It's been too long...

There are certain sounds that evoke the wonder and magnificence of nature. The satisfied harumph of buffalo rolling in the dust, the majestic bugle of elk in rut, but for me the most evocative is the serenely plaintive call of the Loon echoing across the mirror of a calm lake at the close of day. As a kid growing up on a lake in New Hampshire whenever I heard the Loon's call I'd stop whatever I was doing (usually paddling a canoe at twilight in those long ago days) and simply listen.

The other night my wife and I were taking a twilight stroll around Lake Beauvert  which features peace, quiet, and incredible scenery all for the price of some wear and tear on shoe leather when I heard it. More often than not you can't see the actual bird calling but this night there it was. Or rather there they were, for we were treated to the sight of a Loon family not twenty yards from shore. Mama and papa Loon were shepherding a small bundle of brown feathers across the smooth as glass surface when they broke into their distinctive call.

I loved my job when I was working but these days don't miss being tied to a cube. What I did miss, all those years of working in an office, was the sound, almost forgotten, that instantly takes me back to a time of childlike wonder and happiness. The symphony of the Loon's call framed by the stillness of a Canadian sunset was over far too quickly. I hope to hear it yet again this trip for it truly had been way, way too long.