Open Windows

We are having a reprieve from the August heat.  It is heavenly to open the windows at night and hear all the night sounds.  It is heavenly to feel the cool fresh air coming into the house.  I could just lay awake and enjoy those sensations of being outside in the late darkness of night time.  I would enjoy being in the tipi on such a night, should have been out there last night. 

I listen hard to hear the owl above the chorus of crickets and other night insects.  It is down right noisy at night right now.  I wonder when all this noise began, I have always called it the Sounds of August.  Did it happen on August first or did it start quietly in July and then build to this crescendo?  As I listen for the owl again, I think I may have been mistaken, it could have been my wonderful husband breathing, as he is in deep slumber.  Or maybe it is one of the two dogs snoring as they sleep nearby.  My ears hurt from trying to distinguish the sounds from inside and outside the open window.  Then I hear the owl again, yes I knew he was out there, somewhere.

I listen for the coyotes too.  Sometimes they will howl in the night.  This sets off the neighborhood of dogs barking.  I want the dogs to stop, so I can really hear the coyotes.  Oh, it isn't that I am fond of the coyotes howling, there is something very frightening about that late night call they have.  And it isn't that I'm really afraid, it is something else.  Something I can't quite describe, maybe it is the wildness and seems somehow out of place in our daily life.  Have we lost touch with that wildness in our world today?  We have forgotten that wild things still live and they have adapted to our houses and fences and roads. 

I know certain places I can always expect to see deer in the early mornings or evenings.  They graze openly in fields and even yards.  I once saw three deer at the side of someones house, eating the new growth leaves on a bush.  I wondered if the people inside that house had a clue that the wild critters were so close. 

I always watch for the animals and especially the birds.  Yesterday, as I sat outside, enjoying the wonderful day.  Dark shadows crossed my yard, causing me to look up to see what was flying over.  I was hoping to see my friend the red-tailed hawk.  It happened to be bigger than a hawk, it was the buzzard searching for something as it glided in the sky above me.  I wish I could fly like they do, being able to see things from so high up.  Who would I love to visit as I flew over their yard?  (I am smiling at the thought!)

Soon my mind is comforted by all of the night sounds, the insects, the owl, my husband and dogs and those wild sounding coyotes have created a lullaby that allows me to sleep ever so peacefully.  Dreams find me in nature with the wild ones, I can talk to the animals and birds and they can talk to me.  All this because I opened my window to the world last night.


Photos:   a deer near homes in Yellow Springs, Ohio
               a red-tailed hawk