Listening.....

The melodious song of the magpies.  The squawking of the rainbow lorikeets in the grevilleas.  The short trills of the fairy wrens as they move in their group darting amongst the roses and cordylines looking for small insects. The quiet chugging of a tractor in the distance.  The sound of cows tearing up clumps of grass in the paddock next door.

I love the quiet of the country that lets you hear the small background sounds.  And then there can be the sudden outburst from a couple of kookaburras, competing to see which can be the loudest!

I love it when it is warm enough to have the door open to the courtyard.  Then I can hear the noises from outside – the calls of the different birds, the sound of the cows waiting at the dairy on the other side of the valley, the rustle of the leaves and the grasses, the tinkle of the water when the fountain is on.  I don’t have the fountain going very much when it is just me at home – because one of the sounds I like best is the splashing that the birds make as they bathe in the water of the main tier of the fountain – and they tend not to do that when the fountain is actually running.  The male Satin Bower Bird visits for a bath most early mornings and late afternoons.... and the young magpies at any time of the day.

I think a lot of my enjoyment in getting up early is actually because it is so quiet......  just the sound of the kettle coming to the boil... the ticking of the clock over the bookcase, and the rustle of the pages as I read my Bible. 

I remember as a child the pin-dropping quietness in winter which alerted you to the sound-absorbing quality of a thick layer of overnight snow—long before you opened your eyes and saw the glaring whiteness of the window..... although if you had slept in a bit, there would be the tell-tale scrape of spade and thump of broom as the early-risers cleared the path to the front door.

I listen for the wind rustling the cedars outside the front door – I can’t hear them from the family room but you can guess it’s happening when the leaves dance in little circles on the paving outside the window.  Those big trees can be very noisy when there’s a southerly change coming through, and the strength of the wind can come as a bit of a shock when you step outside the front door.

I listen for the sound of the school bus picking up the children who live over the road... and shortly afterwards the crunch on the gravel as the postman’s truck pulls in to the driveway to put letters in our mailbox.

Sometimes the sound of the drying cycle of the dishwasher comes as a surprise – if everything is stacked correctly there is so little noise when it is in the washing part of the cycle.....

I don’t listen to the radio very much at all... I have to confess I often get so cranky at comments made by people  when the ‘lines are thrown open’ that I’ve stopped listening even to sensible programs!

I listen for the sound of the timer when I am cooking... particularly when I am baking: I don’t seem to be able to just commit the time to memory and keep track of the minutes!  And I hear the sound of the timer that Vern uses to make sure he doesn’t sleep too long when he has a short nap after lunch.

I sometimes listen to music, from my iPod.... earlier this year I played a lot of BeeGees for a couple of weeks, which coincided with the death of Robin Gibb.  I still enjoy Celine Dionne and Eric Clapton unplugged..... and music from the Three Tenors.

I listen for the sound of the car door outside, and the key turning in the lock as Vern comes home after work.

I rarely use the fan of the range-hood – I hate the amount of noise that it makes.. although when we need to use it I am grateful that is it so efficient!

Now that Mollie is almost blind and pretty deaf she is a lot more tentative about coming in through the dog door... and often will wait outside and give a short sharp bark to let us know she is there... then we give a couple of loud claps preferably near the laundry, and she comes in... and usually expects a Schmacko treat as a reward!  She usually seems to notice when someone comes to the front door, and will bark before the front door bell rings... but not if she is in a very deep sleep.