Planting music

Yes, a pure delight to read, dear John - thank you so much for posting this to "Music Everywhere" - now featured! :-)

Blessings and best wishes - S.

I'm honored, Svetlana.  Thank you for the feature.

What a great concert, John. Daily I awaken to the mockingbirds, songbirds, cardinals...

and usually a few talking squirrels. music is everywhere, even the tires of those big rigs on the road make songs of traveling as they cruise along beside me.

True, if we listen, Penni.  We don't have mockingbirds here, but they do have many beautiful songs.  Yes, our red squirrels chatter as well.  Thanks for the visit and comment.

 I'm sure you have a good voice, John.... But the last time I planted tomato plants< tried singing them songs of growth and they were so terrified of my voice they dried up and fell right Down!! Shoulda let the birds do thier thing,lol... :)

I didn't sing to the tomato plants but I think two days of gentle rain is probably doing great things for them.  With I believe 32 tomato plants in, you may have to come and help with the harvest.

Lovely write, John. I wish I could have been there and I would not want an ipod either. 

Thanks, Jennifer.  We're blessed with so many delightful creatures including the hummingbirds who sip from our feeders and flowers, the mourning dove who sits on a nest just outside our front door, and the phoebe who nests above one of our garage doors.  Of course we have to share the garden with deer, raccoons, turkeys, cottontail rabbits....

Ah, to spend a weekend there would rejuvenate me so. I also have bird feeders with seed and a hummingbird feeder (it needs to be refilled). You are fortunate, indeed. 

You would be most welcome.

Yes, I love your music, John.  We have red polls, grackles, starlings, cat birds, and the little Red-headed woodpecker, to add his wooden drumbeat. There is also a tiny bird here (in NB Canada) which calls: "SWEETheart, SWEETheart..." I can't name it. And along with the music, is the wonderful scent of apple blossom, cedar and pine. Yes.

Hello Wilhelmine,

I've noticed you often here and about. Another Northerner. I'll make my way to N.B. some day!

I love your added scents!

Wilhelmine, it's an unusual winter when the Redpolls make it to this area, but what a treat when a flock of them arrives!  Thank you for your comment.

Your writing this morning was like a magnet! This is the time of year I most adore John, for all of the reasons you've shared, (though I love the others equally).

Back home in the forests and river flats, it's the Robins and Varied Thrushes who take the prize. They set up a spiral symphony; every call answered from another tree-top, back and forth throughout the forest. It begins first with a single voice, at a 3:00 am dawn.  It's a delirious sort of weaving, each aria counterpointed, the base supplied by the many far dispersed spruce grouse, barely audible and perfectly timed. By 9:00 AM, they're  off to work, making nest and fetching food. The performance is offered anew, with evening beginning around 10:00 PM quieting off around 2:00, allowing the river to provide a focus on the underscore. I love staying up all night to catch the transitions, and it's the best time for planting.

I swear, seasonally, each species works out their own part in an incredible compositional score.

Thank you for your lovely sharing.

Delightful picture, Ade.  My daughters and I used to sleep in a tent in the back yard so that we could drift off to the chorus of "peeper" frogs, whip poor wills and owls.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful concert John. Here in town we only hear a few of those lovely songs in addition to all of the lawn mowers.

We are indeed fortunate, Marge.  Thank you for your comment.

A metallic twang was heard from the redwing blackbird as well as some "caw, caw, caw" notes from the crow

John, I could so identify with this and felt as if I were right there planting tomatoes with you and listening to your chorus of birds.  What a beautiful sound - that creshendo of birdsong from so many lovely winged ones.  I too prefer to hear the sounds of nature when I'm outside no matter what I'm doing.  It always amazes me that in cold weather places, the birds sing so much sweeter than anywhere's else - maybe they too are happy to see warmer weather and sunshine.  Wonderful essay, John...and lovely to read this morning!  Salud

Thank you for your lovely comment, Mariana.

If you're not a member of Salud, please join and post this!  Salud

Thank you for the invitation, Mariana.

How wonderful that you can identify the singers of all this music. Thanks for sharing your gardening experience!

Thanks, Alison.  Last year was the first in about 34 years that we didn't have a garden so it is a real treat to get back out there this year!

There is nothing like the singing of the birds at anytime but especially when you are working in the yard.  That is the best...night birds are beautiful to listen to as well.

I agree, Karen.  Thank you for your comment.

A birder! My husband was  birder for the longest time. He read the books, took the notes and I was along for the ride.

Imagine my thrill one day on Greylock when I heard Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.

Our mocking birds used to say: Peter Peter Peter, White White White, but now they mutter something undecipherable.

I love the Chickadee, dee, dee and the Phoebe, and the Scutch Scutch Scutch of the Pheasant, and the first time I heard a robin but could not see him, I thought I heard:

Spiritu Spiritu, E tu E tu, then looked it up in Peterson's to realize that indeedy, I had found

Cheerily Cheerily, Cheerup Cheerup.

Thanks, Kathryn.  I'm not an avid birder in the sense of taking trips to add to my life list, but if I see or hear a bird I like to be able to identify it.

it really is sweet that way...

Sounds absolutley delightful John.

Thank you Maria.  There's so much to hear if we take time to listen.

Now that's what I call an orchestra making beautiful music!

Thanks, Magi.  Lots of soloists, but that's OK.  The overall affect is indeed musical.

A sweet melody, John!

Sometimes I love music and sometimes I just like the sounds of all around me.........all depends.........smile.

Thanks for the comment, JustMe.

The best symphony to accompany the creation of a garden!

It works for me.  Thanks, Faith.

Ah, it is missed in a metalic dream called city. But I can read this from time to time till I find an excuse to pack my bag and embrace nature again.

Red Rage, Green Poison

Thank you, Kushal.  Yes, when we lived in Chicago, the sound of "nature" was a ferrel tomcat responding to a receptive female cat.

There's some type of bird that's been hanging around here the past few weeks that I absolutely love the sound of.  I forget what my husband said it was, but I hope it sticks around all summer.

Thanks for the visit and comment, Vic.

What a wonderful melodious write, John.Nature is a great music teacher.

I enjoyed...much love

Thank you so much, Buzz.  Great to hear from you.

Nature has the sweetest melodies.

I don't know if you know Fred Hose, or that maybe you have discussed the birds of South Africa with him and later had a barbecue and thankfully your elephant ear was not mammal. So do I suppose right or wrong I suppose, so without ado of carry on luggage, Fred wrote a delightful story about a fiddle playing cricket about a year and a half ago. I can't remember the name of the story, but I am drinking green tea.

I just had a thought of Albert Hitchcock! Wasn't Birds filmed in Wisconsin? I heard some birds are angry they did not get enough seeds.

You mean Alfred?  "My" birds are well fed.

I have indeed enjoyed some of Fred's work.

There's a bakery across the bay that makes elephant ears the size of your coffee table, er, your green tea table.

Stopped in to catch up on the comments and to say thank you. :)

A wonderful post, Sir John!

I love it and share your sentiments, exactly!

Thank you, Marge and Curt.  I really appreciate the comments.

We, too, have been blessed this year; the birdsong concerts have been continuous this spring from early dawn when we are seranaded by an extraordinary number and variety of finches, throughout the day when the blue birds chime in, and well into the twilight hours as the meadowlarks and nightingales take over. I've loved reading this lovely piece, John. Won't you please consider posting it to Home Comfort group? I know everyone there will enjoy reading it as much as I have...

Thanks, John. We are featuring "Planting Music" this weekend at Home Comfort

Thank you kindly for the feature, Natalie.

I do feel the feeling because I believe in planting music.Wonderful.

Thank you, Dr. Saxena.

Is was Albert, not Alfred who first came up with the idea for birds if you wish to believe this.

And what if I don't wish?

I have heard that going to Wisconsin is like going to France where men feed birds, listen to natural music in their garden and dance the jitterbug if there are a lot of bees.

Don't know much about France but I avoid the jitterbug around bees.  They're much more friendly if I stay calm and avoid unnecessary movements.

thank you for feeding me today with your poetically captured moments of Beauty

:) wishing you laughter

that's awesome! it's neat to know which birds make which sounds. :)

Thanks, Gwen.

((( Beautiful...cheerful...I loved this! )))

Thank you, Charity, for your kind comment.

John, there are so many wonderful birds here that I never see in Santa Barbara or down on the bayous - something about cold weather turning to spring brings out the song birds.  We have loads of warblers whose songs sound like pearls dropping through honey - and some birds with yellow breasts similiar to robins...loads of little blue birds and tiny yellow ones as well - I have a bird book and am trying to learn the names of all these wonderful birds - their songs are glorious music to my ears.  have a nice evening.  Salud

Our tiny blue birds are indigo buntings and our tiny yellow ones are goldfinches but there are warblers of various colors which are even tinier.

This was beautifully done.  It drives my coworkers nuts that my cell phone ringer is nature sounds - different birds tweeting and calling. LOL  I loved this post :)

Thank you, Kimber.  

May each day in your garden be filled with sweet melodies.

Why, thank you, Bill!

Thank you, Chris.  This morning we were serenaded by a bobolink while we pulled weeds at the astronomy center.  We are so fortunate!

I just  love this John, we have a lot of birds here too, and their songs are wonderful to listen too.  You wrote this so well, I could hear the songs, you are fortunate indeed to be able to "hear" the sounds, some people don't take the time to listen.

Thank you sincerely, Elsie.

Felt like I was there listening as you planted your tomatoes! Well done!

Thank you, Ginger.  

Has your garden gone to the birds? Maybe they will take over and charge admission.

Not yet, Bill, but the deer have already visited!

Did you get pics of the deer?

Nope.  The deer hoof prints were unmistakable.

What a wonderful symphony you had there John.

It was.  Thank you for your visit and comment, Debra.

Ah, all I heard today was the lawnmower (mine), diggers, chains and saws and cement mixers (all across the street). And the squirrel's favorite tree has gone away.

Sad.