This Reveil stream, neoscenes’ tenth year participating, comes from the property of friend and artist Jennifer Riefenberg, a tract of land sitting at 6850 ft (2015 m) on a rich riparian corridor along Surface Creek in western Colorado. The nearest village, Cedaredge is a couple miles away. To the northwest, north, and northeast, 10 miles (16 km) as the raven flies, sits Grand Mesa, the largest flat-topped mountain in the world, at 11,000 ft (3300 m). The surrounding property was formerly an agricultural area relying on irrigation waters coming off the Mesa. Before the white colonization in the late 18th century, this area was the Ute tribal homeland: it still is. There is a rich range of wildlife in the area—birds including Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Red-tail Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), Great Horned Owls,  Ravens (Corvus corax), Black-billed Magpies (Pica hudsonia), Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), Western Meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta), Mountain and Western Bluebirds, Nuthatches, House Sparrows and Finches along with bears, mountain lions, coyotes, mule deer, foxes, raccoons, skunks, marmots, and ground squirrels. Surface Creek, the main drainage for the area, runs on the east side of the property in a shallow valley lined with cottonwood, juniper, box elder, mountain mahogany, 3-leaf sumac, service  berry, yarrow, rabbit brush, and volunteer fruit trees. In the sonic foreground there is an irrigation holding pond that sees regular visits of a variety of birds. Early May is a time for maximum snow-melt off the Mesa, and Surface Creek can swell to more than 600 cfs (17 cms)—two orders of magnitude over minimum flow. It typically displays large diurnal variations in flow, depending on the ambient temperatures. The creek flow will be the dominant sonic texture.

This feed is set-up by Dr. John Hopkins (aka neoscenes), a visual/sonic media artist, learning facilitator, info-wrangler. He holds a creative media practices PhD from La Trobe University/University of Technology Sydney, an MFA from the University of Colorado Boulder (where he studied film under renown experimental film-maker, Stan Brakhage), and a BSc in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. His transdisciplinary research and workshops explore issues surrounding sustainable creative practices, systems thinking, networked & tactical media, distributed and community-based DIY & DIWO processes, networked creativity, and Temporary Autonomous Zones. His international media arts practice explores the role of energy in techno-social systems and the effects of technology on energized human encounter. He has taught across more than 20 countries and 60 higher education situations. You may track his hopes for a prosperous way down and out for the human species at:  https://neoscenes.net/blog/