I thought I’d try something new today and offer you the noises of my neighborhood. Listening to five minutes of audio might be a bit tedious, so I thought I’d try giving you a more wordy version. If you find this interesting, I invite you to play along in the comments or on your own piece of the internet. If you do take part, consider telling us your town, your location (work, home, cafe), and the day and time:

D.C., The Burrow, Saturday, 2:15-2:20 p.m.

The apartment is quiet. The cats must be asleep. The only noises inside are the humming of my computer and the typing on my keyboard. Outside is another story:

Cars passing.
Two car doors.
Children talking. An adult woman is with them.
Something drops.
Muffled laughter in the distance.
Woman explaining something to a young child.
A siren in the distance.
A single toot of a horn. The light must have changed.
Squeaky brakes.
Motorcycle accelerating and then fading into the distance.
Birds.
More brakes.
A car idling at the light.
Cars passing.
More brakes.
A deep rumbling truck in the distance.
An airplane heading in to land at National.
A child.
Birds.
Door slam.
A woman’s voice, then the child again.
Traffic, including a bus.
The breeze.
A car passes.
Brakes.
A car horn toots.
Traffic.
A loud bird cheeps repeatedly.
Brakes — probably a taxi.
A child.
The bird is angry.
A man.
Cars idling.

Probably the part you’d notice if this were audio, rather than narration is that the cars passing by are pretty nonstop, although not necessarily heavy. And, actually, for my neighborhood on a Saturday, this was pretty quiet.

An interesting study. I think I’d like to try it again sometime.

I’m trying to keep this weekend a little less ambitious than the last few in an effort to find a bit more sleep.

I’m hoping to:

• See a baseball game with Sarah and Rudi. (Already done!)
• Catch an art exhibit before it closes. (Also done! Pictures to follow this weekend!)
• Pick strawberries in the garden. Water the plot. Also weed, as necessary.
• Go to the library. I could do with a few more books, and a couple are ready to head back.
• Check out D.C.’s big Greek festival. We’ve been meaning to go since we moved down here. I’m dragging Rudi over there after he gets out of work tomorrow.
• Finish my Mosaica socks. I’m nearly through the gusset increases. I’d like to complete them before Sock Madness wraps up for the year.
• Switch out my winter and summer clothes. Right now they’re all in a big pile on the couch.
• Make popsicles. I have the book. I have the molds. World Summer domination is next.
• Sit outside in the sun.
• Watch the season finale of Sherlock. (Does anyone else think it odd we’ve hit Reichenbach Falls so early in the show’s run?)