Best Shot Monday | Silence

When I saw this cabin that we spent three of our days in, I went all Haley Mills giddy. Harrison was pretty  excited as well he immediately picked walked in, checked out the bunk beds and claimed a top bunk for himself.

This little campground took me as close to possible to what it was like at grandparents house deep in the Black Hills. It was a little piece of heaven in my hectic life and I'm so thankful for the days and nights Harrison and I got to spend out there this summer. How lovely to look up after dark and see a swell of stars peppering jet black sky, high above the tips of pines stretching up from the earth. How lovely - the only bit of light is a bright, full moon illuminating the rocky walls and trees of our little valley; casting long, dancing shadows across the silent meadow. How lovely to wake in the morning hours before the sun rises and listen to the sound of the creek babbling beyond the darkness. How lovely to smell the fresh, clean air flavored with pines, wild flowers, and dew.

Living in the city, we just don't get this experience. We don't get to hear the many other sounds that flooded our senses while away from the city...

...the non-ceasing chirping of grasshoppers

Gurgling of the ice-cold water as it cascaded over creek rocks.

The whisper of the warm breeze pushing through pine and aspen trees. 

a constant songs of birds as they go about their work

Then...when the sun goes down, the crunch of grass under the deer hooves,
the call of owls through the dark and crickets taking over where their cousin-grasshopper left off

And silence.

It's truly amazing how loud the void of noise can be.
It pierces and echos in your soul before you realize that you hear NOTHING at all.

We experienced it deep in an underground cavern and again deep in the Black Hills.
Each time I soaked it in as much as possible, wishing I could bottle it. 

I absorbed the sounds and felt a peaceful calm during my stay in the "woods". Harrison spent most of his days "tubing" in the icy water of the stream - not unlike his mom at that age. 

Even he noticed the sweet {very real} sound of silence and was awed by it. 

If only we could click our ruby-red slippers and return for just a little bit longer...