I’ve been waiting too long for Spring. By my calculation this last Winter was six months long. For me Spring begins when you can open your windows during the day and let in fresh air along with the sounds of Spring.

I welcome the sounds of the invisible tree frogs, dozens of chirping birds, thunder distant and near, down pours of rain or light drizzle, rustling of fresh leaves and the whistle of Westerly winds. However there’s a downside to welcoming the sounds of Spring into your home: what you also get is the deafening drone of lawn mowers and leaf blowers, battles of the barking dogs, revving motorcycles (happy to be out of the garage I suppose), the buzzing of home improvement projects and the beat of portable radios.

I find myself appreciating the times between the unwelcome noises and try to put days like yesterday behind me:

• 735am - wake up to neighbor’s lawn mowing. Moving continues for 30 minutes, I give up and get out of bed (it was my morning to sleep in).
• 840am - trying to enjoy breakfast at the back patio screen door while several dogs in the area scream (excuse me “bark”) at one another.
• 10am - go out to the front yard to water berry bushes and sweep driveway. Neighbor is blasting Glen Beck’s conservative radio show.
• 1030am - retreat to the vegetable garden in back yard. Another neighbor starts up leaf blower to clean a 15×15 foot deck. Dogs start up again.
• 1215pm - lunch and more dog barking! Would love to understand dog language - perhaps I could arbitrate their dispute?
• 3pm - a moment alone in the house, decide to read. Another lawn mower starts up!
• 345pm - still trying to read. Someone very happy to be on their motorcycle keeps racing up and down nearby streets. Apparently rider is unaware of the two lane divided highway only one mile away.
• 630pm - dinner. More dog barking! Is shooting dogs legal? Or would that be considered too noisy?
• 730pm - taking a quiet bath . . . oh wait, is that a ban saw? Well, I guess you’ve got over an hour of daylight left to finish that project.

My neighbors are all good, friendly people. It’s not like they are trying to be annoying; well except for the dogs and the motorcyclist (”hey look at me, look at me”). It’s just that Spring brings everyone and their projects out and at times this drowns out the more welcome sounds of Spring.

Ironically, while writing about bothersome noises I realize it is very peaceful and quiet outside. Time to go take advantage of this moment.

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