From all the misty morning air, there comes a summer sound, a murmur as of waters from skies, and trees, and ground. The birds, they sing upon the wing, the pigeons bill and coo. Richard Watson Gilder.
Sailors would most likely mention the lapping of water on their hull while at anchor, the screech of seagulls overhead or the clank of unsecured halyards against the mast as they blow in the wind. For golfers, it may be the resonating whack of a ball on the club face or the sweet plop of a successful putt dropping into a hole. A dear friend nostalgically speaks of how the echoing call of a loon transports her back to childhood days at the family's Muskoka cottage. We all enjoy our favourite sounds of summer.
An itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini. Oh, and then there are the songs of summer for different generations. Here Comes Summer by Cliff Richard, the Beachboys' Little Deuce Coupe, Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines or this summer's Justin Timberlake hit, Can't Stop The Feeling. My husband, Jim, is once again a teenager with new driver's licence in hand, every time he hears, Surfing U.S.A.
So aside from ambient temperature, blindfolded, what sounds would immediately signal to me that it is summertime?
The dawn chorus of bird songs and calls celebrating a new summer's morn. How I love that musical cacophony! Shhhhh-tik-tik-tik. The sound of a sprinkler system watering a lawn or golf course. The distinctive buzzing and clicking of cicadas transports me immediately to the hot summer days of my youth. Slap! Slap! Slap! Many may be irritated by what they refer to as noise, but the repetitive smack of flip flops is a universal sound of summer. And who can resist the splash of water accompanied by children's laughter? It's summer at the lake or pool. Ah, and then the clink of ice cubes in a glass. Be it lemonade, iced tea or an alcoholic beverage, those noisy cubes speak to me of lazy summer days or evenings.
Summertime.......music to my ears. Sigh! What are your sounds of summer?
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