nenes and silence

Raph and I took a hike today (sorry we forgot the camera) in a part of the national park we'd never been to, down Hilina Pali Road. It was foggy and drizzling, and the Ohia trees were sparse among the native grasses and shrubs. We walked for not too long about an hour, over crumbling lava, grassy fields and gnarled trees. It was lovely. I commented to Raph that the silence was so nice. And I'm not sure what about this place seemed silent. I guess that is a funny thing to say, but I feel like we are often by ourselves and often in the woods or by the water, but it just doesn't seem as silent as it was today. I even felt like our presence was quiet. A wierd feeling sort of. Anyway it was lovely. We saw two nene geese, which are endangered, though we used to see lots of them on Maui. They only live in Hawaii so it isn't too suprising that they're endangered. The feathers on their necks had been clumped, as though by running water, like sand. They made low mooing cow sounds at us as they plucked grasses to eat. It was really pleasant.