Like Mrs. Potts but less musical

Sound on!

The clue for ecotone #04 is:

That encouraging sound you hear just before wrapping your hands around a cup of something steamy.

Photo credit: Taunya English

ECOTONE is a guessing game. I share an audio clip, plus a clue. You name the nature sound.

The answer is:

Camp kettle whistle

Photo credit – ArthurHidden on Freepik

The clue for ecotone #04 was:

That encouraging sound you hear just before wrapping your hands around a cup of something steamy.

Did you guess correctly?

It starts with the metallic blub blub of water molecules knocking against one another and the side of the kettle.

Next, bubbles begin to boil and break free.

Soon, you’re rewarded with a high-pitched hiss as the steam escapes.

Overall, I’m a big believer that we are nature and we can find nature anywhere from the city to backcountry. But occasionally I want to go somewhere remote, without concrete, with fewer humans and less human-made noise.

Getting to those spaces takes planning and organization. Once there, a kettle whistle is an affirmation — an ‘Amen’ — marking a series of small wins:

· Unhooking myself from my work emails

· Loading up my car

· Navigating somewhere new (late maybe, but not lost)

· Lugging supplies to the campsite

· Setting up the tent

· Building a fire

The screech of the camp kettle is not strictly a nature sound. But it is the campground equivalent of … “Gentleman, start your engines!”… it signals the beginning of a quiet, smoky weekend in the woods.

Once the kettle whistle hushes, my whole body begins to echolocate tuning in to the sounds around me.

I showed up.

Now, nature can show out.

Thanks for playing ecotone. What nature sound should I collect next?