Listening To Sounds of Life

Across the Fence #394

It’s Memorial Day and the day is winding down as I sit on our back deck listening to the sounds of life. We spent the day at The Highground Veteran’s Memorial Park near Neillsville, Wisconsin, where I was the guest speaker at their ceremony. A large crowd took time to be there and remember those who can’t sit and listen to the sounds of life, as I’m doing now.  

The sun has set behind the trees in the west, but it’s still very light out. Overhead a quarter moon is clearly visible in a fading blue sky. The birds are very active in the trees as they keep up their chatter before settling down for the night. Many make one last trip to the birdbath for a drink before retiring. The wind in the trees adds a soothing sound and the gentle breeze adds just the right amount of evening coolness. 

A rabbit just joined me as he checks under the bird feeder, looking for a snack before calling it a day. He doesn’t seem to mind that I’m sitting a few feet from him. It’s nearing the end of May and the land is teeming with new growth and life. 

As I sit here in the fading light, taking in all the life sounds around me, I can’t help but wonder if the phone will soon ring with news that a new life has entered this world. Our daughter, Amy, and her husband, Tim, are expecting a baby any day now. Every time the phone rings our anticipation rises and we hope it’s the announcement of the new arrival, our first grandchild. 

I jokingly said to one of my high school classmates, “I don’t think I’m old enough to be a grandpa.” She reminded me, “Howard, you’re old enough to be a great grandpa!” She’s right. Several people in our class are great grandparents. I just don’t feel that old… most days. Other days I feel ready for the glue factory. 

So I sit here, waiting, listening, and observing the life going on around me. The trees west of the house have lost their individuality and have merged into a dark mass as daylight begins to disappear. Most of the birds have quieted down and a chorus of frogs, from down by the pond, have replaced the bird’s chatter. 

The moon shines brighter in the darkening sky. Soon the midnight blue will fade to black. The moon has been joined by the first star of the evening. “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.” How many of you have recited that verse? Did you ever get your wish? 

I think this is my favorite time of day as I sit, watch, and listen to the transformation of life from day to night. I never tire of the many sights and sounds. It’s different every day. 

I realize how lucky I am to live in a place like this. Some people like to spend this time of the day watching reality shows on television. I like to spend it watching and experiencing real life. 

More stars have now joined the moon and that first star of the evening. Soon the night sky will be filled with light and the endless possibilities of other life out there someplace among the billions of galaxies that have been discovered. It’s an exciting thought that must be approached with an open and receptive mind. 

I’ve seen and experienced a lot of changes in the short time I’ve inhabited Planet Earth. That includes many of the secrets of the universe that the Hubble telescope has revealed to us. It has changed how we view the little piece of the universe we’re a part of. Television, computers, and mobile phones have greatly altered our lifestyles. Simplistic beliefs from my youth have been shattered and altered by our expanding view of the universe and scientific breakthroughs. My thinking and philosophy of life are in constant change and development as I learn new things. That’s the way it should be. We shouldn’t become buried in the past. I can’t help but wonder what changes our grandchild will see. I can’t begin to imagine what wonders, achievements, and new discoveries will take place.

I just hope that with all the changes taking place now and in the future, that our grandchild will still be able to find a quiet place like I find myself in now. Everyone needs such a place where they can go and enjoy the simple pleasures of life; a place where our grandchild can enjoy sunrises and sunsets, listen to the wind in the trees, and hear the nightly chorus of birds, frogs, and crickets, and watch a cloud sail past the moon and temporarily obscure it from sight, just as it did as I write this in the darkness of the evening. Amy and Tim both love nature and I know they’ll provide their child with an appreciation for the natural world. It’s just as important as knowledge of computers and the high-tech world we live in.

The cloud just cleared the moon and sailed on, constantly changing shape. Maybe by this time next week, a full moon will be looking down on a new inhabitant of Planet Earth.

*