Paul had a recent post about the constant noise he experienced in New York City. I relate. In my area its riding lawn mowers, leaf blowers, grass trimmers, trash truck, train whistle ( a mile away), sirens, loud stereos, Harley’s, etc. Some people seem to enjoy making the noise and for others it’s a way to make a living. For me I have enough noise in my head without all the external noise. Yesterday was an extremely noisy day as they are tearing up the parking lot across the ponds so machinery have been in operation all day. Tearing up asphalt makes a lot of noise! Maybe I need to move to the country.

My escape are trips to local nature areas, the mountains or some dirt road on the eastern plains. Basically out of town. This past weekend I took a drive to the Riverbend Nature area. This area is on the edge of the city limits so I can still hear some of noise, but it is the reprieve I needed. The clouds were putting on a beautiful show and helped cool things down while the setting sun make for some nice light and shadows. As I worked my way back to the truck a few rain drops added to my enjoyment. And, I was not the only one who needed to get out to the nature areas.