I have a nice forest loop for my daily walk. On returning to Virginia, I was surprised by the noisy chorus the insects make in the woods. Did I just not notice in Alaska? Or are the Virginia forest insects louder than insects in interior Alaska? Certainly crickets chirp far louder than mosquitoes whine…

No Sandhill Cranes calling here, but I did hear a Downy (or Hairy?) Woodpecker tapping the other day. I watched him hop around and work on several trees.

One Virginia forest sound I miss is the Whip-Poor-Wills calling at night. C may have heard one once since we were back, but it is too late in the year for their nightly summer serenade.

We heard a Great Horned Owl hooting very loudly just outside our cabin in Alaska one night. It was dark and we still had several neighbors, so it must have been late August. We went outside to see him at the top of a tree less than 20 yards from our bedroom.