Friday, June 01, 2007

Listen

I close my eyes, and this is what i hear;

  • Waves lapping gently.
  • A ski boat driving by, the people on it whooping and laughing.
  • Em singing from the other side of the house, oblivious to any listener.
  • The radio in the kitchen, murmuring NPR.
  • The lamp next to me ticking gently as it heats up.
  • A plover shrieking from the water's edge.
  • The neighbors mowing their huge lawn with the riding mower. Crunch! Oh, they just hit a rock or something.
  • From the highway, far away, a siren is wailing. Someone is having a bad day.
  • Cat toenails on the wood floor.
  • The keyboard clicking as i type. (I opened my eyes for that.)
  • A small mew, and then a ka-thump up onto the bed.
  • The desk computer whirring as it thinks its solitary thoughts.
  • Swallows chittering as they fly up under the dock.
  • Purring.
It's the end of the day. The beginning of the weekend.

Tell me, what do you hear?

33 comments:

thailandchani said...

The TV. Nightly news. :) Great post... great idea!


Peace,


~Chani

Sonia Wetzel Photography said...

*The clicking of my computer keyboard.
*The wind softly rustling the trees in my yard through the open windows.
*Neighbor kids squeeling in delight.
*The sqeaky wheel sound a Bald Eagle makes.
*The rustle of tissues as I pull them out of the box.
*My own heartbeat swishing in my ears.

Special K ~Toni said...

TV in background.
Washer on spin cycle.
A/C kicking on.

Better open my eyes- might go to sleep!

Great idea!

Sienna said...

Lunchtime here in Oz:
-Laura Nyro and Stoned Soul Picnic playing.
-Front end loader purring in distance, darling is feeding out hay to two mares we shifted down a little while ago.
-Jess on the motorbike...(distant sound), checking the ewes and new lambs born overnight...(they are in paddock just behind house)..

...and the sun is out, full beam.. the sun don't talk you say :), ah, but it is, it says: come out, come out...stoke up the barbie and cook those chops and snags and spuds, then polish off that chocolate cake you made yesterday...food talks to me too :))
Patty Griffin just took over, Mother of God...what a beautiful day!!!!

Pam

Liv said...

*A cricket chirping
*Billybob meowing
*The whirring of the air conditioner
*The rustle of huge, crunchy magnolia leaves
*The tapping of my typing.

Lynn said...

I hear Twelve whining..."Mom can we leave now??? I want to go to the pool?" (Mind you it is 9pm and cold outside, but she wants to go to the pool now!) Bye

meno said...

chani, thanks, it just came to me.

DDM, ooh, a bald eagle. I know and love that noise. The tissues i know too, but i don't love that.

toni, house noises. I find house noises comforting. It's not so hot here, so i can hear the outside too.

pam, very nice. I am going to see Patty in a few weeks in a small outdoor venue. That woman can sing.

liv, we have no crickets here, i miss that noise. No cicadas either.

lynn, funny how a person can't hear anything over whining.

the moose buyer said...

I hear my happy heart saying Thank God it's friday!!!

QT said...

Oooh, I like this!

*Rain dripping off the eaves

*Two bullfrogs croaking back and forth

*Geese murmuring to each other

*Dogs sighing as they circle on their bed and try to get comfy

* My keyboard keys clicking

Anonymous said...

Meno, this morning I can hear--

The cardinals calling to each other in the branches, and the constant rustle-chirp-squawk of the house wrens fighting for a perch on the feeders outside my office window.

I can hear the quiet hum of the little air purifier beside my desk, and the even quieter whoosh of the ceiling fan, turning slowly over my head.

I hear the keys clicking, naturally, as this is the only connection I have to my friends here.

I can hear the squeak of my old leather chair as I shift my weight, complaining softly, metal on metal.

And I can hear Penny's shrill Papillon barks from outside, reminding me that I've left her out past her desired time.

Anonymous said...

~The refrigerator humming.

~my family in the other room, watching "kid t.v." on Saturday morning.

~the gentle "plops" of water dripping from the roof and from leaves in the trees outside my window.

~a bird cheeping from one of those trees.

~Punkin' Pie picking "happy birthday" out on her flute during a commercial.

What I'm struck with is less of what I hear than what I smell. It's one of those warm, muggy, sometimes you get an impression of sun through the clouds kind of mornings, and the air is heavy with the smell of green and rain.

Thanks for this. I enjoyed it.

Joan said...

Sitting here in the den, I hear...

*My refrigerator humming
*My computer humming
*My fluorescent light humming
*My husband humming while he reads the newspaper and drinks his coffee.

Ahhhh...the sounds of morning in my house.

meno said...

moose, my heart says that too!

qt, you live in a lovely place. I love frog noises.

irrelephant, beautiful. You better go get the dog. :)

mrs. chili, that was very nice. Smells are also very evocative. I love the smell of that warm green morning.

joan, that sounds great. Humming is a wonderful way to start the day.

Em said...

Anytime you can hear waves, you are in heaven!

I hear the TV, two of my kids talking, the refrigerator, and the neighbors playing their radio on their deck.

Anonymous said...

I hear the phone ringing. But it's probably telemarketers, so I am going to screen the call, LOL.

But seriously, fun post. We should all close our eyes and just listen from time to time.

peevish said...

~Mr. man outside the window, pushing his human-powered reel mower.

~My two girls in the living room down the hall, building a world with blocks which is inhabited by playmobile people and animals who travel around on clouds made of cotton balls.

~The steady whirr of the computer's brain.

~Cicadas.

Bob said...

birds arguing with each other

the TV

a cat falling out of the window. (they like to lay down on the top of the open sash - 1.5 inches wide - and occasionally nod off and fall.)

Laura laughing at the cat trying to catch itself on the way down.

dogs barking far away

the occasional car driving by.

Mother of Invention said...

Nothing as beautiful and varied as that! I envy your hearing the boat and waves lapping up...which must mean you live on a lake which is a dream of mine! I hear the low hum of the air con and the very slow clacking of the keys as I type this and nothing else.
It's 33 C in the shade and I'm now going out to help my husband plant pots so I'll be hearing him complain that I'm doing it all wrong! HA!

Girlplustwo said...

how lovely to live on the water.

ok.

birds chirping.
baseball playing on tv in the other room.
j and m laughing together, m working hard to explain something about winnie the pooh
the computer whirring
the sound of my coughing.

luckyzmom said...

1. I was just hearing the keyboard and the air conditioning.
2. The rustling of my husband getting out of bed.
3. The toilet flushing.
4. My husband walking down the hall.
5. "Hi,Sweetie" I hear him say as I hear him walk to the coffeepot.
6."Hi,Baby" I hear myself say.
7. I hear the creek of the recliner as my husband settles in and then the pop of the footrest releasing.
8. I hear the TV come on to one of the "his" choices.
9. I hear the clang of porcelain on porcelain as I lift my coffee mug off it's saucer and bring it to my lips. I try not to hear the slurp as I drink it.
10. I hear the clank of returning my coffee mug to the saucer.
11. I hear myself scratching my head near my right ear just to have something to report!
12.I hear myself thinking that I shouldn't be taking up so much space in meno's comments.
13. I hear myself thinking that I should be posting this, except I wouldn't know how to do that without first copying it down be hand and then retyping it to post.

Anonymous said...

I hear the hummm of the air-conditioner, the ticky-tock of the clock beside me, the tapping of my fingers on the keyboard as I write this, my stomach grumbling about late lunch or no-lunch, my sigh, and the windchimes on the porch -- which I usually never hear. I also hear my inner-voice telling me to GET WITH IT GIRL because I'm sitting here in my studio, not painting and I have a deadline!! I think that's the sound of "guilt", yes? Cece

meno said...

em, i am very very lucky to live in heaven. I hope the neighbors have good taste in music.

ortizzle, we have caller ID and i love it, i no longer speak to telemarketers, ever.

lisa, i am smiling over your two girls, building a world. I miss hearing cicadas too.

bob, cats are a source of much amusement around here too. I like it when they fall and then look at me as if to say, "i MEANT to do that."

moi, damn it is hot there. It's only 28 C here, warm, but not too much. It is a lake, a beautiful lake. Although i can't think of any ugly lakes.

jen, only a child can properly explain Winnie the Pooh to us. I hope your coughing ceases soon.

luckyzmom, you could just cut and paste it using a right mouse click, if you are on a PC. Sounds like a relaxing morning.

cece, yes, that would be guilt talking. I try not to listen to that voice, but sometimes it sneaks through.

Anonymous said...

• Rain falling softly on the deck.
• The gentle whir of the ceiling fan.
* Patches snoring gently in his cat bad.
* The hum of the computer hard drive spinning.
• Louis Armstrong.
* The rustling of tin foil coming from the kitchen
• A more peaceful tomorrow

TTQ said...

voices in my head

Dick said...

I live in a nice quiet place, especially after the gates close at night. But one of our cats likes to come into the bedroom about the time it gets light meowing to wake us up. She thinks that since it is getting light out we ought to be getting up to feed her. We need a cat clock!

Anonymous said...

It's almost the end of the weekend. I hear:

the sprinkler on the lawn.
the whirr of the refrigerator
lorenzo: "dum ditty dum ditty dum. Mummy up, mummy up. I can't get up. Up ditty up ditty up."
my sweat. there's something wrong with the a/c.

Anonymous said...

The hum of a damaged eardrum.

urban-urchin said...

Great idea.

Back door opening
Small whirling dervish two year old demanding 'zeus!' (juice)
Birds chirping in the backyard
The distant rat-tat-rat-tat of the train
NPR
Husband and two year old talking about a boo boo, and not hitting the dog
keyboard clicking
seven year old telling me she won't wear a dress for church and slamming door
my own heavy sighs in response.

Bobealia... said...

It is now the end of the weekend and I hear:
Birds chirping outside.
My husband's loud voice on his cell talking medical school to a student in an earlier year who wants to know how things will work in his next year.
My fingers tapping on the keyboard. ( I can close my eyes to do that.)
Wind in the trees.
NPR in the kitchen.
A far off airplane getting closer.
A whir from somewhere close by. Maybe my computer?
A dog barking - the barking echos.

Lucia said...

Great post! And comments too...

Birds
Traffic passing by
Dog barking (mine, unfortunately)
Tip tap of 'puter keys

meno said...

ms. chica, i hope for your sake that the last one was correct.

ttq, as long as they aren't telling you to kill the people next door, it should be okay.

dick, you need to teach the cat how to tell time. How is Huggy doing in the new home?

de, you can hear you sweat? You have good ears. That's cute from your boy.

d-man, too much electric guitar in your youth?

u-u, the noises of being a parent. How sweet and how frustrating.

bo, it's surprising what you can hear if you listen, huh? Nice list.

lucia, what is the dog saying i wonder.

egan said...

I hear dead people and see planes. Okay not really, but the planes are out of control. I wanted to do a post like this once, yet yours puts mine to shame.

Tink said...

*The voices through the air duct
*Chairs scraping across the floor
*A cough
*The printer
*A bug tapping on my window
*The *click*click*click* of the keys
*The whistle in my nose