Soughing of the Pines

On a day when the air was full of pollen falling from the white pines all around our property, I ventured into the woods when the wind came up and the tall trees were swaying to hear the sounds of the forest. The deciduous trees have joined the conifer in full foliage, and the wind rustles the broad leaves and the narrow needles equally, but I sought out a grove of pines for a special experience.

Gazing up at the high limbs of one of the ancient white pines, I heard a unique sound - soughing (suff-ing) - the duet played by the wind and the pines. Neither can produce the sound alone, and it is beyond sound, a sensation really, for one must be in the pines to experience it by sound and sight. Then you find that it is all around you, and you are part of the movement, the rhythmic gusts, the swaying treetops, the waves of sound. Stay long enough and your breathing begins to follow the tempo of wind-whipped boughs. The soughing has enveloped you.

I have had this experience on hundreds of occasions, and am yet drawn back to it time and time again to witness the intimacy between the simple movement of air and the supple resistance of the pines.