Cami, the fuzzy white dog, just woo-ed a mighty woo. She emits a vigorous ahroooo-wooo-wooo when she feels she has something to report. It may mean that she thinks it is time for an outing. Or that it’s time for dinner. Or she’s that she’s bored.
Other than the occasional woo, it’s pretty quiet around here. This week, I’ve ruminated on sound (or the lack of it) a lot for some reason. Maybe it’s because every Spring, the forest wakes up. During the winter, when I go outside, it’s almost completely silent out there. But now that the forest is warming up, the birds and the squirrels have a lot to say.
Sometimes it sounds like one of those relaxation CDs ("forest glen meditations"). Other times it’s not so tranquil. The other day, I went out and there was a cacophony of birdie action in a birch tree in our yard. There were probably 200 little birds all chirping and squawking. It was sort of disconcerting. Even the dogs were startled.
To me, the sounds of nature are a lot less jarring that the sounds of civilization. For example, I’m always sort of stunned at the level of cell phone use elsewhere when we travel. At airports, all the business travelers spend the *entire* time jawing on the phone. What I want to know is WHAT are all these people talking about that’s so important? I mean, I don’t use my regular phone that much. Yuck!
Okay, yes people do have cell phones even out here in the sticks, just not to such a degree. And I have to say that it does irritate me to have someone yammering away through the aisles at the grocery store. (Come on, write a LIST!)
The whole cell phone thing is totally bizarre to me. I have one, but I rarely use it. It makes me wonder if people have become so conditioned to noise that they can’t handle being by themselves. Endless connections to external stimuli mean that you never have to really be alone with your thoughts. And maybe more people should. Thinking seems to be sadly underrated.
It’s a pity that more people have not realized that yes, like most electronics, a cell phone does have an "off" button.