I had an interesting thought while I was shoveling snow off my roof today. This was triggered by 4 people on snowmobiles who were passing by in the woods and fields north of my house. They had paused and were shouting back and forth over the sound of their engines. I could hear them screeching from 150 yards away. Then they passed to the east of the house on their little noisy adventure. I have ridden a snowmobile once in Colorado and found it sort of fun but not for me. The whole idea of Noise while you are trying to enjoy nature baffles me. Other examples include personal watercraft, ATV's and dirt bikes. I would rather be in a canoe, hiking or bike riding. I know that this is in the realm of personal preference but the difference in the quality of the experience is stark.
In my mind I immediately conjured up the experience that I had had just two nights previously. My wonderful son-in-law and I went for a night snowshoe in the same area that the snowmobiles just were. The woods were quiet and we watched the moon set from the top of a small hillock. All was still as we suddenly saw a shooting star race from north to south over our heads. We named the constellations that we knew and peacefully snowshoed home.
I was pondering the difference between these two experiences as the smell of combustion engines wafted to me, shovel in hand, up on the roof top.
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