When you think of Nature, we’ve been conditioned to images of a field of flowers bathed in sunshine or perhaps a deep blue mountain lake, both scenes oozing tranquility, the peaceful silence broken only by a trill of bird song or the whisper of a breeze.

But in reality, Nature is filled with the discordant twitter of birds arguing, squirrels scolding, ducks quaking disgruntled defiance and the rattle of the wind through the palm fronds. Dogs bark warnings, snakes hiss in disapproval, pelicans and anhingas splash in pursuit of lunch and dragonflies buzz and hum as they hover above the grass. Turkey vultures click their bills as you pass, frogs croak in rhythm while bushes, decorative grasses and flowers rustle in the breeze. 
Throw in the chatter of humans, an occasional burst of music or sound from a television, ringtones from cell phones, the roar of planes and helicopters passing overhead, cars rumbling out of the parking lot, the distant scream of sirens, the thunk of a tennis racket striking a ball and you don’t have a moment’s quiet on your daily walks.

But actually sounds, both natural and unnatural, affirm that you don’t live in a void. It’s a source of comfort–you exist and you’re surrounded by other living entities. 

But sometimes all the noise conceals the approach of something or someone with malevolent purpose. And when you’re attacked, the shock is twice as great than if you’d had an inkling of approaching danger…