Night Sounds
The radio woke Rian last night, and I could not go back to sleep.
So, yes, Rian staggered downstairs for hot Chai and - perhaps foolishly - took it out into the ice cold night.
Sitting on the porch steps, somewhere between the sleeping and waking worlds, I listened. I could not see past the thick cliched dark before dawn, so I listened.
There was the stern sound of a freight train complaining down the gorge. The rumble of the train coaxed one sharp bark from a dog down the street. Rian could hear a very faint rustle in the hedge alongside the Abode. Skunk? Squirrel? Rat? Wind?
Two houses over a dim light came on and a creature coughed.
Even farther down the street, four or five blocks, the sleek hiss of car tires on Lincoln were surprisingly audible. And regular. Almost every fifteen minutes. Where are people going at 4:30 in the morning? Or are they coming home from late shift labor?
A giant spotted moth swooped in to evaluate the porch light. Rian, not wanting to witness death by char, finished Chai and took numb toes back inside.
So, yes, Rian staggered downstairs for hot Chai and - perhaps foolishly - took it out into the ice cold night.
Sitting on the porch steps, somewhere between the sleeping and waking worlds, I listened. I could not see past the thick cliched dark before dawn, so I listened.
There was the stern sound of a freight train complaining down the gorge. The rumble of the train coaxed one sharp bark from a dog down the street. Rian could hear a very faint rustle in the hedge alongside the Abode. Skunk? Squirrel? Rat? Wind?
Two houses over a dim light came on and a creature coughed.
Even farther down the street, four or five blocks, the sleek hiss of car tires on Lincoln were surprisingly audible. And regular. Almost every fifteen minutes. Where are people going at 4:30 in the morning? Or are they coming home from late shift labor?
A giant spotted moth swooped in to evaluate the porch light. Rian, not wanting to witness death by char, finished Chai and took numb toes back inside.
posted by La Tulipe | 10:18 AM
4 Comments:
mmm, sounds nice. I like the still of the night, the small hours. Leads me to philosophising and listening. Of course for me, it is before sleeping, not getting up early.
When I went to the Grand Canyon, there was an event after dark where a guide took a large group of visitors along the edge of the canyon to a place beyond any light or noise pollution. We lay on the rocks in silence looking up at the night sky which was far brighter and more glorious than I'd ever been led to believe thanks to my urban upbringing... The only sounds we could hear was the wind roaring down the canyon and the springs... and the man next so me that kept on farting.
Ah well.
Sounds almost perfectly romantic, bob.
I always take time to go outside and stargaze when I got back to the country. They're absolutely beautiful.
I make wishes, too. Most of them have even come true. Especially the one where I wished for a Nintendo when I was nine.
Why did the radio wake you up at such a silly hour?
I love night sounds...you can hear everything, and so clearly. And yes, I always wonder about the journeys in the wee sma' hours...something special, or a journey they do every night? Are they enjoying the strangeness of it all as much as I am?
I'm jealous...the night here tonight will be wet and windy. Not the night for admiring nature, even armed with chai.
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