The humming of fans
Kids’ shouting and laughter from the nearby park
The gurgle/splash of tea/coffee filling a mug
A bullfrog at the pond
Cicadas
Crickets
The scrape of a chair against the floor
Gunfire — target practice across the river at West Point?
Rain
Wind in the trees
A lawnmower
The scrape of the greenhouse door against the slate doorstep
The thunk of a softball landing in my mitt (What is the sound of one glove snapping?)
The beep-beep-beep of a delivery truck
Someone tapping stone
The ribbit-ribbit-ribbit of frogs in the dark
An occasional airplane
The shushing of a riverside waterfall on the opposite bank
The flapping of flip-flops
The sweetie’s breathing in the bed next to me
The rustle of foliage as a bad bunny eats the garden’s lettuce
The echoing horn of a freight train on the opposite shore
The commuter train thundering up and down the valley
The buzzing of motor boats on the Hudson River below
The whine of mosquitoes
Birdsong
Bees buzzing in the lavender beds
The pealing of the hand bell used to signal prayers, meditations, teachings and meals
The clinking of cutlery against china at mealtime
The whoosh of the dishwasher’s hose
The ringing of the gong to start meditation
The clicking of mala beads
Om Mane Padme Hung and other Buddhist chants
Broadside 
This is what Simon and Garfunkel meant when they sang about the sounds of silence.
One of my favorite songs!
Oh the things we hear when we take the time to listen! This is a beautiful soundscape. Like a mosaic. Fills me with a desire to take such a retreat.
It’s a really interesting experience to subtract the constant noise — and it often IS noise — of conversation. I will miss this silence when I go back to the “real world.” !
I always appreciate those moments when the power goes out or you are in the middle of a lake in the middle of nowhere. Their is always this instant of almost painful shock when your ears rest from the constant drone of technology, followed by a serenade of sounds that we miss because we do not take the time to listen.
Beautiful soundscape.
Thanks!
It has made me even more frustrated at how noisy (and it’s not that noisy) my suburban apartment balcony is — the Tappan Zee’s constant drone of traffic and too many low-flying aircraft all the bloody time.
We stayed on a friend’s ranch in NM where the silence was so profound I could hear myself digesting.
This is such a beautiful list that it reads like poetry. I love doing this sometimes – just sitting at the keyboard or with a notebook and listening, taking in what’s around me, making up stories about what I hear…
Thanks! It’s a good exercise to sometimes just really notice things.
Beautifully described. This may sound horribly “far out” but I am at this moment designing some silk scarfs (stripe based) and I put a colour to each of your sounds and I have to say I have a lovely collection of greens interjected by silver-greys – calm. I finished one yesterday based on some rocks from Brittany but this one will have to have a Hudson reference. Great post, thank you.ps I sound pretentious but I am really not, I just love getting sparks of inspiration from unusual sources.
Wow. Pretentious, hell no! What a lovely and cool compliment! I’m a big fan of Brittany (had one of the best meals of my life there, in Concarneau) and am always fascinated by inter-disciplinary cross-fertilization (now THAT sounds pretentious!)
Please share some pics here when the scarves are finished?
Thank you Caitlin for the sounds, the feel, and the silence. That’s the kind of poem I scotchtape to a cabinet door
Tom, thanks! You would so love the light and colors here…We have breakfast at 7:45 and the light, as we enter the dining hall, strikes a jar of garden flowers at the door with spectacular brilliance at just that moment. Hell of a way to start the day!
It “sounds” fabulous.
That’s the beauty of the well written word. You experienced it and wrote it. I’m sitting in my room, reading it and experiencing it as well, even as I listen to my kids playing in the other room.
Thanks for the drop of peace tonight. Hope you enjoy the rest of your time there.
Thank you! Such a lovely compliment!
We are home now and feeling tired, sad, a little lost after the incredible intensity of it all. It is so strange to talk freely again. 🙂
what a beautiful and heartfelt post 🙂
Thanks! It was really a transformative experience,.
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