Feature Article June 3, 2004
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The Quiet Resource
Quiet is a resource. If you wish to learn what is happening in the woods, you need quiet. You can get it by standing still. With practice and moccasins, you can walk quietly enough to let the natural noises happen and learn from them. Skis allow a lot of quiet. So can snowshoes, except for some huffing and puffing. Horseback comes close but still isolates the rider from surroundings. Mountain bikes are close to horses, but no scurrying or shoveling..
A canoe gives good quiet once you learn to paddle without pulling your paddle out of the water between strokes, learn not to knock the gunwale and quit chatting with the bowperson. But at the tiller of an old 2-stroke outboard, especially one with above-water exhaust, there is no quiet. It must be much the same on an ATV with a helmet over your ears. Or on a high-horsepower snowmobile at speed. The 4-strokes are better for people at a distance but for the drivers
With any of the popular mechanized people-movers, you may see some things that you scare with your sudden noisy appearance but not most living things. They will just hunker down and freeze. You will not learn of their presence or their habits. Some will adapt to the repeated noise. Many will just move away from predictable noisy paths. So even those who walk wont see them any longer.
Quiet is needed to witness a great many happenings in nature. From mink frogs to long-eared owls and from click beetles to young otters, quiet is a critical resource to let you in on what is happening. Even with quiet, some time is needed to sense (hear, see, smell) many of the best parts of our very rich natural heritage. Try some quiet time it may bring out what you have been missing.