Sounds of the Season

It's an incredibly warm day today, somewhere around 73 degrees. Yesterday was almost as warm (but much dryer, it's a little muggy today), and last night I slept with the windows open for the first time this year. During the winter and during A/C season, I rarely hear any sounds outside my house, so I find them somewhat fascinating when I do hear them.

Late at night, the dull roar of the highway is very audible--depending on atmospheric conditions, it can be extremely loud. The train whistle is also fairly loud; on a quiet night, I can hear it even with the storm windows in place.

The first thing I heard this morning, around 5am, was the cat. He had been out partying all night and was ready for breakfast and a long day's sleep in his favorite chair, so he had climbed up to the second-floor bedroom window and was talking to me through the screen.

Soon after the cat came inside, the birds all launched into their morning chorus. This is one of the first things I discovered after moving into my house almost two years ago: during the early morning hours, there is no sound except the bird song.

Once the sun is fully up, the birds quiet down. On a typical warm Saturday like today, the neighborhood is almost silent for several hours in the morning. Around 10:30 am, people start venturing out onto their porches to enjoy the warm weather and chat with friends and family (and to keep an eye on the kids at play). The street traffic starts to increase at about this same time, with the occasional stereo blasting music through open car windows mixing with the roar of motor bikes.

A little after 1pm today, the neighborhood kids who had been fishing in Fulton Park with PAL came back, sharing their excitement and enthusiasm for their morning adventure.

Later in the afternoon, someone with a great love for Slim Shady shared the album with the neighborhood, but around 3pm was drowned out by the music from the ice cream truck, which set up shop for about half an hour.

Now there's the distant buzzing of a power tool (such a summer sound!) and church bells mixing in with the sounds of cars and the buzzing of a bee outside my window.

There's always a little bit of mystery with warm weather sounds. The bells are still ringing, louder now, playing a tune I don't recognize. I have no idea which church it is. Oh well.