A rainy day like no other V – Listening

There are many things that make these times remarkable. I am sure by now, well into week six of our “shelter in place” routine, that our own patterns have settled into their unique social and temporal texture.

Those of you who live with others, particularly with your kids, must notice this. What I am witnessing when I see kids and their parents together, is a deeper sense of calm. There are no appointments to keep, no lessons or ball games to make; just parents and kids spending time together. This is probably a good thing.

I’m also sure you have noticed that the wildlife around you are behaving differently – even those of you living in urban areas. Birds are gathering, and dwelling longer in their respective trees and bushes. They too seem more responsive to each other.

So this week’s activity is just listening.

Go outside, maybe with a pencil and paper if cataloging is your thing, and just listen…

Some things to listen for:

• How many different birds do you hear?

• Do birds with the same sort of call – the same species, sing and respond to each other?

• Do birds with different calls interrupt each other, or overlap?

• Do you hear birds with different calls seeming to respond to each other?

• Do you hear other animals – squirrels, dogs, or cows?

• How loud is the background noise (probably cars)?

• In the course of this listening, did you hear any airplanes?

• Do you hear neighbors talking?

• What is the loudest sound you hear?

• What is the quietest?

• What else do you hear?

All of the sounds you hear comprise a “soundscape.” If you or your kids are information junkies like me, you might want to record this soundscape for later comparison. Some phones have  a “voice memo” application, otherwise you can pick up an application like the Zoom Handy Recorder.

If you are really an information junkie, you might want to pick up a sound level recorder. Some of these are really comprehensive – with frequency analysis, and spectrograms. Others are simple. National Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a free one that works well for sound levels – and logs in the levels for comparison later when the big machine starts up again.

Hopefully when it does start up again, we’ll remember these quiet times, which may help us keep it quieter as we transition into our new, post-pandemic world.