Abstract
Through the form of the literary essay, three distinct voices from place are explored.
In-place interaction with the barred owl, as well as owl ecology, morphology and
folklore, form the back bone of the essays. The owl as an icon of the wisdom of
place is the predominant theme. As counterpoint, human voices, including those
from late 19" century travelers on the Oregon trail, and, from the same period,
those of the Pawnee nation and the Hako ceremony, are woven throughout, yielding
contrasting forms of ecological consciousness. Gregory Bateson’s systemic view of
wisdom provides a framework for discussing skillful and unskillful modes of
ecological consciousness.
