Listening

One of the joys of the cabin is being aware of noises. At home in Ft. Lauderdale, it's more useful to block out noises than enjoy them. Traffic, lawn mowers, or neighbors parties are not generally sounds to be treasured. But here in the woods, the sounds are enticing. Of course, my windows are always open here and the TV or radio isn't always on.

My second day here this year was really special. Having awoken really early at 5:30, I was sitting on the loo, when I heard this amazing animal sound. I heard it three times in about one minute. The first time I thought it was a moose. The second time I didn't know what I was hearing. The third time I thought it must be a bald eagle. It started off low and weird, then it just kept getting higher and higher until it was the worst bugler you've ever heard.

Convinced that it must be an eagle, I went online searching for eagle noises which I easily found. Listening intently to all fourteen of them, there was no doubt that this was no eagle. Then I tried the moose. The first few were nothing like I heard, but then under the heading Bull Moose, there is was - the identical sound. Pretty special, huh? Special to me, that's for sure.

Along with early morning sounds, the other really special times are the dusk to darkness sounds. Some of them are the quiet little chirpings of the birds as they bed down. It's such a charming lullaby. Then there are the loons, which are wonderful to hear any old time, but especially at dark when their hooting echoes across the lake. And finally are those sounds that can't quite be identified, but are so interesting and arresting. Animals are living right outside my door. That's such a neat feeling.