treatment of colitis caused by a superinfection of the gut microbe Clostridium dificile ended because investigators deemed it unethical to withhold the treatment from the group receiving antibiotics. For Hurst’s condition, though, there was less data and, because of FDA constraints, no doctor could legally perform the procedure. Hurst spoke to Sky Curtis, a Canadian writer who had served as a donor to her son, who was suffering from a debilitating case of Crohn’s colitis. Hurst asked her how her son was doing and she told him he was a ladies man who liked going out at night. “And I thought, well you know, he sounds like a normal 20-something,” Hurst said. For someone who was suffering from bleeding, malnutrition, and bowel incontinence, normal was something of a holy grail. “She told me, ‘You spend two or three months knocking it out. And then you get on with your life,’” Hurst said. With a possible path to health in sight, he cancelled the surgery and set his sights on restoring his microbiome. Since many of his family members, also seemed to suffer from irritable bowel disease, he looked outside for a donor. Not long after, armed with a blender, a jar of Vick’s and a willing roommate, he began five weeks of self-administered transplants.

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An infant science Fecal transplantation isn’t without risk. By transplanting a panoply of microorganisms, Ted Whitworth, a microbiologist on staff with Prescott College points out, the cure could turn out to be worse than the disease. But interest in human microbiology is up in his classes; he’s been getting a lot of requests to cover advances in human microbiology, particularly from students coming in with digestive problems. This mirrors media interest (see, ahem, this article) in the microbiome, fueling what some bloggers call microbiomania: the idea that by toying with the microbiome with probiotics or FMT, we’ll be able to cure any number of things. Whitworth is more circumspect. “I think it’s going to take a lot more research before we figure out what’s normal and what we’re going to do about it,” Whitworth said. That makes sense. It’s only been 10 years or so since we developed the ability to identify so-called “microbial dark matter” — the organisms we can’t culture in dishes — according to their genomes. On the heels of this advance, we are getting to know the other 90 percent of the cells making up the human superorganism and the more we learn, the more obvious it becomes that our interactions with these microbes are enormously complex. And while it’s likely that these interactions have implications for the management and prevention of diverse inflammatory illnesses like irritable bowel diseases, asthma, diabetes, and allergies, our current understanding contains substantially more correlation than causality. Perhaps one day we’ll deem it

unethical to withhold probiotics from, for example, babies at risk of necrotizing enterocolitis or to send C-section babies home without a protocol for enhancing their microbiota. For now, it’s a nascent science. For Hurst, though — and for people like him who have taken to citizen FMT, the first treatment to directly address the microbiome — it’s more of a happy ending. While there’s no official cure definition for ulcerative colitis, Hurst has been free of symptoms for three years. “I’m great,” he said. “I’m actually better than I was when I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.” References/Further reading “Mom Knows Best: The Universality of Maternal Microbial Transmission,” in the Aug. 20, 2013 issue of PLoS Biology. “Cesarean Versus Vaginal Delivery: Long-term Infant Outcomes and the Hygiene Hypothesis,” in the June 2011 issue of Clinics in Perinatology. “Duodenal Infusion of Donor Feces for Recurrent Clostridium difficile,” in the Jan. 31, 2013 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. “Fecal Transplantation for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection in Older Adults: A Review,” in the July 19, 2013 issue of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. ***** Erica Ryberg is a Prescott-based journalist who blogs at Wonderful Ordinary.Com. When she’s not writing about science, she works as a PSYCH-K facilitator, helping selfaware folks step off the try-harder treadmill and start making fast and lasting gains in their life and business.

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Not-asholy days When’s

the last time you actually danced around a maypole or called your mother? As long as you’re adding new activities to the roster this month, try something else. Consider celebrating ... May 1: Tuba Day • Bass is the place. May 4: Star Wars Day • May the fourth be with you. May 8: No Socks Day • Footloose and fancy free. May 9: Lost Sock Memorial Day • Gone but not forgotten.

1870, a German immigrant family named Bender moved near a small town called Cherryvale, Kansas. They established an inn and eating establishment for travelers heading West. Katie Bender, a “healer” and psychic, would oﬀer her lodgers a place at a table next to a canvas curtain and serve them meals. While the victims dined, the Bender men, hiding behind the curtain would beat their guests brains out with hammers. The bodies would be dropped into a pit through a trap door in the ﬂoor. The Benders would then steal all of the boarder’s possessions. The bodies were disposed of at night in the orchard behind the buildings. At least 11 people died this way, including a prominent doctor. When their evil scheme was discovered, the Benders vanished. ODDLY ENOUGH ... A plaque describing the incidents and the unsolved mystery stands to this day next to the site of the inn on U.S. 169.

May 16: Sea Monkey Day • They don’t know they’re actually brine shrimp.

*****

May 22: Buy an Instrument Day • Theremins count, too. May 23: Jazz Day • Eat your heart out, John Zorn. May 24: Escargot Day • A bad day to be a snail. May 25: Tap Dance Day • Break out your dancing shoes.

The

earliest submarine was successfully launched underwater in 1620. It was invented by a man named Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch inventor. It was made of wood and leather, and required 12 oarsmen to propel it. Many accounts of its test trips in the river Thames exist, including a story of King James I of England taking a ride in one of his later models. ODDLY ENOUGH ... Drebbel also developed a liquid chemical that supposedly puriﬁed the air, allowing the crew to stay submerged for hours. Strangely, there seemed to be no commercial interest in either his submarine or his “oxygen maker,” hence, no one has any idea how he made breathable air in his sub. ***** Russell Miller is an illustrator, cartoonist, writer, bagpiper, motorcycle enthusiast, and reference librarian. Currently, he illustrates books for Cody Lundin and Bart King.

May 29: Learn About Composting Day • Decay’s cool.

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22 • FEATURES • MAY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

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Where ancient meets abstract We had an amazing time on April 18-19 "chalking it up" while supporting community mental health. Save the date for next year, April 16-17, 2015.

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