Sounds of the Night

Growing up in the country, I took for granted the chirp of crickets and tree frogs that lulled me to sleep in the summer time. After we moved into our current home, one of the first things I noticed on the first night we spent in the house was the delightful sound of tree frogs. Funny, living in Austin for four years, we never heard tree frogs, and it didn't even occur to me to miss them, until I laid my head down July 3, 2005, and listened to their sweet melody again.
Last night, when Dave and I finally got in bed close to 11 0'clock--which is late for me, early for him--there it was: music of the tree frogs singing a lullaby for my exhausted mind. Laying there, I said a prayer of thanks for the trees outside my bedroom window that give refuge to the tree frogs.
Dave and I agree last night is the first night we heard their sounds. Oddly, the winds were calm in those few minutes so that we could hear them. We've been plagued by winds blowing at 35-45 mph, with stronger gusts for the past three days; the house is creaking, the trees are swaying constantly, I wonder if we'll be blown to Oz. I hope the little frogs are clinging to the trees for dear life, or living in the grass for the time being.
After a week of 10-11 hour work days, followed by another hour or two of work at home, it's the little things and simple pleasures that bring such joy to a sometimes otherwise day.
As I sit here at 6 am posting, daylight is breaking around me, and I hear a night creature outside calling. Perhaps he--like Dave--wants just a few more minutes of darkness filled with sweet repose.
As a matter of fact, I should be pleading for a few more minutes. But, stress from work woke me at 4:42 this morning. At 5:09, I called it quits, got up and showered. Then, I tried on various capris to see which ones still fit and which ones need to be replaced. Next, I tried on my dress for graduation tomorrow, complete with various foundation garments. And, I've gotten a post in this morning. Funny what you can do with you get up early. But, boy that sleep would have been nice, sleep accompanied by the chirp of tree frogs. (See how I came back to the tree frogs? This paragraph almost didn't work, but I made it--sort of.)