Saturday, July 30, 2022

My Jangling Last Nerve

 One of the many things I loathe about summer is the noise. Like the Grinch before his heart grew three sizes in one day, I sit here grumbling about the noise, noise, noise. 

As I type, there is a guy with his strimmer (weed whacker) across the street. He's been at it for a while and there is plenty more to do. He will be out there for hours. Whether or not it will be hours tonight or spread out over days, who can tell?

The house across the street is on a hill which is covered in weeds. There is no way to ride or push a mower around--the ground looks pretty uneven. We've been here a year and this is only the second time this overgrown, weedy front yard has been cut. 

As I sit here with my last nerve jangling from the roar of the machine, I am having to rethink my plans for the evening. In order to breathe, I have to have the windows open. With Mr Strimmer having at it, I won't be able to listen to anything, even with headphones. I try to tell myself that perhaps the person who lives in the house is elderly and cannot afford to pay someone to come and do this work on a more regular basis. I have never seen the person who lives there. Lights are on inside some nights and not on others. 

The summer we left Alaska was the first time I really noticed all the noise. I'd gotten used to summer noise being the buzz from swarms of mosquitoes, so when I was back in the land of strimmers, lawn mowers, fans, and other neighbourhood noise, it was hard to get used to. When autumn finally came and we could shut windows, my ears actually buzzed for a while because it was so quiet. I look forward to that moment once again. In the meantime, I'll just embrace my inner Grinch!

7 comments:

Joy said...

Sorry about the racket, I'm gasping for air and popping an ibuprofen and claritin just thinking about it. I get allergy symptoms when there's intense cutting of grass or otherwise so not having a good, safe cross-breeze sounds stifling along with the noise. Time to take a day trip somewhere lol. That's a bit perplexing about the neighbor, wonder if anyone around knows their story. The good news, we're past mid-summer... fall and winter are on the way!

Shari Burke said...

Yeah, it's weed pollen and fungal spore season now. Clogged head all day :-(

I'm sure everyone knows about the neighbour except us--LOL The house is across the street and we see people going up the lane regularly, so people are checking in.

Yes! On the downhill side of summer! Yay!

Vicki said...

I don't mind noise from a lawnmower etc. for a while but then it starts annoying me. On the flip side and this may sound weird, but complete silence sounds so loud in my ears that it drives me nuts, so I've slept with a fan on at night since before I started school. And if there's a loud non stop noise like music etc. I can't go to sleep. I also sleep with either the tv or music on just loud enough for me to hear it.

I hope you have a great week!

Joy said...

Oh yikes, pollen can really be such a bummer!
Keeping our environment below 50-55% humidity is key for avoiding mold and mildew. I keep a wee temp/humidity meter near me so I can figure out what is happening. Invariably if I start coughing the humidity is up. I'm running a dehumidifier 24/7 and it still is 'riding' around 60% because i live right near a green belt (outside the windows/walls from me). I sometimes wake up to 70% with symptoms because the sprinklers were on... gorgeous but we need more humidity absorbing plants or something.

LOL who knows maybe the drivers would fill you in about the neighbors sometime?

Yessss DOWNHILLLLLLLLL side of summer, great big YAY!

Shari Burke said...

Vicki--I know what you mean! The right noise can be nice to sleep to. I am good with peaceful classical or ambient music. If I really can't sleep, I might listen to a dharma talk--there are some people whose voices are very calming. When he can't sleep, Bill puts on his headphones and listens to loud rock music! He goes right to sleep! I could never do that--LOL

Joy--yes, humidity is high right now. Thankfully this place is well constructed and not damp, but in summer the windows have to stay open. Places here are built to keep heat in, which is going to be a problem as the climate emergency continues!

Joy said...

Hmm, do you think you'll wind up going north (off the island) before it's all over?
I mean, if Scandinavia has had signs for years (not reaching the usual freezing points as often), does moving away re Climate Change, feel imminent?

Shari Burke said...

No, I don't think moving off the island is imminent. There's nowhere to go, really, and I think we may have less harsh impacts than some places.

We are moving to a different part of the island, though--just got back from signing the lease.