A monsoon thunder storm recorded at night in South Thailand. 
Some of the claps are loud!
Zoom F3, homemade ORTF rig using TSB-2690 1" capsules, powered by Simple P48v.

A monsoon thunder storm in Thailand.

Domestic argument, or something along those lines, amongst various baboons, recorded at roughly 2am in Stanley and Livingstone Private Game Reserve, Zimbabwe.

I am not entirely sure what is going on here, but something upset the baboons at first, possibly a nearby predator, but it's anyone's guess. It then appears to just drag on for a while with baboons in various different trees giving off alarm calls, and some making a call that appears to be intended to calm down the others (but I will have to verify this later on). 

All in all something must have upset them because normally these kind of eruptions of vocalisations only last for a short duration, whereas this event continued for near 10 minutes. Whether it was just a whole lot of noise over nothing and all the neighbours getting involved out of irritation, or something else, I will probably never know for sure.

More here
http://daanhendriks.co.uk/wildlife-nature-sound-recording/baboons-the-gangsters-of-the-bush/

--
Sennheiser MKH8040 pair ORTF, Sound Devices USBPre2, Sony D100, 96khz 24bit but playing here at Soundcloud's crappy MP3 conversion.

Baboons going apeshit

On a bright and sunny mid-March day, the pond is warming up with sounds.
This is my most detailed recording of Corixa punctata (aka Lesser water boatman) to date.

Can the Lesser and Greater families be told apart through sound alone? Please let me know. What seems clear is that it is possible to discern between some lesser varieties, as demonstrated by Marco Presente in this recording:
https://soundcloud.com/marco-pesente/micronecta-sp-lesser-water

**The sounds get really loud and right at the peak of the Fletcher-Munson curve so please take care of your ears**

Species: Lesser Water Boatman (Corixa punctata)
Location: Middle Spernal, Warwickshire, UK
Date and time: 19 March 2025, 13h30
Habitat: Freshwater pond, wetland

Gear
Aquarian Audio A5s, Zoom F3

Water Boatmen

Dawn chorus on the wetland. You can hear these species on the recording: great reed warbler (primarily), common cuckoo and mute swan
Date: 8. 6. 2025
Time: 4.05 - 5.30 am
Weather conditions: temperature 16°C, wind: 2m/s, partly cloudy
Place: Vranovice, South Moravia
Equipment: Telinga parabolic dish

Great reed warbler - dawn chorus on the wetland

Echoes in the Spotlight.mp3

The Times Before and Those Ahead    


I walked the path where shadows fall,  
Through autumn leaves and crumbling walls,  
Where echoes hum of laughter past,  
Of moments built to never last.  
A photograph in fading light,  
A lullaby that sang me night,  
Each memory a thread I hold—  
A story worn, but still untold.  

Oh, the times before, they shaped my soul,  
With broken dreams and fire in the cold.  
And the times ahead, they call my name,  
Like stars that burn through pouring rain.  
Between the past and what will be,  
I stand in love, in loss, in me—  
The times before and those ahead.  

I’ve danced with ghosts in empty rooms,  
Lit candles in the gathering gloom.  
I’ve kissed the scars that time has made,  
Learned how to love, and how to fade.  
But every dawn still paints the sky,  
With colors no regret can deny.  
A future walks on quiet feet,  
Whispering promises bittersweet.  

Oh, the times before, they shaped my soul,  
With broken dreams and fire in the cold.  
And the times ahead, they call my name,  
Like stars that burn through pouring rain.  
Between the past and what will be,  
I stand in love, in loss, in me—  
The times before and those ahead.  

I won’t forget the ones who stayed,  
The hands that pulled me through the fray.  
And though the road is long and steep,  
I’ll carry all I’ve loved and lost in sleep.  
For every ending holds a start,  
A rhythm beating in my heart—  
Not bound by time, but shaped by grace,  
I find my way through every place.  

Oh, the times before, they made me strong,  
They taught my heart to sing this song.  
And the times ahead, they shine so clear,  
With every hope I long to hear.  
So I will walk with open eyes,  
Beneath these ever-changing skies,  
The times before and those ahead—  
Together, they have led me.  

So here I stand, not lost, but found,  
On steady, though uncertain, ground.  
With yesterday’s voice and tomorrow’s thread—  
The times before and those ahead.

c Roger Shepard 2025

The Times Before and Those Ahead.mp3

When I left Madrid for the States after ~5 yrs

Madrid To The Bay

I’ve got the sun on my face and the street in my shoes
Madrid’s got a rhythm I don’t want to lose
Every café whispers
Every plaza sings
But they’re packing my bags
Pulling my strings

San Francisco
What do you hold
Golden gates or a heart that’s cold
I’m leaving the place I call my own
Madrid
You’ve been my only home

Tile mosaics and the old stone steps
Echoes of laughter I’ll never forget
Will the fog of the bay feel the same as this air
Or will I get lost in the gray over there

Do you know me
Do you see me
Or am I just a face passing briefly

San Francisco
What do you hold
Golden gates or a heart that’s cold
I’m leaving the place I call my own
Madrid
You’ve been my only home

They say it’s a city that’s full of dreams
But I’ve got mine here by the Manzanares streams
Will the waves on the coast call my name the same way
Or will I just stand there
Watching them sway


c Roger Shepard

Madrid To  The Bay

Love & Death

A musical discussion of AI and issues around it. And a great pop song as well!

It's Absurd

Lyrics

[Verse]
I pulled the cord, but the lines are jumbled,
The reserve fails as I begin to tumble.
I can't even see the backpack, I feel blind
and panic grows and quickly fills my mind

My emotions are in freefall
I feel fear like I have never known
And all that I can think is 
I'm going to die alone.

[Pre-Chorus]
The ground is closer every breath I take,
Every second’s just a choice I can’t unmake.

[Chorus]
Fourteen thousand feet to go,
My life unravels, slow by slow.
Every heartbeat feels like thunder,
Falling fast, I can’t help wonder—
What will I see before the end,
The sky, the earth, or just a friend?
Twelve thousand feet to go…

[Verse]
I see the rivers cut through stone,
The patchwork fields I’ve always known.
Regrets are louder than the wind,
All the starts I never did begin.

[Pre-Chorus]
There’s beauty burning underneath the fear,
The world’s so wide, but the end is near.

[Chorus]
Nine thousand feet to go,
My life unravels, slow by slow.
Every heartbeat feels like thunder,
Falling fast, I can’t help wonder—
If I had more time, what would I say?
To those I love before I fade away.
Seven thousand feet to go…

[Bridge]
Maybe there’s peace in letting go,
No strings to pull, no weight to hold.
The sky has claimed me as its own,
But I am not afraid to go alone.

[Chorus]
Five thousand feet to go,
My life unravels, slow by slow.
Every heartbeat feels like thunder,
Falling fast, I can’t help wonder—
Will I crash, or will I fly,
One last breath beneath the sky?
Three thousand feet to go…

[Outro]
The clouds above begin to fade,
Houses roads and cars from here .
One thousand feet below…
I see people pointing up in fear
I try to tell them not to worry,
I am ...

@ Roger Shepard 2025

14,000 Feet to Go

IT's hard to believe that I have created 300 episodes of the Natural Curiosity Project. Thank you so much--SO much--for staying with me on the adventure. In this episode, Pete Mulvihill recalls some of his favorite episodes--and asks me for mine.

The episodes mentioned in the program are 84 (Bud and the tumbleweeds); 77 (How to Read Movie Credits with Bob Verlaque); 181 (Rob Prince and Dark Winter Nights); 206 (Dewitt Jones); 15 (How Trees Work); 16 (Forest Bathing); and 97, 99 and 109 (Letter-writing). Enjoy!

Episode 300-300 Episodes

I photograph, record, and write about the natural world. I see, I listen, I write. I fundamentally believe that curiosity can save the world—so I publish stories to make people curious. Ultimately, curiosity leads to discovery, discovery leads to knowledge, knowledge leads to insight, and insight leads to understanding. Please enjoy!

Episode 300-300 Episodes

The Natural Curiosity Project

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