The Mountain-Ear Podcast

In elementary school in southcentral Pennsylvania, Noah G. Fowler recalls having a small orchestra program. Kids would put their names in to be drawn for a certain instrument, and teachers would pick a name at random at the start of the school year. Luckily for Noah, he was the only student interested in playing the upright bass. He took lessons at his school and played in the orchestra. When he g...

Peak to Peak local Scott Harrison does not consider himself a poet as most people would define one. He doesn’t make a living out of his poetry and is mostly unpublished. His collection, simply titled Haiku Poetry, which focuses on the animals he carved for the beloved Carousel of Happiness, is available on the carousel’s website ( carouselofhappiness.org ). Otherwise, though, he primarily enjoys w...

This is a Story about what poetry is, some of our revered Colorado poets, the history of and how to celebrate National Poetry month. We have also included what The Mountain-Ear is doing to celebrate this momentous month in literature. Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mountain-E...

LISTEN: Guitarist Alex Thoele and upright bassist Jon Pickett met in the summer of 2006 in Estes Park, as they were both part of a campfire party walking up to the top of a mountain. They’ve been writing music and playing together ever since. In 2010, things would change when mandolin player Jarett Mason started playing with them. Banjo player and vocalist Chris “C-Bob” Elliot joined as well, in 2...

An old man stands at the cemetery  by Scott Harrison An old man stands in the cemetery with his handful of forget-me-nots. An only son, he is here in this field with all his brothers. He keeps company with his old friend who is always much younger than him. He feels tired, weary, but stands up straight and smiles for his pal.   There is a busy street of stores to the north. A few kids play on the...

As a kid, Andy Eppler’s mother sang for their church, and music was always present in his house. He knew early on that he wouldn’t have a “normal” career trajectory like the other kids in school, so he chose to spend his life in the arts. Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mounta...

Type 2  by Alyssa Johnson At treeline I am small I am one of many In this storm I feel energy aplenty but still It does not excite me I shake like a struck dog And whisper please stop Hoping the mountains will hear me But they won't Because What do I matter to their immortal slopes That churn wind and grind fierce thunder through the sky With eyes wide I watch the flashes And count the second...

Bess Genevra Streeter by Barry Carter What binds dreamer to dream? Did a girl collect the moon's Reflections from Nebraskan Streams to expand an inner Pearl around which narratives Would orbit. Cedar falls, Elmswood twinned Like two dreaming winds that Intersect to blow fruit from Branches of time for a writer To find in moonlit orchards Of her imagination. Readers tears fall onto Pages of fi...

End of May by Gerald Phillips   To the East:  Cloud-angels speaking In tongues of bright lightning  Are discussing the Earth.     To the South:  Spring frogs are singing  Around water rising  Among wild iris shoots.     To the West:  Old bear is peering  Out at the dim gloaming  From behind white aspen trunks.   To the North:  Elk herds are moving  From low meadows drying  To high meadows of lush...

Losing Light  by Barbara Gormley Shoveling snow away from my door before dawn I awaken two moose without noticing Twirling around to look up at bright stars I see the smaller one slowly stumble up to its feet While the larger one keeps watch on me They graze a bit in the space I cleared Pulling with their lips at the needles of a pine tree Taking their time, they stroll down the driveway That’s th...

Lunar Tide by Meg Fox The moon and the reservoir are in love, But they’re not as crazy as you ‘d think. Every now and then he waves at her, and she eclipse a wink. Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pa...

Mountain Climber by Thane Schwartz A subtle stone under the hand, giving way to a wayward fall. And through a cloud unable to reach, a pinnacle not breached🏔 A crevasse no longer holding the hook, as it grapples with the grapnel. And picking the pebbles from under her nook, the mountain manicures it’s granules🏔 The hook no longer with the rope, but dangling in the clouds. And letting go of a waywa...

Positive Space by Laurelyn Sayah Another big issue for our little town was a grant for new logos we couldn’t turn down. It’s not easy to pick just one image, we found, for a spot known as special the whole world around. With so many good folks and happenings in this place, the first shape put a frown on everybody’s face. We were all united by what we didn’t like, but then told each other to go tak...

Spring Haiku #1 by Gerald Phillips   Spring:  The trees are young They toss their green hair, flirting With me and the wind.  Gerald Phillips Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below....

Sunset Boulevard Hallucinations by Sam Hendrian  She’d made a living out of first impressions Even if she wasn’t always sure What those first impressions were.  If you leave things at a handshake and a smile There’s little room for error Unless of course the smile says more than was meant to be said.  We all fall victim to projections, To checklists we have no means of seeing While lost in the mun...

Mountain Climber by Thane Schwartz The Melt Frolicking desperate steps planted in a melting snow. Seemingly growing larger as I prance upon her flow. Icicles silencing the steady drip within her hollow. Beckoning the cold to freeze her fate before they fall in sorrow.❄️A branch now lifted of its weight. A relief from a setting suns fade. An icicle letting go of its fate. Only to return the next da...

Taos, April, Mabel Dodge Luhan House by Gerald Phillips   The Acequia Madre is still dry here at Taos The big old cottonwoods along it, quiescent. The cacique out at the pueblo still watching where the sun rises Each day slightly further north above the sacred mountain. The people are cleaning their ditches with shovel and fire. Then, at the right moment, The mayor domo will open the head gates an...

Where I'm from by Sheila Smith Evans  I’m from a Southern backyard — Magnolia grandiflora sporting huge white blooms Honeysuckles spilling over the fence Red roses soaked with the aroma of tea Hollyhocks springing up yearly into flowering towers Mud pies made beneath a magnificent pin oak tree Mint leaves mysteriously exploding with flavor Milk pods being tasted unknowing they were poisonous....

This forgotten group of people had an undeniable impact on our local mining history and an even bigger role in the settling of Central City, Black Hawk, and Colorado.  Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additiona...

April Fools Day : The origins, the ways different countries celebrate , some media pranks and perhaps a few things to do in Gilpin County and along the peak to peak  Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional...

Darren Newberg, guitarist and vocalist of the band Coyote Circle, started playing with a co-worker, Paul Hanson, the bassist, a few years ago, hoping to start a new group. Nahani Freeman, vocalist, joined this new group from a different band they had formed. After that, Dave Sechler, guitarist and vocalist, joined as well. To round out the group, Khristine Barr, drummer, as well as a former Gilpin...

Rebecca Coronna found her stage name when she was about 19. She lived in Hawaii at the time, and she found the name Shakina and fell in love with it. At one point during a retreat in Hawaii, she introduced herself as Shakina Ma, and the name stuck. She grew up in a family of musicians. Her mother was a singer, her father was a drummer, and her uncles played together in a band. Along with that, her...

This Weeks Amazing Women Chronicled are Ida Kruse McFarlane, Elizabeth , Baby Doe , McCourt Tabor and Caroline Bancroft  Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to The Mountain-Ear Podcast, featuring news and culture from peak to peak! Additional pages are linked below. If you want to be inv...

Since he was a little kid, Dave Ashton (who performs as Deeprawk Dave) has always had a passion for hip-hop music and culture. Around the mid-80s, he started reading books that emphasized just how important DJs are to hip-hop, and that left an impression on him. Despite feeling like he could never reach the levels of those other DJs, he wanted to contribute to the culture, so he became a dancer an...

In Celebration of Women’s History Month , This is Part 1 of a Two Part Story on Extraordinary Colorado Women from the Past with Connections to  the Peak to Peak Area.. This Weeks Story  Includes Clara Brown, Emily Griffith, and Hannah Connell Barker Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record  Better off Dead  here. Support the show Thank you for listening to...