I think about night sounds often.  Many years ago I lived in the South and the one thing I miss are the soothing sounds of cicadas, crickets, and other night insects filling the summer evening. 

Where I currently live, the nights are much quieter.  No insects and the sounds are more subtle.  On a winter’s night, the landscape is stark and white - it is so quiet and peaceful,  The river moves slowly through the ice and only an occasional owl will break the silence. 

But, this time of year the river is flowing fast and a there is a steady din of rushing water.  Just before dark, we hear the sound of our many visiting hummingbirds flying from feeder to feeder and the Rufous Hummingbirds chatter as they guard the feeder, trying to claim it as their own.  Frogs sing in chorus along the river’s edge and as night falls, owls and other night birds occasionally make themselves known from above.  We also hear the sound of our seed bird-feeders swinging back and forth as flying squirrels are busy leaping back and forth from the nearest tree. If you sit outside long enough, you’ll hear larger animals walking through the woods and once in awhile you’ll even hear them call to each other, send out a warning call, or maybe even hear the sounds of a confrontation.  The night is amazing.   

My home is in a small tract on the top of the hills that ring the Conejo Valley (that’s rabbit in Spanish). We’re at the northern end of the valley that sits halfway between downtown LA and Santa Barbara and although it isn’t a sleepy small town anymore, it IS quiet at night. In addition to the birdsongs, the coyotes serenade us as well.

the sounds of trains, planes and automobiles. but i was raised near all of them so i just sort of tune them out. my grandson will say TOOT TOOT when he hears the train and WHOO WHOO when he hears a siren. we are in a little cul de sac in one of the corners of where two hwy’s cross in reno, nv. we are a quiet little community with mostly families with kids and elderlies living here (HUD project).

the subdivision behind us is a little louder, we have neighbors that sometimes like to blast their stereos out their car in front of their house. but usually they shut up if we say something. otherwise, it’s pretty quiet here. 

well i can say im not like yall.

4  1 i live in a black neighborhood

so all i here is people yelling

and starting fights.

and lastly music

cause well ovisually

Every nite around 3, I wake to a loud splash. I’m sleeping in a liminal world, next to water busily inhabited by water-fowl. It’s Spring and new baby ducks are shifting late-nite feeding routines on the water, as mama geese and ganders crash and dive for midnite supplies. They make the most of the dark hours, when the Heron aren’t around. Last year I spent too much time half-awake on the Web, now I’m sleeping with ducks. 

I’m surrounded on two side by trains, one a belt line so when I can’t sleep I usually wake to hear a train idling waiting for the track to clear…

As I’ve mentioned before green parrots nest in a neighbors yard and they’re very noisy birds! Mostly I just notice the doves cooing… ocassionally there will be a racoon rading the garbage making a racket or a cat fight but other than my barking dog there is generally peaceful

Peep frog’s.