Sshh.

Do you ever just sit and listen?? Just sit and listen? It's one of my favorite things to do. On Friday afternoons when the kids are all gone, I usually have about an hour before Rod comes home. Generally I spend this time on the back deck just listening. I tilt my head back, close my eyes and listen. I did this yesterday and heard some really interesting things. Neighbor W. was cutting his grass - for the second time this week (I think he needs something more in his life), I heard some locusts or cicadas, the first of the season, and a definite indication that fall isn't far behind. There was the sound of the pump in the pond, it's an old hand pump that Rod rigged up to return the filtered water to the pond. I love the sound of water, it's just so relaxing. There was a cricket, and some birds. We got a heavy rainstorm on Thursday, and I swear I could hear the longest pumpkin vine growing. It has jumped the fence and crept all the way across the pond area. It's heading toward the deck, and Rod thinks that's not bad --it might be possible to pick the pumpkin on it from the deck. And I could hear the trucks on the turnpike, if you're traveling west on the PA Turnpike between Cranberry and Beaver Valley exits, look for the bridge with the Glendale Road sign on it. That's the road I live on. And in the distance there was a train - not bad for one quiet afternoon. The next time you have a few minutes to spare why not try to just listen.