Txdigest.com

Teachers report back to work today. She has been moved to middle school this year. Mixed feelings about it.

It is really quiet this morning. No breeze so no sounds of rustling leaves. Even the night sounds of insects is less than normal. I did hear the sound of the train horn as it passed thru itasca and that is 8 miles away. Wonderful, mournful sound.

grouchy wrote:It is really quiet this morning. No breeze so no sounds of rustling leaves. Even the night sounds of insects is less than normal. I did hear the sound of the train horn as it passed thru itasca and that is 8 miles away. Wonderful, mournful sound.

I noticed the humidity had increased. And yes, very quiet out there...............except for the damned septic aerator motor. Also, there is a bird out in the dark that I can't identify. I hear it almost every morning. It whistles a single note song that rises at the end. I've searched and searched to no avail. All I found reference to are Mockingbirds, Chuck-Wills-Widow, Whippoorwill, and the classic owl sounds. This bird is none of those.

millergrovesue wrote:

grouchy wrote:It is really quiet this morning. No breeze so no sounds of rustling leaves. Even the night sounds of insects is less than normal. I did hear the sound of the train horn as it passed thru itasca and that is 8 miles away. Wonderful, mournful sound.

I noticed the humidity had increased. And yes, very quiet out there...............except for the damned septic aerator motor. Also, there is a bird out in the dark that I can't identify. I hear it almost every morning. It whistles a single note song that rises at the end. I've searched and searched to no avail. All I found reference to are Mockingbirds, Chuck-Wills-Widow, Whippoorwill, and the classic owl sounds. This bird is none of those.

I would bet that library lady could identify it

grouchy wrote:I would bet that library lady could identify it

That would be great! I consider myself a pretty good birder and a good researcher. But, when all you have is a call it's very hard to find the correct bird.

The bird might be a grackle. They make a sound that goes up on the end of the call.

It might also be a mockingbird imitating a grackle. Mockers like to sing around dawn. I have not noticed grackles singing around dawn, but in my dotage, I am not up that early.

My wife "moved down" to middle school so she could watch our kids compete in high school. She loves teaching middle school kids, they still listen and learn...

LibraryLady wrote:The bird might be a grackle. They make a sound that goes up on the end of the call.

It might also be a mockingbird imitating a grackle. Mockers like to sing around dawn. I have not noticed grackles singing around dawn, but in my dotage, I am not up that early.

Not either one. We don't have grackles out here----thank you God! It's not a mockingbird either. I frequently hear them near dawn. Regardless of what they are singing mockingbirds have a distinctive voice pattern at some point in their song. And, at least around here, at dawn they typically sound more like they are scolding, like a squirrel, than other songs.

This bird makes the sound about every minute and a half. I've heard it at all hours of the night. It sounds like it's in the grass out in the middle of the pasture. I thought it might be some kind of owl but can't find an owl that makes this sound.

Train horns at night creep me out. When I would visit my Grandmother in Corsicana, it would sound like they were going throough her backyard sometimes because she was so close. I dreaded spending the night down there.

What happened to going back to school AFTER Labor Day so famalies could have a last trip to the Grandparents house or wherever they want to spend one last, long weekend with the family before heading back to the 3 RRR's ?

glenn/dallas wrote:What happened to going back to school AFTER Labor Day so famalies could have a last trip to the Grandparents house or wherever they want to spend one last, long weekend with the family before heading back to the 3 RRR's ?

I think the last time that happened was sometime in the late 60s, when the school year was extended by a week. It was after I started school, in '65.

Schools were starting in Texas as early as the first week of August, and the State Lege finally said, "Enough", and decreed that school would start on the Monday before Labor day. Don't remember when that happened, but it has been within the last 5-10 years, IIRC.

crocmommy wrote:Train horns at night creep me out. When I would visit my Grandmother in Corsicana, it would sound like they were going throough her backyard sometimes because she was so close. I dreaded spending the night down there.

If it was close, I would not like it. But, in the early morning hours and seven miles away it can be a nice sound.

bodine wrote:My wife "moved down" to middle school so she could watch our kids compete in high school. She loves teaching middle school kids, they still listen and learn...

She will adapt. Last couple of years have been in elementary. The nice thing about is that most of the kids at the middle school know her.

jellowrestling wrote:

glenn/dallas wrote:What happened to going back to school AFTER Labor Day so famalies could have a last trip to the Grandparents house or wherever they want to spend one last, long weekend with the family before heading back to the 3 RRR's ?

I think the last time that happened was sometime in the late 60s, when the school year was extended by a week. It was after I started school, in '65.

Schools were starting in Texas as early as the first week of August, and the State Lege finally said, "Enough", and decreed that school would start on the Monday before Labor day. Don't remember when that happened, but it has been within the last 5-10 years, IIRC.

Haven't found when school began starting before labor day, but the state created the uniform start date in 2007.