It’s warm, so we have the windows open both day and night and have resorted to a bedroom window fan for the still, warm nights. The fireworks that kept our dog and us awake at night over the holiday weekend seem to have, at least for now, subsided, but there are plenty of other noises. A couple of dogs in the neighborhood (besides ours) can get on a barking spree and go uninterrupted for quite a while (unlike ours!) We also hear the chittering of squirrels when they angry with the dog or a cat because they’ve been chased away from something interesting in the grass or below the bird feeders.

Our bedroom is on the second floor at the back of the house with large windows facing the alley and along the west side. They catch sounds from those directions particularly clearly, so we often feel part of our neighbors’ nightly experiences. The occupants of the carriage house across the alley come and go late at night — often with loud conversations. I admit that I have to strain sometimes to hear their exact exchanges, and that awakens me even more.

The house two down on our side seems to be a party house, where the young man who owns it has rented out rooms to various friends, and they often congregate at night in their backyard around a fire pit. Smoke drifts right into our bedroom windows, and all the chatter and laughter does the same. Apparently, we go to bed earlier than those youngsters, so their partying seems to go pretty late. Thankfully, this year, they have ceased playing music loudly at night — so far. It’s ironic that when our dog was a puppy, the same young man would yell from his balcony if she barked at all.

We also experience occasional traffic noise, car alarms, lawn mowers and all the other background sounds that accompany life in a semi-urban area. Car doors slam, door locks beep, people talk in indistinguishable mutters as they walk past our house and kids yell at each other while playing in their yards. We used to get the local college band playing as they marched down our street before Saturday home football games, but they have been taking a different route for the last few years. There are, of course, still the crowd noises during the games, along with the muffled announcer chatter and exclamations (“TOUCH-downnnn!”) but that is limited to a few times a year and the biggest hassle related to games now is whether we will be able to park near our house.

I’ve begun to enjoy all the bird sounds. The jays have a harsh cry, but sometimes let out a small melodious chirp. They often gather in groups — all yelling at something. Maybe one of the cats? The ravens seem to do the same, but tend to fly around rather than sit and heckle. The magpies are mostly loners, but sometimes aggregate to compete with each other, particularly at the bird feeder.

We have lots of what my Dad used to call LGBs or LBBs — little-grey- or little-brown-birds. Sparrows fall into this category, but others are those small guys that are hard to distinguish. They all do lots of chirping — sometimes it sounds like they are asking a question — “cheep?”

The House Finches are always busy at the feeders and add to the general background of bird sound. Lately, we’ve heard very rich trills and warbles from someone in our bushes, but I haven’t been able to see the authors. We speculate some type of warbler. The doves mostly coo or mumble, but can flap quite noisily when engaging each other at the feeder.

There is also the sound of the wind in the trees and shrubbery, a soothing swish that seems to calm me down, unless it becomes a louder crash. Birds singing, a cool breeze blowing, a nice sunny day — what could be better… maybe I’ll take a nap.