Blind Observations (Entry 10)

I waited for the sun to start dropping before heading to the park. Once there, I followed the main trail for about a quarter-mile, and then I broke off into the untouched forest in search of a secluded area to claim as my own for a bit. After wandering for about ten minutes in a direction heading away from the trail,  I found a fallen tree that would provide a good resting spot. I settled into my newly discovered abode, and I waited for the final traces of sunlight to disappear from the sky.

When the only remaining natural lights were the stars and a small sliver of the moon, I was free to pursue my intended goal: listening to the sounds of the night in an area undisturbed my civilization. 

Initially, I was expecting a bit of stillness and silence from nature since I had been rustling through fallen leaves and branches in a fairly noisy manner, but I was delighted to find that one particular type of creature took no offense to my brash entrance into its environment: the cricket. The chirping of the crickets had not been something that was noticeable while I was making my way into the forest, but as the scene became darker, their calls became far more prominent than any other sound in the area. On occasion, I could hear the shifting of the rough grass as the insect hopped about. I was quite annoyed at first that their sounds were drowning out those of the rest of the forest, but when I thought about the purity and serenity that were obvious once I moved beyond my human bias, I had no choice but to happily submit to the will of their chorus. 

There was an owl that was proudly exhibiting its vocal range from across the small creek that stretched about twenty feet across, and its hooting made for a slightly ominous mood given the limited light in the forest. The bird's calls came once every few minutes, but there was no question regarding the direction from which they were coming. Surely, any interested companion within a large range would be able to respond to the echoing cries. As someone with almost no knowledge of birds, I was amazed to hear that there were also many other types of chirps that played in between the noise of the owl. I am sure that I have heard nighttime birds before, but this was the first time that I took in and truly observed their sounds so they could get the appreciation they deserve.

While the audible expressions of the animals and insects were beautiful in their own right, nothing struck me quite as much as the harmony that was produced by the creek as it spread across rocks and fallen trees that it was in the process of absorbing. This sound was more soothing than any other that I had come across  during my outing, and it served as a reminder that nature constantly progresses even though it seems to be motionless at times. 

As I moved back toward the traces of the overhead lamps that marked my starting point in the parking lot, I decided to follow this creek for as long as I could until it veered away from my destination. I was able to listen to its song for a few minutes before we were forced to part ways, and I was thankful for the peace that it was able to bring me before I had to rejoin the world away from nature.