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There are are two reasons for my liking trees in their naked condition.
First, I admire their shape.
Additionally, it makes bird-spotting easier.
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It goes without saying that I like trees fully clothed as well.
The waiting room only ever gets very sparse foliage, having been thoroughly throttled over the years by invasive creepers.
But birds use it as a perch, so it still has a purpose.
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A stop by the Batten Kill this morning gave me a chance to see the beautiful sycamore before it fills out again.
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Recent floods abated rapidly.
Last Fall water levels fell seriously low.
Which proves how quickly everything can change.
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The sound of water is always soothing.
The trickle of a stream, the roar of a waterfall, or the drumming of rain on a roof.
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At boarding school in Cambodia, I relished quiet time alone in my bed at night, listening to waves rushing up the nearby beach.
It has been many years since I lived near the sea but in darkness, I can still hear it.
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Some sounds never leave your memory.
Like my mother’s foot fall.
In the tropics she always wore flip flops which flapped in a particular rhythm.
The first time I noticed that sound, I was nine. My friend Sabrina and I were messing about in a junk yard one afternoon when she fell and lay still. Terrified, I ran to summon my mother who pounded down the road after me…splat, splat, splat.
To our relief, we met Sabrina coming the other way.
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Cambodia had other sounds,
Mobile food merchants clicked bamboo sticks together to advertise their coming.
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During the day, the many sounds of humanity rushing about its various occupations.
At night, the whine of generators, the endless hiss of cicadas, the chirping of lizards or the tokay of geckos.
In the rainy season, the incredible drone of bullfrogs.
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Saigon was a mere 227 kilometres from Phnom Penh, but was altogether different, at least in 1958.
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Saigon was the Paris of the East., cosmopolitan, sophisticated and much faster-paced.
Mum liked to shop in rue Catinat where you could stop for a treat in a coffee shop, or a dairy bar that was called Broadway.
Their milk shakes were wonderful.
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We lived in a small flat in Cholon, which was Chinatown.
At the best of times it was noisy. Then came Tet, Chinese New Year. Later, they were banned, but in 1959 we endured three days of non-stop fireworks and I mean the kind that go BANG – bangbangbang.
It was appalling and there was no way to shut out the sound that went on around the clock, without pause.
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Happy children at the botanical gardens in Saigon.
(My what big feet I already had)
In Saigon I had much less freedom than I’d enjoyed in Phnom Penh, largely because I was obliged to go to school!
It was only partly why I’d been much happier in Cambodia.
You too look so grumpy in that botanical gardens photo! 😊 Night sounds are good in Beetley, my favourite is Owls calling. But I would love to live near the sound of the sea.
Best wishes, Pete.
We had a dying tree in the back. The birds loved it, but it had to go. One of my favorite things about analog synthesizers in my early days was the noise source. Low pass and high pass filters, positive and negative envelopes – the soothing sounds of nature. Science tells us without any olfactory support bacon frying and rain captured by a microphone are perceived as the same thing. Being IN rain is altogether different. I suppose it’s the lack of bacon.
We resist strong winds better with big feet. 😉
Thank you, Carolyn, for the interesting post, a lovely combination of thoughts about the trees, memories of the sounds from your childhood in Asia, and as usual beautiful photography. I can remember the sound of trams at night in Warsaw, and my wondering about people traveling so late, and where they were going. Thank you for writing thoughts-provoking post!
Joanna
If that’s happy then I would not like to see you miserable!
I agree, one of my favourite sounds is water – that’s probably why I always sleep so well when we go camping by the sea! Certain sounds (such as smells) often remind me of certain places … that makes me think what a privilege it is to be able to hear and smell. Ha😉, looking at that “happy children” photo, you definitely weren’t in the mood for a day in the botanical gardens!