On a recent weekday morning, I used an audio recorder to capture the sound of a woodpecker in my backyard. Listening to the recording, I heard the bird steadfastly boring into a nearby pine tree, but I also picked up a multitude of other sounds — a Metra train heading into Chicago, a jet flying to or from O’Hare, cars making their way up and down Highway 43, a barking dog, chirping birds, a creature of some kind scampering across my deck. It quickly became evident to me why my wife and I typically wake up at 5:30 each morning. The combination of nature and mass transit does not make for good slumber. It does, however, make for an aurally rich way to start the day.