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Post by casimira on May 24, 2020 0:48:47 GMT
And....THUNDER!!!!!!!!
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Post by bixaorellana on May 24, 2020 1:39:13 GMT
The thunder and rain have passed. It's quarter of nine, so dark out. The only sound is that of the peepers calling to each other all around. That & the fan I had to turn on to deter the non-biting, but insanely irritating flying bugs.
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Post by onlyMark on May 24, 2020 9:10:55 GMT
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Post by Kimby on May 24, 2020 16:13:48 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 24, 2020 16:41:19 GMT
Yes, I have been following the news about the 17-year locust plague. And there is already another one in progress in East Africa.
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Post by onlyMark on May 24, 2020 16:54:24 GMT
Regarding cicadas, you know how you hear them and then all of a sudden they all stop? I'd be obliged to know how they all know to stop at the same time and how fast, in km/h or mph, the message goes between them.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on May 26, 2020 19:47:28 GMT
Living where we do, with an industrial estate nearby and loads of busy roads, schools and sprawling housing estates it's generally quite noisy here. One pleasant side effect of the lockdown is the relative quiet. I drink my morning coffee listening to bird song an the buzzing of bumblebees, the occasional bus or lorry rattling by. The traffic is building up a bit but nothing like it is on a 'normal' weekday. There are often long periods of quiet...it's lovely.
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Post by Kimby on May 26, 2020 19:52:54 GMT
Quiet is our norm on a dead end street in the woods 4 miles away from town. But with spring runoff in full swing, what I’m hearing today is the gushing of water in the little brook behind our house. And the calls of birds who mostly won’t let me see them as they skulk in the rampant green growth of the cottonwoods along the creek.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 26, 2020 22:07:36 GMT
Sounds like paradise, Kimby.
It's completely quiet here right now (5:06 pm), with only the occasional subtle sound of the little wind chime on the porch.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2020 2:06:25 GMT
Fireworks!!! What the living hey?!
Over five minutes of continuous big fireworks just ended -- this after months of quiet. Usually July is one of the loudest months, as it's the month of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and also of the Guelaguetza. One of the Mount Carmel churches is quite close to where I live and my street is not only on its procession route, but the processions always stop right in front of my house to set off the rockets. Also, the Guelaguetza auditorium is on the hill above my house, so I can see and hear the finale fireworks. I couldn't see tonight's boomers until I went upstairs. It looked as though they were coming from west of the zócalo, so maybe from the church of La Soledad.
Of all the things I miss during this period of quarantine, I can now say I don't miss the sound of fireworks.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 15, 2020 14:32:18 GMT
You must have some French expats in the neighbourhood.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2020 16:42:51 GMT
A French wedding maybe?
Wnat's funny about it being on Bastille Day is that the last time there were fireworks (though not as dramatically) was on July 4th.
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Post by htmb on Aug 6, 2020 14:47:20 GMT
I’ve just returned from Paynes Prairie Preserve where I heard a large bull alligator bellowing. It sounded like a deep-throated, loud growl, three times in succession, and repeated about five or six times. Unfortunately, I was never able to get a good look at him. He was hidden under water hyacinths, across an inlet, at the edge of where water drains back into the aquifer, but it was an impressive sound. Fortunately for me, my viewpoint was from up on a boardwalk, not at water level.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 6, 2020 14:53:07 GMT
He must be really horny.
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Post by breeze on Aug 6, 2020 15:04:49 GMT
htmb, by the time I got to the end of your first sentence I was nervous on your behalf, even knowing you were writing in the past tense. "Up on a boardwalk" still doesn't sound as good to me as "totally out of reach of a leaping alligator." I have always enjoyed your visits to Paynes Prairie in spite of this.
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Post by htmb on Aug 6, 2020 17:34:02 GMT
htmb, by the time I got to the end of your first sentence I was nervous on your behalf, even knowing you were writing in the past tense. "Up on a boardwalk" still doesn't sound as good to me as "totally out of reach of a leaping alligator." I have always enjoyed your visits to Paynes Prairie in spite of this. Thanks for the concern, breeze, but I don’t knowingly take any risks. Certainly not when it comes to alligators. They do lurk and wait for prey. I saw signs of hidden alligators in at least other two places this morning, but it would be almost impossible for one to access the boardwalk area with the exception of the exit onto the prairie.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 6, 2020 17:55:13 GMT
We have all seen scenes from horror movies where the beast below suddenly chomps out a big section of boardwalk or whatever.
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Post by htmb on Aug 6, 2020 18:35:38 GMT
Yep, and that’s why I said "almost impossible."
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Post by tod2 on Aug 9, 2020 16:35:30 GMT
Noisy Egyptian geese - the one keeps flying over to a tree on our property and it's mate keeps quacking/honking loudly for it to join it in a tree across the road on the farm. Then the one takes off and flies to the tree while the other one flies to our yard - crossing almost in mid air. Stupid geese!
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Post by casimira on Oct 1, 2020 13:38:50 GMT
Two ruby throated hummingbirds, both male, battling it out over one feeder. Hysterical! Especially because there's another feeder about 20 feet away with no action. I guess the term "bird brain" may be applicable in this particular situation. It's migratory season and we always have a slew of them so we keep 2 or 3 feeders going. Those, and abundant blooms from salvias to the tiny red morning glory vines on the fences.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 1, 2020 15:11:28 GMT
Yesterday we had a sonic boom in Paris which scared the shit out of a lot of people since it sounds just like a bomb going off. All of the players at the French Open even stopped for a moment, unsure of what to do. I heard it, but it sounded quite far away (it was) so it didn't disturb me. Within 15 minutes there was a bulletin on the news channels saying that there was no explosion and that it was just a sonic boom. After about an hour, the details came through. A small plane flying near Paris lost radio contact, so a supersonic fighter was scrambled from around Reims to go and get it. These planes have to be in the air a maximum of 7 minutes after an alert, and this one took off in 5 minutes. Since it came from so far away (there are no supersonic fighters stationed near Paris), it had to go as fast as possible, hence the boom. It found the little plane, re-established contact, and escorted it to its destination in Brittany. (I wonder how much these planes can slow down. As slow as a little private plane without falling out of the sky?) It's probably best not to think how much this little operation cost the taxpayers, but it is good to know that the system works. Not quite as exciting as a hummingbird fight!
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Post by tod2 on Oct 1, 2020 16:25:43 GMT
Oh how I would like to see a Hummingbird argee-bargee!! Oh how I would love to see more Hummingbirds period. We had quite a number in July when the aloes are blooming. It was a joy to watch.
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Post by casimira on Oct 12, 2020 16:18:20 GMT
The "hummers" are still here and are a joy to watch and listen to.
In the meantime, not so lovely, major street construction in my immediate neighborhood that is a f'n nightmare. Jackhammers and bulldozers, dumptrucks full of sand that blows all over the place (especially during the Hurricane Delta Friday night high gusts of wind that had sand and grit covering everything). Noisy and loud rumblings that start at 7:30 a.m. and goes on all day. I hope that whatever they are doing is going to be effective and a positive measure especially with regard to drainage. NOLA infrastructure projects have a reputation for being "hit or miss".
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Post by Kimby on Oct 12, 2020 21:46:48 GMT
It hasn’t started yet, but just when we got to the point where all the lots near us had been built on, and silence returned, our new neighbors who bought the gmhouse next to our lake cottage will be doing a MAJOR renovation. New siding roofing and windows, inside gutted to the studs, bathrooms and kitchens redone AND an addition added to the lake side, which requires a variance because it may extend into the no-build setback of the subdivision.
It will be at least a year before we have peace and quiet again, though many of those months we’ll be indoors with windows closed anyway.
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Post by casimira on Oct 13, 2020 16:24:18 GMT
As annoying and noisy nearby home renovations are, and, I gnash my teeth when I see one about to happen, they are borne out of necessity. We anticipate having major renovations done on our home perhaps beginning at the start of the new year if all goes well financially. I know this is going to be an annoyance for my neighbors, especially those adjacent to us. The houses here are very close to one another. Gratefully, we are on excellent terms with these good people. My plan is to draft a letter to those who will be impacted by this and explain to them the situation and the necessity of it all. Of course, I will apologize in advance for any inconvenience etc. it will cause. That being said, I lived through theirs and many other renovations at different intervals over the 35 years we have lived here. Also, whomever we choose to do the work will be instructed to follow specific guidelines that will not inconvenience said neighbors (within reason) and to show respect for them. Many contractors do not do this, I have experienced many an inconvenience that could have been avoided but the workers didn't give a hoot.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 14, 2020 12:24:16 GMT
The same sound as always in my study……The UPS box quietly humming as the fans turns inside.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 15, 2020 15:04:33 GMT
The amazingly strong, almost operatic voices of the guys who deliver the water bottles. They are skinny but powerful.
Aguaaaaa! El Aaaaagua! Agua!
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Post by casimira on Nov 8, 2020 2:12:34 GMT
Fireworks and the strains of my neighbor playing his piano in celebration !!!! Normally, the fireworks sound would drive me mad but, tonight and now that my beloved hound has gone deaf and isn't bothered by them anymore I don't care.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 10, 2020 13:51:21 GMT
I have been hearing non-stop police whistles all day because this is the very first day that my street officially became one way (but with bi-directional bus and bicycle lanes). At my intersection, drivers of private vehicles are given the choice of turning right or turning left, and they seem to want to do neither after having continued straight ahead for their entire life. Motorcycles seem to be causing the most problems because, as usual, they seem to think that most of the rules of the road do not apply to them. I go to observe from my window from time to time because it is an amusing spectacle.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 10, 2020 14:20:03 GMT
On 3 September 1967 Sweden changed overnight in the whole country from driving on the left to driving on the right. Mind you, I bet they did it without too many problems.
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