Terry and I were tent camping in Copper Falls State Park near tiny Mellen Wisconsin. We woke up in the tent at 3 a.m. one morning and spent some time listening to the night sounds. First we heard the high pitched yips of a pack of coyotes and then...coming from far away we heard the honk, honk, honk of many geese. There had to be at least 50 of them. They came closer and closer until it sounded like they were directly above our tent. So loud! If we had been asleep, they would have woken us. They flew past still honking in the distance and then finally silence. Next we heard the faint far off sound of a barred owl hooting once, twice and then one last time. Silence, not a sound, not even the wind. Terry and I started to drift back to sleep. And then faintly in the distance we heard honk, honk, honk from a single goose. We listened intently as the goose got closer and closer. It seem to be saying "Where did everyone go?" All we heard was just that one goose in all of that silence. Honk. Honk. Honk. That one goose continued to honk, "I'm lost. Will someone answer me?" We listened as that one lone honk faded in the distance--never once did we hear an answer.
House In The Wood
Delavan Wisconsin
Valerie Wright Copyright 2016
