Peace and Quiet!

  Ahh, yes!  The luxury of living on the Bayou!  I have had several folks recently comment on the peacefulness of the area.  "We love the peace and quiet!" they remarked.  I am assuming that this comes from the fact that they were visiting during the light of day.  At night, it is a different story.  Nighttime is far from quiet come early spring through late fall.  If you desire quiet nights, you better visit during the dead of winter.  I tried to make this point to them but they were having no part of my explanation.  "It cannot be that loud!  I would love to hear crickets and frogs!"  Little do they know...little do they know.

  Last night, the windows were flung wide open.  The cool air settled in the house as a welcome guest.  At first, the whispery soft crickets started their chirping.  This was nice.  Their sound has a calming effect.  Then the racket began.  Frogs and toads had invaded the Frog Pond once again and started their nightly serenade.  What started as a handful of each soon multiplied into hundreds if not thousands of the critters making sweet love songs to attract a potential spouse.  Now I believe that every frog and toad in the entire state has moved into the backyard!   At just about midnight, the ruckus was so loud that I was brought out from a deep sleep. I could not help but rise from bed to record the songs.  At times it was almost deafening!  And to think, this was all recorded from inside the house!  Can you imagine being outside during this cacophony?

  Regardless of the noise going on outside my window, I headed back to bed.  I laid there listening to the calls and thought about the "peace and quiet" of the Bayou.  Yep, poor delusional folks.  They have no idea just how noisy a Bayou can be!  Turn up your volume (and to get the full effect, turn it up all the way!) and take a listen to this short video.  (Sorry, it is only black but, hey, it was nighttime and frogs don't wear headlights!)