Sunday, April 05, 2009

I forgot to tell you what happened a couple weeks ago. One morning I got up around 4:30 and I heard what sounded like a sick/confused/loony bird outside our kitchen window. Man, he kept making a weird noise and kept making a weird noise and kept--

Then awhile later after Tom arrived home from working night shift he asked, "Did you hear that strange bird out there?" I said, "I know... he's been at it for two whole hours. What's up with that?"

Alas...... we are such suburbanites...

So that evening after Tom left for work I opened our kitchen window to air things out since I'd painted our dining room earlier and wow! A whole loud Hallelujah Chorus of sick/confused/loony birds filled the air. But immediately I realized--and said aloud--"Peepers! Those are Spring Peepers!"

So I opened the window wider and stood there looking into the darkening meadow and smiled. My very first peepers! I'd only read about them in books and perhaps heard some at times in movies. But there they were in my very own backyard.

They are cool. They sound rather like tiny policemen blowing whistles to two or three beats. They are different than crickets--and they are loud!

This afternoon I pruned the plants on the 'lake side' of our house and I could hear no peepers (they only perform in the evenings), but I did hear our resident marsh frogs as they click-clicked rhythmically. What an odd sound... From a distance I glimpsed slowly moving forms and bubbling in all the water and with their noises, well, they sounded rather like something from a sci-fi flick. Eerie, even in the sunny silence.

I know... too much Stargate Atlantis.

Anyway, first we had such early, early robins and now we have peepers. Life is blissful in the country.

9 comments:

oma aka meme said...

wow- what an interesting blessing- I have never seen or heard them but I would like too- guessing that they will not come to cold Canada- LOL --
hugs, Meme

jodi said...

I love the photo (and I love the sound of peepers also).

Queen of France said...

Where i grew up (rural mid-state PA) we lived near a river. We heard bullfrogs and peepers, as well as crickets and all other lovely nighttime noises.

When i was 18 we moved to more suburbia closer to Philadelphia...

i didn't sleep for the first three nights. It was too bright. Too noisy but not with the right kinds of noises. No frogs.

i LOVE the sound of frogs...i love them.

i can't wait to move back to the country - hopefully sooner than later!

... Paige said...

Peepers, now I have to go google that cause I have never heard of such a critter.
You so better not be making this up...like sending me on some kind of snipe hunt, cause I am so falling for it :-)

Anonymous said...

In your Amazon thingy on the side you mentioned The Donna Reed Show - I didn't realize it was out on DVD - Season One. And of course I rushed right over to Netflix. Thanks!

Andylynne said...

The peepers are magical, and they harold spring. I'm so gald you love them and love other night sounds as well. Wait for the hot days of late July for the singing of the cicadas, and the wonderful late days of August for the Crickets. Will you have Fireflys, there my personal favorite.

Nan said...

I'm really, really happy for you to have peepers. They are one of the great joys of life. Before we moved to the country we would drive around to hear them.

Donetta said...

how fun!

Karen said...

The other critters you are hearing are probably wood frogs. We call them "giggle frogs" because to us it sounds like what we imagine frogs would sound like if they giggled. OK, we're weird. :) I heard one lonely giggle frog here today. I think he was just trying out his voice, but no friends have joined him as yet. Haven't heard the peepers yet here as we are a bit further north than you.

And when you hear a long trilling sound, those are American toads. They might not be sounding just yet, but you'll hear them eventually.