1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,279
Speaker 1: If you love listening to podcasts, you've got to have

2
00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,919
a choice. Right Arrow dot net, ar r oe dot net.

3
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,480
It's not just about talking to the rock stars and

4
00:00:08,519 --> 00:00:11,839
the chefs and the movie stars. This is about your

5
00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,439
walk of life. Arrow dot net, a r r Oe

6
00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,600
dot Net. My little green friend, his name is Ernie.

7
00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,039
He's a blue crown conyer. I mean, for over thirty

8
00:00:22,039 --> 00:00:24,920
two years, he's overlooked this forest right here in South Charlotte,

9
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,800
North Carolina. Every day, Ernie and I sit inside this

10
00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,520
beautiful place, overlooking the trees, the nearby lake, and every

11
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,359
bit of the wildlife. Strolling through such an amazing piece

12
00:00:36,439 --> 00:00:39,960
of land. Ernie and I share the same vision. It's

13
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,759
this forest. We both look into the trees and study

14
00:00:42,759 --> 00:00:46,280
the earth below. There's something very spiritual going on here.

15
00:00:46,439 --> 00:00:48,600
That's why I call it the Lyrics to Ernie's Forest.

16
00:00:49,079 --> 00:00:52,039
We both receive an amazing amount of energy. I put

17
00:00:52,079 --> 00:00:54,439
all of my trust and skills as a student into

18
00:00:54,479 --> 00:00:57,240
what he is willing to share with me. These aren't

19
00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:02,359
my words, these are the lyrics from Ernest chapter number

20
00:01:02,399 --> 00:01:06,680
four hundred twenty five, May fourth, twenty twenty four. The

21
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,120
last time the cicadas came to the surface of the

22
00:01:09,159 --> 00:01:12,439
forest floor was thirteen to seventeen years ago, between two

23
00:01:12,439 --> 00:01:16,519
thousand and eight and twenty eleven. I began this writing

24
00:01:16,599 --> 00:01:20,760
journal within this forest in May of twenty fifteen to

25
00:01:20,879 --> 00:01:23,640
hear as well as document the arrival of this cycle

26
00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,280
of the cicadas is so new to the writing, especially

27
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,159
since I wasn't taking my daily transition walks either. Today

28
00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:36,519
the cicadas song is extremely meditation, like you get locked

29
00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,840
in and lost in the presence of something so blessed

30
00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,079
and willing to share. But only eighteen states are actually

31
00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,079
receiving this moment. I don't know if it's the cicadas

32
00:01:47,519 --> 00:01:49,959
or that we're in mid spring, but there's a scent

33
00:01:50,159 --> 00:01:52,760
in the air that has electrified the collection of trees.

34
00:01:53,519 --> 00:01:58,480
It's amazingly sweet, a floral display, yet I see no flowers.

35
00:01:59,239 --> 00:02:04,319
Mother Nature's aromatherapy stepping into its rival will last only

36
00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,599
a few short weeks, and then they'll be gone for

37
00:02:07,799 --> 00:02:12,639
thirteen to seventeen years. I should be somewhere around seventy

38
00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,520
five years old. Are we going to be lucky enough

39
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:21,039
to be here? See? It's moments like this that become

40
00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,319
instantly long gone and forgotten because if I walk around

41
00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:26,960
and talk with anybody inside this forest about the cicadas

42
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,199
of twenty twenty four, you might get that shrugged look

43
00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,199
like I guess it happened. I just know that they

44
00:02:33,199 --> 00:02:36,400
were so damn noisy. They were just always making noise

45
00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,360
day in and day out. Though cicadas just wouldn't quiet down.

46
00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,800
And yet when you look beyond the surface of the

47
00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:47,039
noise makers, there's always a story. There's always something there

48
00:02:47,159 --> 00:02:50,840
bringing that we totally cannot see. And yet, like I said,

49
00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:56,599
the aroma of the forest on this spring day was unforgettable.

50
00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,599
And to read about it all these years later, because

51
00:02:59,599 --> 00:03:02,560
this was May fourth, twenty twenty four, in today's date

52
00:03:02,879 --> 00:03:06,680
is October twenty ninth, twenty twenty five. Look at all

53
00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,840
of this time that has gone by, and yet the

54
00:03:09,879 --> 00:03:13,800
writer spoke of the aroma and the sounds of the

55
00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,800
cicada which we're appearing for the first time in thirteen

56
00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,520
to seventeen years. If you could just take the time

57
00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,560
to document the mile markers, then you two a year

58
00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:26,719
year and a half later could sit there and go,

59
00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,400
I do smell it even today. Try it sometime with

60
00:03:31,479 --> 00:03:35,759
something that's very new to you. Document your personal experience

61
00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:41,159
is good, bad, ugly, insightful, just something to carry forward

62
00:03:41,439 --> 00:03:44,680
with you so that when you do step back into it,

63
00:03:45,159 --> 00:03:50,199
you're not relying on memory, because it's documented, it's factual,

64
00:03:50,439 --> 00:03:54,879
it's right here in front of you. These aren't my words.

65
00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:57,719
These are the lyrics from Ernie's Forest,