They also like to wake the people of Aldo–that’s the town nearest to Raven’s Butte and the Raven Rock Wilderness–up at dawn with their “famous” raven chorus. Because convincing tourists they’re privileged to be woken by off-key raven renditions of well-known tunes is hilarious.
The raven chorus isn’t very good, but they’re quite enthusiastic. And loud. Ravens like the dawn. They’d want you to know just how much they like it. They want you to know it at great volume.
The raven chorus is eclectic. Otherwise the locals might learn to tune them out, and the ravens wouldn’t want that. They’re such fair-minded creatures. So far, over the course of the current book,* they’ve performed raven renditions of Stairway to Heaven and Beethoven’s Ninth, and I’m sure they’ll get to the Star Wars theme soon, but that’s just the tip of a large and varied and (did I mention?) off-key iceberg.
What would you want the raven chorus to cover, if you were a tourist at Raven’s Butte National Monument?
Not that the ravens take requests. But they think it’s cute that you’re asking.
What? You expected peace and quiet on your New Mexico vacation? Sorry, I think you were looking for the Gila Wilderness to the east. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Have a nice summer. Don’t forget to stop for some fudge on the way out of town.
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*Or rather, the book I’m currently working on, a raven shapeshifter story, as yet untitled, that will be out sometime after, well, Faerie After. (Faerie After being scheduled to come out in May 2013).