Sights and Sounds

Currently all I hear is the sound of rain. Very relaxing and sleep inducing, but I’ve done enough of that today so in order to keep myself awake till dinner: more writing! It is so quiet around here, at first.  Walking out of my apartment, all you really hear is the sound of wind and the gravely crunch of the ground. Then a little further up the road you get closer to the farm. Goats and sheep have little bells on their necks and a small herd sounds like an exciting little Christmas party. I have a soft spot for sheep especially a small herd grazing right down the road. They munch on grass and look up at you and back at the grass to continue their grazing. They are such cute and funny looking creatures… The locals probably think it is weird for me to stop and take a picture of them, but I can’t help it! You can already smell the next sound. The farmers spread manure over the hills to make the grass grow faster for winter food (According the guys here, if I had arrived earlier the smell would have been even stronger). Walk a little more and you see the stinky culprits: cows mooing and maybe a horse or two neighing. I am so used to the city and seeing them in person is still kind of cool: More photo opts!

Closer to the forest areas you hear the birds... not all the time but a tweet here and there and a sporadic bursts of song (probably them saying, “Beware the brunette coming up the road!”). Once inside the woods the paths are mixture of soft grass, more dirt and gravel or pine needles. The trees muffle the wind and through here everything is just that much softer and quiet. As you get closer and closer to the edge of the forest once again you hear the cowbells, wind and gravel. At least once during my walk I hear the sound of a horn or something being played. It is only for a minute or two but really pretty and really, how should I say, “Alpish.”It’s at these moments I can imagine a Ricola commercial. Until I hear the next sound, altogether different, but very pleasing sound:  a Porsche engine as it speeds by, changing to a lower gear to go around a corner and then accelerate again at the apex. Although man-made, it is perfectly suited to this area and fitting sound to end my walk.