Sunday, June 27, 2010

Don't They Ever Sleep?

A couple of weeks ago, my husband phoned from the department store, asking if he should buy a tent.  The kids and I answered "NO".  He bought it anyhow, along with a second air mattress.  Then next thing we knew, we were setting it up in the back yard, and the 2 kids & I all slept in it that night.  It's a huge tent, with an optional divider in the middle which makes it two rooms, each with its own door and two windows, and with plenty of room for a double air mattress on each side.

I know when we keep our windows open at night, I sometimes need to close them by 4:30 or 5am, since the birds are so noisy it is hard to continue sleeping.  But I was surprised that in the tent, the commotion starts much earlier.  At 3am, I already heard swallows flying.  Then at 4am, a small bird started singing in earnest.  By 5am, the crows were on the move, and calling loudly to each other.  We were all quite ready to get up by 7am.

This weekend, our nephew stayed with us, so we set up the tent again on Friday night, and the 2 boys slept on the one side, while we girls slept on the other side.  Same story.  By 3am, sounds of birds stirring.  (If anything else had wandered by earlier, I must have been sleeping and didn't hear it.)  The weather had also changed from a clear sky (and view of the full moon!) at midnight, to totally dark and overcast by 3am.  Good thing it didn't rain, so allowed us to take down the tent while still dry the next morning.

I was just about to go to sleep tonight, when I noticed a bird singing outside.  He's been singing for over half an hour, since I noticed him (it's now past 11:45pm).  I'm wondering what he's thinking.  It got dark at about 9:30pm.  Or are there enough lights in the city, that he is staying up a little longer than he should?  Anyhow, even though the "camping" is fun (and we hope to do more of it this summer, maybe invite some of the kids' friends over), I'm happy that I'll soon be crawling into a warm, comfy bed.  And if this poor confused bird keeps singing, I can close the windows.

8 comments:

Laura said...

We have been waiting for the weather to improve for long enough to do the same in our back yard. My 5yr old has been begging my husband to 'go camping', by which she means in the backyard. Summer is coming, right?

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Cute story. :) I set up a couple of tents in our backyard for my daughter's slumber party (several years ago.) Forgot about the in-ground sprinkler system which came on at 3 a.m. and drenched everyone! Imma Bad Mom.

Christine B. said...

Hello from tent-land!

I was awoken by a strange noise only this morning. A strange tapping that seemed to be moving around the outside of the house. I thought perhaps it was a technician adjusting the gas meter. Turns out it was a woodpecker testing out the back and side of the house as well as the arbor.


Christine in Alaska

Carletta said...

It's been a long time since I slept in a tent. I doubt I ever will again. :)
We moved back to the country three years ago when I noticed birds singing in the middle of the night. Nature is remarkable.

Thanks for your visit. :)

Garden Lily said...

Laura - Summer has sure been off & on lately, but I'm hopeful it will stay now.

Kate - Oh my gosh, I'm glad we don't have a sprinkler system!

Christine - That's too funny!

Carletta - I thought I wouldn't be tenting anymore either, but since the kids enjoy it so much, I'm glad to join them. Maybe we'll even venture out for the "real thing" some day. My husband & I loved tenting before the kids came along.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Sleeping in a tent in the yard reminds me of being a kid. We would sometimes even just sleep on the deck chairs not in a tent at all. Now I think I'd be thinking about the wildlife that might be in our yard during the night and probably wouldn't sleep very well. That late night singer does sound confused.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

PS I wanted to thank you for helping me id that dragonfly/skimmer. I think you are right!

Shady Gardener said...

Nice tent! I would like to set ours up in the backyard . . . yes, we'd definitely hear the birds! I do love hearing the barred owl around 3:00 a.m. "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?" ;-)

I also love the sound of rustling tree leaves at night. Restful . . . Have a great summer!!

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