Soundwalk Response

I decided to walk down the road from my house. I live in a rural area, heavily wooded, and near Hwy 43. It's a great walk with a great variety of sounds.

Exercise #1 - I started really listening to the area about five minutes into my walk. Once I stopped walking I paid attention to the constant drone of the freeway. I heard the definition of each vehicle as it drove past going both ways (north and south). Coming from a little ways down the road I could hear someone fire up a rider mower. The spot where I stopped is surrounded by trees, on the right side I heard scuffling (probably a squirrel). Behind me in the distance there were birds chirping. Once you begin paying attention to the sound of the area, you hear how the piece begins and ends, as well as the dynamics of all of the parts. In my area, the drone of the freeway controls how the soundscape shifts, and the overlying sounds quickly occur on top of it.

Exercise #2 - As I listen closely, the high frequency sounds I hear are the distant chirping of birds. I notice how rhythmic they are, and how they'll come in bursts. A bird will chirp for maybe five seconds then stop for another ten. The freeway traffic is the lowest frequency sound here. There is a constant drone from distant cars but every now and again a distinct sound is heard, like passing semi-trucks or Harleys. The tiniest sounds I hear are the occasional rustling leaves in the woods. They don't last very long, but certainly garner attention. As I listen to all of the sounds together I notice how my attention shifts from sound to sound but will always return to the drone of the freeway. It is certainly the most prominent sound, but certainly not overbearing to where I cannot pick out the occasional rustling leaves or chirping. I pay attention to a quick sound then notice my footsteps, but I slowly lose focus because of the freeway.

Exercise #3 - When I stop walking I notice the following sounds...
- New sound, instantly noticeable!!! Trees creaking with occasional leaves rustling from the light breeze.
- Birds chirping
- Lawnmower
- A car passes me to the right
- Rustling leaves in the woods
- A semi or larger truck runs over rumble strips on the side of the freeway
- Overall freeway traffic
- A small plane flies by, quieter though due to it's height
- Chipmunk chirp
- Phone vibrates in my pocket

As I said, the freeway noise is constant, but now that I've stopped I notice that the tree leaves are constantly rustling, though quiet because the breeze is slight. The lawnmower is constant and fairly low pitch. The birds have stopped at this point (about 20-25 minutes in). The freeway is to my left while the tree sounds are all around me. I do, however, notice the trees moreso on my left side do to where I'm standing. The mower is in the distance in front of me, and the birds are behind.

Exercise #4 - On my way back I stopped farther from the freeway and wooded area into a more open area with homes. No new sounds were heard, but there was a definite change in most of my previously heard sounds. The tree sounds were gone as well as the rustling. There were significantly less sounds overall, though the freeway remained strong.