Robin Clifford Wood
  • Home
  • Author bio
  • Books
    • poetry
  • Events
    • newsletter archive
  • Media/Press
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Author bio
  • Books
    • poetry
  • Events
    • newsletter archive
  • Media/Press
  • Blog
  • Contact




​blog: You'll Never Be Quite the Same

Be quiet

10/18/2019

Comments

 
Picture
 
            “Study after study has reached the hardly earth-shattering conclusion that we largely prefer the sounds of nature to those of machines.”
 
            A story in The Atlantic investigates the insidious intrusions of sound into our Earthly environment. My son-in-law-to-be, a federally employed acoustic engineer, found flaws in their assessment of the government’s involvement (the government is not “out of the noise business”), but not in the scope of the noise pollution problem. I didn’t realize that growing numbers of people seek relief through white-noise machines to drown out the nerve-shattering cacophony. Unsurprisingly, studies have found increased stress-levels in other species exposed to noxious noise as well. Birds, the article says, get screechier in their calls in order to compete with the din. This is not just a human problem.
            In my backyard I imagine it’s quiet until I stop to listen – car and air traffic, construction, sirens, and sometimes the droning whir of the processing plant across the river. Occasionally I seek sonic refuge down in a gully where Reeds Brook gurgles toward the Penobscot River. Thick leaf cover, rushing water, and high, treed banks muffle the manufactured mayhem above. I sit surrounded by nature’s soundtrack, audible here in this tiny haven.
 
My 60th year in 60,000 words
Day 52: 201 words, TOTAL = 7828; 52,172 remaining

Comments

    Author

    Robin Clifford Wood is a writer and writing teacher.  She lives  in central Maine with her husband and dogs, loves to be outdoors, and enjoys ever-expanding horizons through her grown children and their multi-species families.

    To read about the "60th year in 60,000 words" challenge, go to the August 27th blog post. 
    ​
    https://www.robincliffordwood.com/youll-never-be-quite-the-same---blog/tomorrow-is-launch-day
    ​

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly