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A neighbor has big clanging harbor-bell windchimes, which would be great if they were in an isolated yard somewhere, but instead, they're right outside my window. On blustery nights, they clangbongboingCLAMMER me awake.
I will snap one night and rampage over in the dark and TEAR THOSE FUCKERS DOWN.
We have tremendous high winds here, and they tend to rip smaller metallic wind chimes apart. Plus, yeah, they get damned annoying before they fly off.
My mom made me a different one one year out of bamboo, thick fishing wire, seashells and coral. The result was a very subtle sound that was like a babbling brook, even when the wind was howling around the house.
It, too, eventually fell apart, but I still miss it and wish she'd make another one. I saved some of the shells and coral.
I don't suppose this will make anyone feel better, but in Chinese folklore they're supposed attract ghosts. Personally, I think tremendous high winds are much scarier.
I love my windchimes. I have about six on the porch, including one that is shaped like a cow and made of what I think are actual cow bells. That one, being as how actual cow bells are giant heavy metal objects, only chimes in category five hurricane force winds. At least I think it might chime in hurricane force winds; it's never done it in lesser breezes. I also have a bamboo one and a tinkly little dime store one and a standard issue chimes one and a very pretty one made of bits of glass and prisms. In other words, my house would terrify some of you.
My back patio has a dozen or so windchimes hanging there. The patio is covered so it has to be fairly breezy to get any sound out of them; that's annoying to me, but I'm sure my neighbours appreciate it.
I am a fan of the Japanese summer wind bells. They let you know that it is breezy, and hence COOL! Otherwise you are too hot, because you don't know if it is breezy or not!
Elsa, please to remove a few from the neighbor, and bring them to me. I have crummy hearing and they will not keep me up. I find them sort of melancholy. I had a smallish triangular one that sounded like a chiming buoy, but my Mom admired it and I gave to her. She gave it my brother. I kind of like gifts to be mobile.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
photo by ethylene
