Raccoons, skunks, birds

We used to feed our cat (we used to have lots of cats but they dissipated into the unknown, perhaps finding better fare elsewhere or succumbing to the ecological world of the outdoors) at night, but the raccoons and skunks sent messages out and took over the cat food. Of course our cat just stands there staring as her food disappears. When I open the door to get rid of the animals, the raccoons run away but the skunks just stare at me, daring me to come outside.

But who is going to walk outside to confront a skunk? Not I, said the wise one. The raccoons eventually make their way back to the food which is pretty well gone. So now we feed the cat in the morning and laugh uproariously when the night creatures come looking for food. No food for them anymore!

Meanwhile during the day, the birds love our back porch. They love the fan, the bricks, the bushes nearby, the grill, and the eaves. We do not permit nests on the porch or on the columns, but for some reason the birds do not follow the Tucker policies of the house. And of course when I went to get rid of the nests, there were eggs. My soft-hearted nature decided to wait until later. This means the birds are near to taking over. But we will stop them and we will win. No birds at our house.

But I must say that I like birds quite a bit. I love the sounds they make, the chirping, twittering, crowing, really all of it. I am completely in awe over the sounds of birds and nature and believe the sounds to be the finest of all music in the world. Intriguing are the multitude of sounds offered by birds that include low tones, high tones, repetition, intensity, and all manner of emotion. Yes, I realize that birds are simply being birds and not responding emotionally to anything in particular, but I do enjoy ascribing human musical terms to nature. I prefer the sounds of morning birds over the evening and I prefer sounds of many species of birds over singular species. But preference aside, it is all rather fascinating, satisfying, and immensely musical.

Another glorious natural sound (and we have heard a lot of it lately) is wind. Wind creates vibration in the trees, grass, and even the atmosphere. Since sound comes from vibration, we hear lots of it during the wind. The musical sounds alter with speed and yes with a little imagination to create a wonderful symphony of natural sounds in the world.

If you ever need a break from the proliferation of electronic music you hear on the radio, cds, television, movies, ipods, itunes, and everything else, then take a few minutes to experience the natural musical world. Pretty amazing and at times preferred!