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Nature's Noise:  Irrigation -- it's strange, but...  |
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Libbie
outstepping
157 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
157 Posts |
 Posted - May 18 2008 : 8:37:56 PM
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...it really can be a lovely soundscape. Right now, I'm sitting at the computer (obviously ), with the front door open to the field across the way. I just finished a three-day water turn on the field, and now the "neighbors" are having their water turn. I can hear the water bubbling down the cement ditch and into the dirt furrows. I was looking at the setup pretty closely today and I think I know just what little drop is making the loudest noise. But even the loudest water noise is just background to the crickets... what a nice night. I can also hear elm seeds falling to the front walk from the trees around the house - there is just the slightest breeze - enough to scoot them around and make a sound that is very much like the water. Every so often, a car or truck in the background, a sleeping little boy breathing loudly and a baby with a cold coughing every now and then - a dog barking now and then, and the occasional moo...along with a single robin who is up late. A lovely night, indeed.
Spring and summer, especially, nights here are so peaceful. It's as if all of my cares can just take a rest for a while. Of course, the reappear in the light of day until I handle them - but don't ours all! It's something I do when I need some time NOT to think - a sort of meditation that can be done anywhere, but in the summer darkness is my favorite time to listen as closely to, and name, all of the sounds I can hear. It's a way that I can step out of the everyday bustle and really into the MOMENT. If it sounds interesting to you - give it a try!
XOXO, Libbie
"Farmgirl Sister #10," and proud of it!!! |
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marybeth
outstepping
146 Posts
Marybeth
Washington
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2008 : 05:50:57 AM
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You are so right, Libbie. those night sounds. Right now the frogs at the pond are noisiest. I think I like early, early morning too. Then I can sometimes hear the train whistle in the background as it goes through Stanwood several miles away. MB
Being outside is being |
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June Bug
outstepping
75 Posts
Traci
75 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2008 : 10:04:23 AM
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| So very important! If we all could quiet our minds a little more and focus on the world of Nature around us this would be a more peaceful place. Thanks for the reminder Libby! Especially as a Mom, it helps to take some time at night to replenish your patience and understanding and meditating on summer night sounds is the perfect way! |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2008 : 10:10:34 AM
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I love the sound of water in almost any form, so I can understand the irrigation thing, Libbie. I used to like to watch the big sprinklers across from our house in Ellensburg (WA). Right now, we're blissfully surrounded by whippoorwills at night and songbirds galore in the morning. Such sweet music!
Jen
Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #9
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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MS Farmgirl
outthinking
5 Posts
Karen
Como
MS
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - May 20 2008 : 08:56:18 AM
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Hi outdoor girls,
This is a new voice from Mississippi. Forgive me if I misstep in this outdoorsy cyber space, but I'm new to posting.
I've been reading the posts and wanted to join in because I am a farming writer or writing farmer who owns a wee 26-acre patch in the hill country of Mississippi. I've been here now almost two years, renovating the farmhouse and land.
Right now, the countryside is thick with the fragrance of honeysuckle and privet. With office windows flung wide open to the south and west, the smells of spring keep me company while I type.
I think this brings up an interesting question. My cow-raising neighbors crinch at more multi-flora rose or privet invading the landscape. While I don't want it burying the pastures, I don't mind it on the hillsides where grass is scarce. So my question for the morning is...when do you think a plant truly needs removal and has entered the realm of a pesky invader? I'd be curious to know what has worn out its welcome in your outdoor world.
A new farmgirl,
Karen
Mississippi Hill Country Musings |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - May 20 2008 : 10:04:59 AM
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Hi Karen - great to have you here! I am an avid proponent of native vegetation - not that I don't relish the scent of honeysuckle - but that's not what the ranchers are getting at. If they're anything like my neighbors, they're concerned with every last square foot of fescue and Bermuda grass (which is the BANE of my garden). So, everybody has their angle, right?
My husband is reading the journal of Henry Schoolcraft, and early explorer of the Ozark region, and it's fascinating to get a glimpse of this area before it was settled (by many whites anyway). The tribes were very active in managing the veg - not simple living in wallflower peace with the landscape. They burned like crazy for thousands of years to favor the species and habitat that suited them. But, even though they were human and impacted the environment in significant ways, they were also an integral component of the evolving ecosystem. These days, with mechanized travel all over the place and really nearsighted ideas, we've altered the native landscape so profoundly that balance is hard to imagine anymore. All of the exotic species of plants, insects, and animals that get tossed around today are vying for footing and often tipping the scales. The optimist in me believes that homeostasis will ultimately prevail, but it may be a rough road. And the softie in me doesn't like the idea of mass slaughter of non-native animals to "right" the wrong of introducing them.
Such a conundrum - and such a rambling reply!!
Can't remember if I posted this before, but my hub wrote a great article on invasive sericea lespedeza in the MO Conservationist a few years ago. Here's the link:
http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2004/07/30.htm
Jen
Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #9
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2008 : 12:10:38 PM
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Libbie- I used to live with a field behind my house and an irrigation ditch on two sides of the yard. It is very soothing and also a great natural swamp cooler around out house during the summers!
Elizaray |
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Nature's Noise: Irrigation -- it's strange, but... |
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Irrigation -- it's strange, but...
