Audrey Shoop- Natural Setting 2

 Being outside is very normal for me. The outdoors is one of my comfort places, where I go when I'm stressed or just bored. Since it is so ordinary for me, I find it hard to write a journal about environmental interaction because I interact with the environment quite often. Recently, I went out on the Noland Trail again with a friend. We were there to record some nature and walking sounds but I made sure to tune into the nature around me while we were out there. Since we were there to record sounds, I found myself particularly focused on all of the noises going on around me. We often heard dogs barking, children yelling, others' footsteps on the gravel path. But there were also moments of quiet that made the music of nature stick out. The whistles of wind against leaves sounded like an instrument too perfect for humans to have made. Animals brought the woods to life as they scurried across dried leaves in search of food and companionship amongst the other animals. Birds sang and squirrels chirped to communicate with those around them. The rocks and dirt crunched beneath our feet with each step. Bugs buzzed in harmony. It sounded like a song and reminded me of a song I sang at the Virginia State choir. The Peace of Wild Things, originally a poem then arranged into a song by Jake Runestad perfectly articulates the sounds of nature and how I feel as I hear them all around me. The song to me is sacred and so are the sounds of nature.