I can hear the rise and fall of a cricket song outside my window. It's an early morning sound that is the harbinger of the beginning of another hot day. Lately they have also provided quite a beautiful nighttime chorus, a perfect sound to go to sleep to.
When I was a child, my friends and I would spend our days playing games on the cool cement of our respective front porches. We passed many hours playing Parcheesi, Monopoly, and Jacks. I haven't played Parcheesi in years. I was thinking recently that I need to buy a game and teach my granddaughters. They probably would enjoy playing. Unfortunately, I neither have a cool front porch nor would I think it a comfortable spot to lounge anymore. My knees just aren't up to being folded into a pretzel for hours anymore. We'll just have to sit at the kitchen table.
Being curious, I looked up cricket noises. If you didn't know, the reason crickets, katydids and cicadas make noise when it is hot is that they use their wings to make the sound and because they are cold blooded they need the heat to warm up their "instruments." Male insects use the sound as a mating call.
Check out this fantastic site to hear all sorts of insect sounds. I think their songs are one of nature's most relaxing noises. What are the sounds of summer that you love?
One of my favorite summer sounds is also the "heat bugs" ... katydids I'm sure...their sounds brings me back to childhood...
ReplyDeleteanother favorite is baseball games playing on the radio...somehow the tv version doesn't capture the same feeling...
I grew up playing the same games as you...Parcheesi was a favorite and we played every Sunday at my grandmother's house...later in college I found out how competitive the game could be!
i love parcheesi too...perhaps we adult children need to play. :)
ReplyDeleteto the sound of crickets and perhaps an attic fan.
We didn't play any of the games you mentioned but there were others that filled our time... usually in the winter months when it was too cold to go outdoors.
ReplyDeleteCrickets are my enemy when they sing at night... I am a light sleeper. I love the sound of a cool fan blowing across the bed.
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I never played Parcheesi. I did play Jacks and Monopoly though. Monopoly was a favorite game to be played on New Year's Eve. I remember playing Jacks on our front porch, with legs folded up as you describe. I can't sit like that any longer either. Other favorite summer activities were playing Simon Says, jumping rope, catching fireflies and playing dodgeball.
ReplyDeleteLast summer we had a cricket living right outside our bedroom window! The chirping lulled me to sleep, but kept The Mister awake! ha.
ReplyDeleteSuch a cool post! The sound of crickets is such a soothing sound in a way. I always wondered why they made that sound. Thanks for sharing! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of crickets but to me, they signal that summer is nearing its end. I don't usually hear them until sometime in August. Cicadas seem to be around when it's very hot.. I'm hearing them now.
ReplyDeleteI know I played Parcheesi as a child but can't remember anything about it.
I definitely love the sound of bird song in summer! We've had a lot of cardinals visiting our birdfeeder thsi summer and they sing so beautifully.
ReplyDeleteCousin Wal lived opposite a Chinese Garden from where his friend Charlie would appear with five 'jacks'. We would play there for hours in the dust. Back home, I pestered Mum to buy legs of lamb to get a jack set, which she did. But my mates played marbles. Want a game of jacks?
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ReplyDeleteIs this possible?