Like much else, the sounds of nature have been largely forgotten.

Here is a story about the peace that has been induced thanks to the wholesale cancellation of air transport because of the volcanic eruption. Personally, I have long harbored a profound resentment about noise pollution from rackety, especially unnecessary, machinery - and I think a lot of other people would too if they had any recollection of the joy of hearing nothing but a natural thrum of insects humming and buzzing, the cries and melodious calls of birds, the sighing of wind through trees and grasses, and the singing splash and gurgles of streams and rivers.

from a series of wildlife photos in the UK Guardian, a picture taken by Mark Hancox in Scotland of an osprey capturing a trout...

and a photo taken by Zack Clothier of a yellow-bellied marmot peering through the asphalt in a road in Montana, looking bewildered, perplexed, and forlorn.