The first bird I searched for was the nightjar, which used to nest in the valley. Its song is like the sound of a stream of wine spilling from a height into a deep and booming cask. It is an odorous sound, with a bouquet that rises to the quiet sky. In the glare of […]
Tag Archives: nature
What appeals to us in being near to nature is nature’s music, and nature’s music is more perfect than that of art. It gives us a sense of exaltation to be moving about in the woods, to be looking at the green, to be standing neat the running water which has it’s rhythm, its tone […]
I think I will do nothing for a long time but listen, And accrue what I hear into myself . . . . and let sounds contribute toward me. I hear the bravuras of birds . . . . the bustle of growing wheat . . . […]
Happy the man, whose wish and care A few paternal acres bound, Content to breathe his native air In his own ground. Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, Whose flocks supply him with attire; Whose trees in summer yield him shade, In winter, fire. Blest, who can unconcernedly find Hours, days, and years […]
Mile 60 of the C&O Canal Towpath At times, we need to stop to listen; other times, we need to keep moving. Andrew Forsthoefel experienced the latter truth when he walked four thousand miles from Philadelphia to the Pacific Ocean. He was twenty-three and after losing his first post-college job he “hoped to find some ingredients in an experience that would […]
Walker Evans, Alabama Tenant Farmer Family Singing Hymns, 1936 Outside, from near, there is a new sound. It happens every night, and it is most sorrowful. It is the voice of a blond, fat, and craven rooster, a creature half-frightened of his own wives; and in this poor voice of his, lugubrious, almost surreptitious, he is […]
Hear the subtle mimicry of the lyrebird recorded by ornithologist K.C. Halafoff.
