Thanks for this, Damon. Your post resonates. I hadn't stopped to realize that we haven't heard the cicadas here in Madison Wisconsin yet. They usually buzzing by the end of July and it's early August now. We, too, live in a bustling downtown area with lots of unnatural, urban sounds. But there are still plenty of pleasant, wild sounds in the air — birds, crickets, chipmunks. And don't forget the trees! I appreciate the reminder to listen closely and pay attention. I hope you're well!
Fascinating piece/post! Since Covid I have been more aware of the natural world, for example birds and insects. We have a weird but somewhat healthy ant population, as well as various birds that come and go. And we used to have two consistent Hawks flying over our house. Now there are four. I feel all of this are part of our community here in Southern California.
Worrying. Here in upstate NY it's the same. Definitely less buzzing. Less cicadas. Less ants in the kitchen. Don't see lightning bugs in the evening like we used to. Only the woodpeckers seem unchanged, constantly drilling their brittle rhythms.
Yes. Just got back from my childhood home, one range west of the Elk Mountains, and though there were birds and insects, their sound and presence felt far more thin. It was unnerving.
Back in the 1980s and '90s, my wife and I rented a house set back from the road with nothing but open space behind it. In the summer, the insect talk was rhythmic and cacophonous. It made me think of the Afrobeat music I was then listening to, with its glistening, chattering guitar lines and polyrhythmic percussion.
And, yes, even though I now live in a 1950s housing development that's less of a habitat—although I did see an Eastern rat snake in our shed this summer!—I have consciously taken in the loss of those natural polyrhythms. It doesn't bode well.
Your last paragraph contains the answer to your question, or at least a significant part of it. "Be still and know that I am God," the ancient saying relays, yet in refusing to enter the stillness within we have created it without. How can you not see that YOU are the one who has made your back yard the dead zone that it is.
Well done, you've written the first line of your epitaph...something your grandchildren will shake their heads at....if they are lucky enough to be born and to survive.
UV being 10 every day is taking a toll on us all. Little creatures can't handle it. I see pets and wild things bleached by UV C hitting the ground. There is a guy who has been covering this for years on YT...Higher Truth Rises...it's worse than we think. They are over-developing my town til the last tree is gone. Thanks for noticing. Drum on.
Thanks for this, Damon. Your post resonates. I hadn't stopped to realize that we haven't heard the cicadas here in Madison Wisconsin yet. They usually buzzing by the end of July and it's early August now. We, too, live in a bustling downtown area with lots of unnatural, urban sounds. But there are still plenty of pleasant, wild sounds in the air — birds, crickets, chipmunks. And don't forget the trees! I appreciate the reminder to listen closely and pay attention. I hope you're well!
Thank you for writing this -- I’m always thinking about this when I’m outside
Fascinating piece/post! Since Covid I have been more aware of the natural world, for example birds and insects. We have a weird but somewhat healthy ant population, as well as various birds that come and go. And we used to have two consistent Hawks flying over our house. Now there are four. I feel all of this are part of our community here in Southern California.
I noticed this decline a few years ago when I took a road trip to Denver and never had to wash my windshield because not enough bugs squashed in them.
Hey, we coat the planet in pesticides, we're not gonna have wildlife. That's our choice.
Worrying. Here in upstate NY it's the same. Definitely less buzzing. Less cicadas. Less ants in the kitchen. Don't see lightning bugs in the evening like we used to. Only the woodpeckers seem unchanged, constantly drilling their brittle rhythms.
Yes. Just got back from my childhood home, one range west of the Elk Mountains, and though there were birds and insects, their sound and presence felt far more thin. It was unnerving.
Back in the 1980s and '90s, my wife and I rented a house set back from the road with nothing but open space behind it. In the summer, the insect talk was rhythmic and cacophonous. It made me think of the Afrobeat music I was then listening to, with its glistening, chattering guitar lines and polyrhythmic percussion.
And, yes, even though I now live in a 1950s housing development that's less of a habitat—although I did see an Eastern rat snake in our shed this summer!—I have consciously taken in the loss of those natural polyrhythms. It doesn't bode well.
Your last paragraph contains the answer to your question, or at least a significant part of it. "Be still and know that I am God," the ancient saying relays, yet in refusing to enter the stillness within we have created it without. How can you not see that YOU are the one who has made your back yard the dead zone that it is.
Uhh… cause I mention having a phone?
Well done, you've written the first line of your epitaph...something your grandchildren will shake their heads at....if they are lucky enough to be born and to survive.
I am interested in critique but I have no idea what you are on about, sorry
UV being 10 every day is taking a toll on us all. Little creatures can't handle it. I see pets and wild things bleached by UV C hitting the ground. There is a guy who has been covering this for years on YT...Higher Truth Rises...it's worse than we think. They are over-developing my town til the last tree is gone. Thanks for noticing. Drum on.