Neighborhood Sounds..

...that I like to hear:

• rain in any form...big blasting storms, light drizzly pitter-patter, glop-glop from the eaves troughs


• chattering birds in the very early morning


• pinging sound of neighbors' silverware at dinnertime


• kids' voices: Savannah (2 yr old next door neighbor's declarative utterances), Sergio (4 yr old on the other side playing Pirates), Vivi and Tommy (approaching my house, conspiring on how to "surprise" Grandma Dot)


• Daddies' voices: ultra bass Kevin on one side and Spanish-speaking Yantiff on the other


• lawn mowers, powered or manual


• sirens in the distance


• the plop of The Oregonian landing on the front porch


• other peoples' stereos


• the mailman's steps on the front porch and the kerplunk of the mailbox closing


• the swish-swish of my automatic sprinkling system kicking in


• cars starting and backing out of driveways


• clinking sounds of scavengers going through the recycling bins on Monday evenings retrieving bottles for the deposit value


• the UPS or FedEx trucks pulling up, followed by drivers' hurried steps, dropped packages and quick get-aways


• late night cat fights


• the tintinnabulation of the bells, bells, bells (c'mon, I deserve to be able to say that!)

...that I really dislike:

• barking dogs


• garbage trucks going in reverse


• wind chimes


• car alarms


• barking dogs


• weed whackers


• one-way cell phone conversations


• barking dogs