Soundwalk Michelle

On a Thursday I decided to go for a walk in Central Park. Exiting my student housing I stepped out onto Lexington Avenue and walked my way down 92^nd street to Central Park. The sounds of the city, the cars, footsteps on the pavement and children who just finished school, made place for a more relaxed and laid back soundscape. As I was walking towards the Great Lawn, all the different sounds merged into one. It wasn't until I decided to sit down in the grass and focus that I was able to dissect the soundscape and enjoy the individual sounds. The sounds varied from laughing children riding their scooters to airplanes passing over the park, probably to head towards or leave one of the New York airports. The sound of helicopters flying above the people, showing tourists the Big Apple from above or maybe even bringing rich businessmen or -women to their destination. I heard French chansons being enjoyed by three elderly women, jazz being played by young adults having a picnic on the grass. I heard the sound of a baseball bet hitting the ball, followed by hurried steps. I heard people speak French, Spanish, German, Arab and many more languages I couldn’t identify. I then decided to focus even more. I asked myself "would I be able to hear even the softest of sounds too?". That’s when I started noticing the rustling of crunchy leaves that had fallen from the trees. They didn’t make this sounds by themselves though, it were the squirrels who made them rustle. They either walked over them, or shoved them away. Then they would quickly bury a nut and cover the hole with the leaves they had just moved away. With their little hands they shoved the leaves in place, hiding their stash of nuts for squirrels turned thieves. As more leaves fell on the ground because of gusts of wind, the squirrels continued their search for nuts. You could hear them move through the grass, and together with the sound of the wind and the crunchy leaves they created a peaceful symphony. It seemed a neverending cycle; search the nut, dig a hole, hide the nut and start again. The symphony, when heard, lets us know: winter is coming.