Dawn chorus from May 2012, Rossmore Park, Co.Monaghan. Recorded at approximately 6am.
Even this early the hum of traffic, tractors and trucks dominate the lower frequencies, but the birds easily fill the forest with rich song.
Bragan Bog
Bragan
Bragan bog, Co.Monaghan, recorded May 2012.
One of my favourite areas to visit for quiet. Not just for the peace, but because the sonic subtleties of the landscape are revealed in the silence. It's a great vacuum to lose yourself in.
Quiet!
An important key to a stress free environment is quiet. This is in particular one of the reasons I enjoy visiting home; the few days out of the consistently noisy Dublin City Centre provides, at least, the option to escape noise. Noise triggers our internal survival response, flooding the body with adrenaline and cortisol* - handy when you are about to be decapitated by a bear, but useless when you're trying to read Wordsworth in the shade of a tree.
So stick on a set of headphones and listen to John Cage's 4'33.