Touched by the sounds of Sandhills

I was awakened this morning (about 7:30) by the loud clamor of Sandhill Cranes flying relatively low over my house. God how I love that sound! It's one of my favorite sounds of nature!! Way better than any alarm clock. :-)

I was out quite a bit today. It seemed like every time I was outside I would eventually hear Sandhills somewhere in the distance. It must have been a good day to be on the move.

In some respects seeing/hearing Sandhill Cranes gives me the same feeling I used to get from migrating Canada Geese when I was younger. It was invigorating to see the high flying v-shaped skeins of geese, up so high that their raucous honking was barely audible on the ground. The geese would inspire a sense of wanderlust.. .coming from who knows where, heading to who knows where, making only a brief appearance in my world. But the presence of year-round resident Canada Goose flocks has undermined that earlier sense of wonder. I think my earlier fascination with migrating geese has been replaced by the joy I feel when I hear the bugling calls of migrating Sandhill Cranes. Like the geese of my youth, the cranes pass over unexpectedly, spending very little time in my world.

I'll be listening again tomorrow for the sound of Sandhills... a real tonic for the soul.