The Calming Echoes of Nature – Soothing Sounds During a Sometimes Hectic Holiday Season…
Echoes of Nature: Morning Songbirds
I am about to head out to do a bit of holiday shopping this evening, which unfortunately means that I will be confronted with relentlessly loud music and overbearing crowds. And you know, as much as I enjoy this season of giving, I sometimes find all the bright lights and chaos unnerving. Just thinking about this sensory overload and potential unpleasantness was giving me a bit of a headache, when all of a sudden I remembered the great CD set I received as a holiday gift last year. Oh what relief. I am taking this with me in the car! The sounds of bird song, frogs, thunderstorms, crickets, wolves and more, (recorded by various naturalists), were collected by Delta Music and packaged as a set of 5 CDs. I loaded them onto my computer, and into my ipod, and then I listened to them all winter when I was writing or painting. I am so glad I remembered those CDs – what a pleasure soft, natural sounds will be when I exit noisy Target !
I am most familiar with the “Echoes of Nature” series, which I have pictured and linked here. But there are several other collections, including “Sounds of the Earth”. My favorite from this company is the collection “Morning Birds” pictured and linked below. All of these recordings are without human voice or music – just pure natural sounds…
Sounds of the Earth: Morning Birds
Thinking about the bird song and natural sound sets reminded me of an interesting gift I gave to my dad last year. My father loves birds and gardening. I was excited when I found The Backyard Birdsong Guide books, pictured below, to help him learn to identify various birds by song as well as by visual cues. These books are very easy and fun to use. You simply dial in the corresponding number to the species on the page, and push a button to listen. My father loves these books, (he liked them so much that I picked up the bird-song calendar for him later).
Almost all gardeners are bird lovers, so these books and CDs make great holiday gifts. I should also mention that these audio field guide books are produced by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, so they are also fantastic teaching tools for nature lovers and gardeners of all ages. One of the keys to preserving and protecting nature is learning about it; something I feel very strongly about. But beyond the educational and relaxation value, I have to be honest – these books are also a good time. I won’t go into all of the kooky things I do with mine, (OK, so they involve the cat), but let’s just say they are an awful lot of fun over the long, long, winter…
The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Western North America
The Backyard Birdsong Guide: Eastern and Central North America (Backyard Birdsong Guides)
These other non-bird centered CDs feature the sounds of the forest, (“American Wilds” has rain showers, frogs, crickets, wolves, cicadas and ambient forest sounds), frogs and thunderstorms. I noticed when I looked my titles up online, that many others get great reviews as well – but I have only heard the ones listed here. If you are curious, you can sample the sounds online through the links, and if you enjoy them, you can always download a few for yourself as a mid-winter pick-me-up when things get really cold and silent outside…
Echoes of Nature: American Wilds
Echoes of Nature: Thunderstorm
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5 Replies to “The Calming Echoes of Nature – Soothing Sounds During a Sometimes Hectic Holiday Season…”
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This is so interesting. I have never heard of it. I’m having a hard time imagining it and think I might have to get one of these CD’s to see what they are like.
Winter has finally arrived upstate. On Sunday it was cozy indoors while the snow swirled. I will be there for 12 days over Christmas and cannot wait. Perhaps I’ll be listening to morning birds on the stereo while watching them at the feeder.
xoxo
Hi Victoria, Until I opened the box last year, I’d never heard of these recordings either. They are really calming. The birds are nice, but the peeper frogs, in particular, I love. But I also like the sound of rain. It’s just a nice way to calm down. You can sample them online – most of them are really inexpensive, especially if you just download a few cuts. Warning: your cat may go WILD, (mine does, especially for the birdsong guide book). :)
xo Michaela
Actually, Sylvano doesn’t go crazy over birds. He sits in the window and doesn’t even blink while the birds are feeding right outside.
Max, the gorgeous red tabby who died two years ago and is buried in the field, would have not been able to take it.
Wow – perhaps Sylvano prefers fish? Maybe a fishbowl would get him. At the moment, Dr. Goof is fighting to get closer to the laptop. I am listening to “American Wilds” this morning, and she hears a Phoebe, (they make her crazy because they nest beneath the eve in spring and she can see them from the bedroom window when they come and go at first light).
I am sorry about Max. I lost my ‘Rell a few years ago, and I still miss her. It’s so hard hard to lose a pet – but they make life so much richer, don’t they? xo
It is soooo sad to lose a pet. But as our vet pointed out, we who have pets are brave because unless we are very old, we will outlive them and face the loss.
Max was a dream and very different from Sylvano, whom I also adore. He is VERY silky. I have never felt fur like his. And he is a funny boy but not a lap cat at all. Wants to sit next to you, not on you.
Oh, well. We’re lucky to have them.