Urban Living - the Sounds of Nature

There's a little bit of sensory deprivation between the brain and nature when you live in an urban environment. If you have a window that looks out into another bulding, or a wall, or like me you are trapped under plastic tarps and scaffolding (some kind of window renovation here at Belle Arts Apartments), then you need a bit of artificial nature to soothe the soul.

That's my excuse for spending extra money, anyway.

Start with the sounds of nature. You can buy consumer items to re-create nature's little moods and play them after work or all night long.

I went to the Bed, Bath and Beyond at Crossroads Mall. Bought a Homeomedics Nature Alarm Clock - $29.99. It plays the radio, sure, but also gives me choices of Thunder, Summer Night, Rainforest, Rain and Ocean. There's also a button for Waterfall, but everyone who has heard it agrees it's really just White Noise. Which is fine if you like that. I enjoy all the other choices tremendously. Summer Night reminds me of my childhood in Upstate New York.

We also have a nice big, slim profile fan that oscillates. There's a setting for breeze, which is odd, since the sounds that emits is really more like Wind Storm Blowing Outside in the Fields. I like it anyway - there's a cozy feeling to it, plus you get the sensation of an actual breeze (it IS a fan, after all).

Couple the Breeze sound with the clock's rain and you have a the opportunity for a real cozy evening. I would even go so far as to buy a Negative Ion Machine to create that clean, rainstorm feeling. Then turn off the Breeze and the rain and play Summer Night with it' cricket noises and drift to sleep. Ahhhh.