The Break Room (Non-Technical Discussions)

[#1]

At the opposite end of the states those first snows are sometime so heavy and wet that the beautiful silence is continuely broken by pop/snap/crash of the trees giving way (the white birches bow all the way to the ground and eventually come back up after time). Then you start thinking about the loud annoying generator you will have to start up soon.

For me it would have to be the flutter and talk of the chickadee flitting around me as I sit in a moss laden spruce thicket.

[#2]

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graemev wrote:

An airshow: from the wop-wop-wop of a SAR helecopter, to the crackle of twin afterburners, to the rasp of a stunt plane, to the whisper-whoosh of a aerobatic sailplane.

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I particularly like the sound of all the car alarms in the Walmart parking lot going off as the jets pass overhead.

[#3]

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graemev wrote:

Too hard to narrow down to just one, but...

An airshow: from the wop-wop-wop of a SAR helecopter, to the crackle of twin afterburners, to the rasp of a stunt plane, to the whisper-whoosh of a aerobatic sailplane.

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Once had a B-1 fly over our cottage at just around 1000 ft.  We thought it was crashing it was so low.  The ground shook and windows rattled for 5 minutes before we even saw it come over the tree line. 

[#4]

I used to live near a naval base. Every Sunday the fighter pilots would do drills and I would go running outside to watch as they circled over the neighborhood. One of my favorite sounds. Thank you for reminding me!

[#5]

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Maine-iac wrote:

For me it would have to be the flutter and talk of the chickadee flitting around me as I sit in a moss laden spruce thicket.

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I couldn't agree more. Also the sound of a loon or coyotes yipping.

[#6]

The lake I live on is on the lfight path between an Air National Guard base, and a live target range up north.  For a couple of years, pilots on training runs would dogfight in their A-10's right over the lake.  Sometimes they would fly so low they would wave at us.  I used to grab a beer and go sit in a lawn chair, it was like a private air show.

Been quiet for a few years, I think most of them are deployed right now.

[#7]

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Wanderer-MOTD wrote:

#1 is easy... a baby's giggle. Nothing is sweeter and can instantly make everyone smile.

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This is the one that came to my mind right away.

The other thing I might mention is now so much a sound, but a lack of sound.  I like the way "nature" sounds at night when you are as far as possible from "civilization".  Growing up in New Mexico you could easily go camping in places that are pretty far, literally 30 miles or so, from a paved road.  Even farther if you were willing to hike.  I always liked those nights sitting just listening to the sounds of nature.  I will still do this sometimes even if just in my backyard, but it is not quite the same as when you are in the "middle of nowhere". 

[#8]

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loboarch wrote:

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Wanderer-MOTD wrote:

#1 is easy... a baby's giggle. Nothing is sweeter and can instantly make everyone smile.

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This is the one that came to my mind right away.

The other thing I might mention is now so much a sound, but a lack of sound.  I like the way "nature" sounds at night when you are as far as possible from "civilization".  Growing up in New Mexico you could easily go camping in places that are pretty far, literally 30 miles or so, from a paved road.  Even farther if you were willing to hike.  I always liked those nights sitting just listening to the sounds of nature.  I will still do this sometimes even if just in my backyard, but it is not quite the same as when you are in the "middle of nowhere". 

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Oh, amen, man! That's good stuff.

I grew up south of LA, so the quiet nights weren't so quiet, but, every year, we'd spend a couple weeks up in the mountains, camping. My Grandparents would hold down the fort at the campground and we'd hike up creeks or to remote lakes with my Dad and Uncles and they'd fish while us kids would wander off by ourselves.

I live in the burbs now, and can see some stars from my back patio, but, nothing like you can see from the mountains.

The closest I've come to that serenity in recent years is when my best girlfriend kidnapped me and took me to the Lake of the Ozarks. Her brother has a resort down there and we went off-roading away from the condos and club and ended up in this field, looking up at the stars, no human lights visible at all, due to the hills and trees.

Gorgeous.

My Aunt and Uncle live in rural washington and have a few acres. I loved laying on my cousin's trampoline and listening to the wind blow through the trees while I looked at the stars. Miss it.

[#9]

A freestone trout stream.

A Hermit Thrush at twilight (wait, that's #1!)

Desert rain.

[#10]

Not only have I not heard any of those, but I don't even know what that means!  'Freestone trout'?