h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Which sounds and sights from nature do you find most relaxing. I love listening to the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore and the most relaxing sight is walking through ancient woodland especially after it has snowed.

Rain, as long as I'm inside and it's not during school hours.

Ocean wavws.

When I was a lad, I worked on a beach one summer, sorting the landing stage for a small ferry boat. We used to get down to the beach early every morning, seven days a week. When the tide was high the waves would be gently stirring the pebbles. That sound has never left me.

No people, no traffic, just the waves on the pebbles , and an occasional gull.

Hence the hootoo name

I like the children of the wind:
The sounds of waves and rustling leaves.
From gently and softly to roaring and howling

I like it when I am up at least a good hour, preferably 2 before day breaks. There can be a tranquillity in those dark hours that I just don't feel at any other time of day. and Then time for the sun to come up or for it to get lighter, the reveal of the landscape and the day birds getting up and getting busy

A sunny but misty morning on the levels is gorgeous, sunny mistical magic and timeless

Sky watching chills me out, clears my mind, night or day, this summer we went for days with blue sky, the weather was gorgeous but I missed the clouds

Thank you all for your comments, my late dad found when listening to the stormy winds in bed to be very calming as he said it lulled him to sleep.

One of the most awe inspiring sights is at night looking at a complete cloud free star lit sky with no light pollution. I have only seen this once when I was living in Barrhill in SE Ayrshire in Scotland. It felt that you were on the edge of outer space.

Dark star filled skies are something special. I am so lucky, living in the middle of nowhere; the village a mile down the road has a dozen street lights but you can't see them from here, so when everyone else is in bed, it is proper dark.

One rare occasions when I stayed up late, I would love listening to the shipping forecast, which lulled me to sleep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnQ2Lk20n3U

As a child, I loved the shipping forecast, all those exotic names.

Hehehe, some of them were quite funny if misheard

This is a wonderful journal, Thinker!

My favorite sounds:

A brook gurgling.

The distant sound of peepers in the Spring.

The mourning dove as it sits on the telephone wire above my house.

Some strange native Hawaiian bird that sounded like the entire brass section of a symphony orchestra when I was in Maui 20 years ago.

The pitter patter of gentle rain on the roof. This gets less delightful if the rain is pounding, or includes hail stones.

The sound of chickadees as they sit high in the branches of a tree.

Thank you Paul for your kind comments.

Here are my other favourite nature sounds

Blackbird singing and whale song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=997RTKzc39c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WabT1L-nN-E

This really is a very good question. I'm having a hard time working it out. Most sounds that occur to me aren't very nice at all, but what they mean is what makes you glad to hear them.

I'll concede the blackbird - lovely tunes. But so many other birds have unpleasant songs.

The cuckoo - the most uninteresting, but yet the best known and most praised sound. It really isn't very nice, compared to a dawn chorus, or general birdie chatter, but it does mean there are a few months of nicer weather coming.

The pigeon - the sound drives you mad, the birds are pests, but their cooing means "lazy summer afternoons". Unfortunately, these days, you seem to get it from February to November.

Seagulls - an earsplitting screech, yet, for me, it means I'm nearer the sea and that is great in itself. (I live 1000 km from the sea in any direction and miss it badly)

Crows - they fly past the bedroom window and sit in the garden and squawk very suddenly and very loud, waking you up.

Woodpecker - these annoying creatures have woken me up, too, knocking on our walnut tree for the insects under the bark. They dig holes in the nuts and throw them down on the grass underneath.

However, the sound of a cow mooing is not threatening or unpleasant, and gives me a feeling of "Everything is OK". Mind you, so does the sound of sheep , but the actual sound of sheep bleating is very enervating.

Waves - yes!
Wind - no - that means cold and blustery outside
Wind in trees yes!
Rain - no - that means cold and wet outside. Unless you're actually out in it - then it's fun!