The katydids and crickets make their calls by rubbing their wings together. The sing-song of the crickets and the croak of toads are there, but they’re less vocal now that the evening air is cooling.

In the woods the soft cluck of a grouse and, far in the distance, a few coyotes yelp.

Out in the little bay, the slap of tail on the surface of the water from a beaver announcing his territory.

It’s not noise, but sounds. Here, you can realize the difference.

As the darkness closes in, the silence becomes complete.

Nothing but brisk air, stars, a couple of cabin lights across the way.

William Penn must have been in a place like this when he wrote that silence and rest of the mind “Is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.”

Tim Krohn is a Free Press staff writer. He can be contacted at 344-6383 or

email him Tim by clicking here