Hey fellow woods wanderer. Chris Rimmer and I spent our lunchtime at the bio-d gathering comparing hearing aides and audiologists. It was remarkable when I first put the ear buds in and instead of the one- thousand mosquitoes of tinnitus, I heard bees and wasps and high frequency birds. Life is more stimulating with them. I get your falling thing, as I seem so clumsy going through the world now. At least orchids and mosses don't run away or sing high pitched songs, at least not that we know of. Hugs
Rimmer needs to keep better track of those hearing aids! 😀 (I'll probably post something on how great they are.) But I do love plants because they're so much slower than I am. Onward to bryophytes! xoxox
Thank you Bryan for 30 years of wonderment. Though I have read heard and followed you intermittently I so appreciate your humble and hopeful outlook And the Blackburnian warbler is one of my favorites. Thank you also for teaching and inspiring other birders who will follow in your footsteps.
It really is among my favorites as well, Alexandra. Although it's sort of been a poignant marker for my abilities over the years, I probably care for Blackburnian Warbler more now than ever. Each one a flame.
Thank you for this lovely post ... time has its ways . And thank you for mentioning Bill McKibben ... I didn't realize he had become part of the Substack world and immediately subscribed.
Indeed -- "time has it ways." Thanks for that, Joyce. Glad you've subscribed to Bill's Substack! It's a community of readers and writers here, as you well know!
Ah Bryan, that is a sweet, sad post. Thank you, and although you are diminished--aren't we all--you are a great contributor to bridging us to the broad world of nature. Now if could you find Biden and read this to him LOUDLY...
Bryan - When this piece was first published, I printed and saved it in a chaotic pile of important things that I have stacked on the edge of my desk/workspace. It's still there. Sometimes it gets covered up with other important things. Then, whenever I tidy my desk, I unearth it and consider it anew. You and I are about the same age. I guess that makes it poignant for me. Nice to see you sharing it again. - BB
Have you tried Lang Elliott’s Hear Birds Again smart phone app and head set? It replaces and is better than his Song Finders which I have used for 30 years to hear high frequency birds like Cape Mays. (I lost my high frequency hearing in college in the 60s.). I also have Oticon hearing aids that have a setting for high frequencies but it doesn’t catch the highest frequency birds, while Lang’s new device does.
Thanks, Larry. I'm liking my new Phonak hearing aids. They've been amazing. But this news about Lang Elliott's device sounds interesting. At some point, perhaps over the winter, I'll collaborate with other geezer birders to assemble and present some useful information about all this.
Yes we are getting older and I certainly am in the same place you're in, but we still have so much left to give to the environment...just in different ways. So keep putting one foot in front of the other...and a few missteps too...your essays still inspire others. Stepping aside does NOT means stopping the forward motion!!! Ever Onward...
How beautiful and humble Bryan! I don’t know if this was written as a subliminal political nature essay but it feels quite timely - to recognize our decreasing faculties and admit when it’s time to step aside so others can fulfill the collective mission. And also, to know we still have beautiful gifts we can contribute 🦋
As long as I can still hear you and use all seven senses, I'll be okay, Sabrina. 🙏 And, yeah, I suppose "subliminal political" is a good way to characterize this!
Yes, this happens if we are fortunate enough to live lone enough. I just returned from a woods walk with a friend and stopped my car for measured minutes every 200 feet. The habitat changed along the way. Yards, fields, forest edge, orchard, and woods again. I caught the Blackburnian in three of the stops that had hemlocks nearby. I used Merlin had was focused on the sonogram of its song and marveled at my loss of the high note due to my age. So you continue to put into words such similar experiences. Thank you for creating this avenue for us to share.
Thank you!!! It is soul crushing .. not the ageing.. the destruction of nature!!
... noone gets out alive and noone dies of good health.
The velveteen rabbit comes to mind. 🐰
I feel sorry for our children... we have failed them... that is what's really getting to me these days. The more I see and talk about this, I get the notion that most of us carry this understanding, a shared concsience.. fear.. guilt ..?.. like a weight.
In all it's greed, human kind has forgotten that we rely on mother earth for our survival.
We all get to that”older, mature age”, but the one thing you definitely excel at is spreading your wisdom and knowledge with those of us who want to hear it. And I thank you for that. Bear Swamp is an amazing place. I only trample around the edges trying to identify the life here, and that is enough of a mind boggle for me.
A few years ago I lost the ability to hear the high notes in one ear but not the other. It means I can still hear warblers, waxwings, etc., but without hearing in stereo I can’t figure out where the song is coming from. Very frustrating. So, like you, I’ve had to concede that my bird survey days are over.
But this is the 12th summer that I’ve led a survey for rare orchids. The habitat is easy on the legs, mostly wet meadow, and I’m hoping to keep it up into my 80s. If you’d told me in my teens and twenties that I’d be a plant person I’d have scoffed, but now I’m grateful.
I have an appointment tomorrow with an audiologist in Montpelier. I wrote in the bird list about my sadness at missing so many of the birds that have brought me joy over the years, and many people kindly responded to me about places to go, and hearing aids they liked. I've always birded more by sound than sight, and now my sight is not so great either. But losing the songs really hurt. I wish I had done this last winter before the spring migration. I still do hear lots of birds, including some of my favorites (the thrushes, the winter wren, and more), but I am missing so many warblers. I definitely hear the red-eyed vireo......over and over and over. Thanks for writing so eloquently what I have been feeling.
So sorry. 🙁 (Seventy-two and somehow still have my hearing. Each day I thank Nature for this miraculous luck of good ears.)
No need to feel sorry. Butterflies are quiet anyway. 😀 Glad you've still got the audio!
Hey fellow woods wanderer. Chris Rimmer and I spent our lunchtime at the bio-d gathering comparing hearing aides and audiologists. It was remarkable when I first put the ear buds in and instead of the one- thousand mosquitoes of tinnitus, I heard bees and wasps and high frequency birds. Life is more stimulating with them. I get your falling thing, as I seem so clumsy going through the world now. At least orchids and mosses don't run away or sing high pitched songs, at least not that we know of. Hugs
Rimmer needs to keep better track of those hearing aids! 😀 (I'll probably post something on how great they are.) But I do love plants because they're so much slower than I am. Onward to bryophytes! xoxox
Thank you Bryan for 30 years of wonderment. Though I have read heard and followed you intermittently I so appreciate your humble and hopeful outlook And the Blackburnian warbler is one of my favorites. Thank you also for teaching and inspiring other birders who will follow in your footsteps.
It really is among my favorites as well, Alexandra. Although it's sort of been a poignant marker for my abilities over the years, I probably care for Blackburnian Warbler more now than ever. Each one a flame.
Beautifully written Bryan.
Thanks, Jim. See you in the neighborhood!
Thank you for this lovely post ... time has its ways . And thank you for mentioning Bill McKibben ... I didn't realize he had become part of the Substack world and immediately subscribed.
Indeed -- "time has it ways." Thanks for that, Joyce. Glad you've subscribed to Bill's Substack! It's a community of readers and writers here, as you well know!
Ah Bryan, that is a sweet, sad post. Thank you, and although you are diminished--aren't we all--you are a great contributor to bridging us to the broad world of nature. Now if could you find Biden and read this to him LOUDLY...
Thanks, Terry. Biden? A birder? Who knew!? 😝😜🤪❤️
Bryan - When this piece was first published, I printed and saved it in a chaotic pile of important things that I have stacked on the edge of my desk/workspace. It's still there. Sometimes it gets covered up with other important things. Then, whenever I tidy my desk, I unearth it and consider it anew. You and I are about the same age. I guess that makes it poignant for me. Nice to see you sharing it again. - BB
I'm honored whenever, Brian. Yeah, so much to read -- if only I wasn't such a slow reader and a glacial writer.
Have you tried Lang Elliott’s Hear Birds Again smart phone app and head set? It replaces and is better than his Song Finders which I have used for 30 years to hear high frequency birds like Cape Mays. (I lost my high frequency hearing in college in the 60s.). I also have Oticon hearing aids that have a setting for high frequencies but it doesn’t catch the highest frequency birds, while Lang’s new device does.
Thanks, Larry. I'm liking my new Phonak hearing aids. They've been amazing. But this news about Lang Elliott's device sounds interesting. At some point, perhaps over the winter, I'll collaborate with other geezer birders to assemble and present some useful information about all this.
Yes we are getting older and I certainly am in the same place you're in, but we still have so much left to give to the environment...just in different ways. So keep putting one foot in front of the other...and a few missteps too...your essays still inspire others. Stepping aside does NOT means stopping the forward motion!!! Ever Onward...
So nice to hear from you Colleen. It's been a while. Thanks for the encouragement!
How beautiful and humble Bryan! I don’t know if this was written as a subliminal political nature essay but it feels quite timely - to recognize our decreasing faculties and admit when it’s time to step aside so others can fulfill the collective mission. And also, to know we still have beautiful gifts we can contribute 🦋
As long as I can still hear you and use all seven senses, I'll be okay, Sabrina. 🙏 And, yeah, I suppose "subliminal political" is a good way to characterize this!
💚💚💚
Dearest Bryan,
What a gift you are and what a gift this story. Thank you for such a sweet addition to this most appreciative geezer's Sunday morning...
Oh, if only I had your voice for radio and your face for TV! 😀
Not only are you smart and a passionate, skilled teacher, you're also quite funny.
I want to come take your butterfly course.
We would have a blast together in that butterfly course! (I suspect we’d also geek out on camera gear.)
How does one get in line?
You’re always at the front of the line. Lemme know when you’ll be in VT.
Yes, this happens if we are fortunate enough to live lone enough. I just returned from a woods walk with a friend and stopped my car for measured minutes every 200 feet. The habitat changed along the way. Yards, fields, forest edge, orchard, and woods again. I caught the Blackburnian in three of the stops that had hemlocks nearby. I used Merlin had was focused on the sonogram of its song and marveled at my loss of the high note due to my age. So you continue to put into words such similar experiences. Thank you for creating this avenue for us to share.
We are indeed fortunate. Thanks, Sue. Gratitude every day. And, you know ... I kinda like the extra quiet as well!
Thank you!!! It is soul crushing .. not the ageing.. the destruction of nature!!
... noone gets out alive and noone dies of good health.
The velveteen rabbit comes to mind. 🐰
I feel sorry for our children... we have failed them... that is what's really getting to me these days. The more I see and talk about this, I get the notion that most of us carry this understanding, a shared concsience.. fear.. guilt ..?.. like a weight.
In all it's greed, human kind has forgotten that we rely on mother earth for our survival.
The hight of ignorance and God- lessness.
Scary.
Thank you for writing!!
We all get to that”older, mature age”, but the one thing you definitely excel at is spreading your wisdom and knowledge with those of us who want to hear it. And I thank you for that. Bear Swamp is an amazing place. I only trample around the edges trying to identify the life here, and that is enough of a mind boggle for me.
This is so kind of you. Thanks, Rita!
A few years ago I lost the ability to hear the high notes in one ear but not the other. It means I can still hear warblers, waxwings, etc., but without hearing in stereo I can’t figure out where the song is coming from. Very frustrating. So, like you, I’ve had to concede that my bird survey days are over.
But this is the 12th summer that I’ve led a survey for rare orchids. The habitat is easy on the legs, mostly wet meadow, and I’m hoping to keep it up into my 80s. If you’d told me in my teens and twenties that I’d be a plant person I’d have scoffed, but now I’m grateful.
I have an appointment tomorrow with an audiologist in Montpelier. I wrote in the bird list about my sadness at missing so many of the birds that have brought me joy over the years, and many people kindly responded to me about places to go, and hearing aids they liked. I've always birded more by sound than sight, and now my sight is not so great either. But losing the songs really hurt. I wish I had done this last winter before the spring migration. I still do hear lots of birds, including some of my favorites (the thrushes, the winter wren, and more), but I am missing so many warblers. I definitely hear the red-eyed vireo......over and over and over. Thanks for writing so eloquently what I have been feeling.
We'll have to compare notes (literal and figurative)!