I'm enjoying the chorus of crickets outside our kitchen window. They've been chirping nonstop for the last few hours. It is one of my favorite summer sounds. Not long ago, I began to think there were no more crickets in this neighborhood. I hadn't heard them in a long time and I was afraid the skunks and possums had eaten them all. This year, they are back in full force.
I'm also hearing an airplane rumbling overhead. This is also a pleasant sound to me. It's far enough away to not be distracting. When we lived in Coronado, our house was directly under the flight path of the military jets. I was afraid of airplanes, in those days. They made an enormous roar and were low to the ground. My imagination worked overtime and I felt like they were stalking me (I was just a kid.) We lived close to the beach, but I wouldn't dare go out in the water because the planes were flying overhead. I didn't get over that fear until the last year we lived in Coronado. Then I found out how much fun I could have body surfing and jumping the biggest waves. I didn't pay attention to the planes anymore.
I don't think we had many crickets in Coronado. It was when I spent the
night at my Grandmother's house in South San Diego that I heard them.
She lived in a less developed neighborhood and had lots of wildlife on
her property. I especially liked the little frogs that made themselves
at home in her yard. My brothers and I had fun catching and releasing
them. Bullfrogs lived in the river valley below her house. My brothers
caught them, but I didn't even want to touch them. I found enough
enjoyment just listening to their hearty croaks. Thirty-plus years ago, we moved within a mile of my Grandma's. The area was more developed, by then. Where there had once been miles and miles of empty space, there was now house after house. The rattlesnakes, rabbits, and coyotes were all moving east, away from the hubbub of humanity. After we moved here, a neighbor found a snake in his yard. It was a harmless king snake. I've never heard any reports of rattlers, except for in the hills nearby. Thankfully! Now, we enjoy an occasional opossum or skunk sighting. One night we even saw a raccoon in our yard. I wrote about this encounter
here.
A couple days ago, I posted the
cat story because the picture reminded me of our cats. I had just found two of the cats surrounding a poor, innocent spider struggling in my bathtub. I captured the spider and deposited him outside. Cats are always quick to see even the minutest bug. They have lots of fun with flies, spiders, gnats, bees, lizards, and other crawling or flying critters. And, they have suffered through wasp or bee stings, just like the kitten in the story.
Southern California just experienced a significant earthquake. My Dad felt it, but I was busy playing with the cats and didn't feel it. Neither did my Mom. So far, it appears that there was no damage from the quake. I was disappointed that I didn't feel the quake.
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