Well I am once again looking for excuses to not blog. It is so easy to get caught up in the events of the day or all thing things I need to do and not write. Not very productive I know but it is what it is. While sitting here formulating what will be my next topic, I found myself trying to concentrate on the peace and quiet but there was a problem with that. At first I thought the strange noises I was hearing were children playing in the yard behind us. Nope could not be more wrong. Apparently our neighbors are the new owners of a whole flock of chickens and they sounded to be most unhappy. I asked a passing roommate,  That's farm animals correct? He stood at the back door and pondered for a moment and nodded his head. Sounds of Old MacDonald were playing in my mind. I am quite a few years beyond singing nursery rhymes. What does one have to do for solitude? From the moment the sun comes up the dogs bark, the sirens wail, school buses roar by. Our world has become so full of noise. I long for the quiet of the White Mountains with nothing but the sound of birds and the stream passing by. I wonder how many people don't actually know what listening to the wind blow sounds like. I can't imagine living somewhere like New York where there is constant noise traffic. I am in rural Austin....now just let me clear up that I live in a small suburb, small being near 100,000 according to the most recent US Census. We lay right on the line next to Austin Texas which is the 11th largest city in the country. Austin is close to 900,000 but there are cities all around it. We sit nicely between Dallas/Ft Worth and San Antonio. Not really a farming community though. Despite the fact that we now seem to live within hearing distance of a farm. Perhaps I have become cynical in my old age but your home is supposed to be your respite. The quiet place you have to land at. This place is starting to remind me more of an airport than a respite of any kind.  And things land at an airport but certainly not what I had in mind. I understand the need for growing your own food and I totally get that it is better for your health to be in control of the things that go in to your body but I am not sure there is any amount of good health that is going to make living with these chickens bearable. Maybe they are just loud when they are being checked for eggs or disturbed but being a writer and working from home are going to make this a difficult relationship. Honestly not a whole lot different than the noise MY dog makes lately but that is because there is a new dog in the house and she thinks she is protecting us from the evil spawn in the front room. That poor animal doesn't stand a chance. She tries to walk through the room and Bonnie (my crazy chihuahua) goes on a barking spree that would rival any other chihuahua I have ever heard. We joke that perhaps she is old enough that she just barks at imaginary things now because we sure don't hear anything to trigger this. She can be sound asleep and just tear it up. I am realizing that this is all frustration coming out. Writing is good for that, helps your figure out exactly what it is that is REALLY bothering you. Not that a solution is there to be found but sometimes just knowing helps. Makes me feel a little more in control anyway!