Somethin' Stupid

A few minutes of light rain falls through tall cypress trees and onto the flooded forest floor, then very distant thunder rumbles through the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida. Four clips blended from the hour-long storm, August 2022 with Usi Pro omni pair attached to cypress tree 18 inches apart, and Zoom F3 recorder.

Brief Rain, Distant Thunder

The path to simcha stems from the clearest emuna that G-d crated me with an imperfection. There is access to this imperfection, and my longing to find out what it is paves the way for me to do what I'm sent down here to do.

The Smartest and most Humbling Decision - Inviting G-d into the Battle - Rav Shlomo Katz

A long soundscape across Dawn in the Queets River Valley rainforest of the Olympic National Park. Starting in Astronomical Twilight, a small herd of Roosevelt Elk walks in from a distance, though a small forest glade, an away towards the Queets River bed.

Early Autumn rainfall and dropping Maple Leaves are the dominant sounds to begin, their pak-pak-spaks are a reminder that time passes, even in the still quiet of a moss-covered forest.

Highway 101 in less than 12 miles away, and distant traffic is funneled up the Valley, showing the difficulty of escaping human-generated sound. This has been mitigated somewhat with light processing, but close listening and inspection will make remnants evident. There are no other edits or processes committed.

I love the crisp cold air of the rainforests in the fall. Sounds, natural and human generated, carry into the distant. Tucked into my sleeping bag, I lay back in my small tent, listening to the forest awaken. Where once there was just the soft distant wash of the river, the elk are joined by the local birds. Steller's Jays shriek their song with grating-yet-amusing "CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAs". A Northern Saw-whet toots in the forest canopy. Young Varied Thrush practice their songs, not quite reaching the beautiful and haunting signature fluting of their predecessors, instead emitting a silly buzzer-bell-like noise. Pacific Wren singing at the end of their season and the occasional Kingfisher make an appearance as well. Noe of these complete with the sheer vibrance of the elk.

Roosevelt Elk or Roosevelt's Wapiti or Rainforest Elk are the largest remaining elk species in North America and thrive in shadowy silences of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rainforests. Bull's bugles and roars echo through the trees, becoming one of the signature sounds of the Olympic Mountains. The cows mew and squeal in return, listening for one another to not wander far astray.

The small herd is a tight-nit family group, a with one, maybe two, dominant bulls, five or six cows in their harem, and a handful of young. The dominant bull leads the group on a daily hike, down from the upper valley to the river and back again. Their bugles urge the group, both signaling the direction to go and scolding those that dawdle. As they pass through the glade, their heavy footfall on the vegetative floor thump-thump-thumps their presence as much as the vocalizations and the continued crushing of vegetation as they push by.

I can't get enough of their energy. They pull back frequently. No matter how many times I encounter them, Elk never cease to awe me.

Click through the comments below for some highlights!

Northwest Soundscapes

Queets River Valley Rainforest Dawn with Roosevelt Elk

On Episode 270, hear from a Mars planning expert at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to learn more about what it will take to pull off a successful human mission to the Red Planet. This is the first episode in a reboot of our series about a human mission to Mars.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Mars Ep. 1: Preparing For Mars

Aaron Yazzie and others explain how, by scooping dirt and drilling rocks, rovers are digging deeper into the mysteries of Mars.

On a Mission: Season 4, Episode 11: Digging In: When Rovers Get Dirt on Mars

On Episode 273, hear from a NASA engineer who describes the future spacecraft design needed to transport humans between Earth and Mars. This is the fourth episode in a reboot of our series about a human mission to Mars.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Mars Ep. 4: Deep Space Transport

Energy party

On Episode 275, hear from NASA’s lead scientist of advanced food technology who describes the meal plan for a journey to the Red Planet. This is the sixth episode in a reboot of our series about a human mission to Mars.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Mars Ep. 6: Eat Like A Martian

Basti schildert seine TOP4 Eindrücke. Dann geht der Blick zur Nationalmannschaft. Assistenztrainer Alan Ibrahimagic über die letzten beiden WM-Qualispiele.

Vom TOP4 zur Nationalmannschaft

for small ensemble and computer tape/sounds.

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Hello, we’re NASA. You may have seen our astronauts, rocket launches, or Mars rovers — but have you heard our sounds? From interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.