Sounds (from spring)

{I wrote this in the spring and never posted it. I’m feeling like reviving an old draft while I mull over a brand new post. What! Yes, I plan to actually post something on this ol’ blog of mine.}

I realize we live in a world that is abuzz with sounds, mostly sounds from techy gadgets, traffic, and all manner of cluttering noise. But, besides total silence, have you thought about the sounds that really mean something to you? You know, the sounds that reach into your soul or perhaps cause you to pause, or bring to the fore some long forgotten memory.

Lately, because of all the returning and migrating spring birds, in particular, meaningful [to me] sounds have been on my mind. Every morning I step outside on my deck and listen to songbirds both familiar and not familiar. There is one songbird that I have yet to spot in an effort to identify who it is but that darling has the most melodious and cheery song. Besides the birds, here are a few more of my favourite sounds:

• I love the sound of moving water, whether it’s rain, bubbling creeks, any of the many moods or moments of tides, or the quiet lapping of water against a boat or lakeshore.
• Children’s laughter.
• Music, but not all music. I still love the instrumental, Green Onions by Booker T & the MGs.
• Instruments, especially piano, acoustic guitar, cello, pan flute.
• The timbre of certain voices.
• The memory of my mother’s laughter.
• The peal of church bells. Oh how I love that sound.
• Spring peepers late at night.
• Roosters crowing.
• Old train whistle.
• Crackle of a bonfire or flaming fireplace.
• The clip-clop of a horse or horses.
• The welcoming nicker of a horse or pony.
• Aspen leaves fluttering in the wind.
• Wind chimes especially the bamboo tubes or the large metal tubes.
• The sound you hear when you’ve hiked a mountain trail and reached the summit. Stand back and listen.
• My son calling me, “Ma” and my grandchildren calling me “Grandma D”.

They are all fleeting sounds. Sounds that don’t last or go on forever. They are sounds that leave a person wanting more. Perhaps that is part of the appeal; perhaps not.

The first quote below is one I used for quite some time as the signature in my email:

“The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach” ~Henry Beston.