Once in a while, you want to relive the summer as you remember it. With the sun, the heat, the wind the summer storms and everything else. Yet, often we forget the soundscape that came with the summer.
Apart from the screaming people at the beach or in the pool, there is much more to listen to.
A while ago I went to a museum. It was a heritage house in North Queens. There, I got to hear a song that reflects a sentiment we all have sometimes. Mostly on our birthdays or when we see old friends we haven’t spoken to in a long time.
Today, Sunday, I went for a ride. Simply to change my mind from house renovations and everything. In other words, to take a break. In the middle of “nowhere”, here in Nova Scotia, I stopped by the side of the road.
The road was a secondary one, not even called a highway.
In some parts of the world, the summer is over. School has started and we can relax. For those who cannot thank schools to provide some relaxation time, I have decided to try and do it with a little audio.
This is real sound, no loops and no edits of any kind.
When one thinks of “the beach” it’s almost always about sunshine, sea and sand. Preferably warm or hot sand. Some beaches, however, are a little different.
When we went on vacation to the Mediterranean as kids, we always avoided the pebble beaches as they were not comfortable to sit on.
Or I should say a one-bird orchestra. The Northern Mockingbird is a critically imperilled species in Nova Scotia. It seems that thanks (or because of) its wonderful singing, the bird was often captured and sold as a cage bird.
Northern Mockingbird
What this bird does best is sing.
Dawn, a time of the day that shouldn’t be missed. Most people are still asleep at that time in the summer. The birds, however, are already up and singing.
I have no idea why this is called a “chorus”.
Springtime, at last. It has been a while since we heard any wildlife, even here on the east coast.
So now that the sun finally shows up for extended periods of time (read hours), it’s time to record some sounds to go with the feeling of spring. 
For the last twelve years I have been using the Zoom H2 as my primary sound recorder. From footsteps to trains and whatever else was presenting itself. Yet one thing always lacked. The ability to connect more microphones to the unit and have them all work together.
While for now I have no external mics, there will be a time when I can put the system in place in a forest and come back the next day to collect the recordings.
Normal times, who doesn’t want those? 
I would! When part of your world is on fire, there is nothing normal around you. The pleasure of listening to your surroundings, let alone record them seems far away. Yet something tells me that I need to keep my head calm and not overreact.
That’s easier said than done when your family is close to be in the line of fire.
Some go to the sea, some to the mountains and some to the forest. To each his own as far as relaxing goes. But not many people go to the woods when it’s raining.
Normally, I wouldn’t do that either, but once you start listening aka field recording, your senses become somewhat more keen on more.
It’s midwinter. No surprise for anyone. We’ve all noticed that there is hardly any daylight left. It makes me remember when the days got longer and stronger. The silence is overwhelming when you get out of the inhabited areas. Or is it?
It looks like the holidays will bring the cheer. But in reality, it is all silent outside. Cheer may be hard to find for some. For those people, only nature can bring the cheer in their life. So here is a bit of that cheer that is hard to come by in this time of the year.