To make a long story short, last summer I slept upstairs in a spare bedroom. Since I was on the 2nd floor, I felt comfortable enough to leave a window open all night long. I have to say it was great to fall asleep to the sound of a bazillion crickets. It was very relaxing and it seemed to epitomize the feeling of warm summer nights. I would sleep upstairs this summer just to hear the crickets, but the bed upstairs isn't nearly as comfortable as my expensive bed downstairs...
@Sarah Price, I think almost anyone that grew up in our times, love the the sound of crickets, frogs, owls, and the many other night critters. I've been wondering if those places that do the calming sounds arraignments have something like the real night sounds I remember. I guess I'll have to ask Yvonne where she gets her arraignments.
Ina, that is a carefully guarded secret; but since you are such a wonderful friend, I will share my secret with you. You just have to promise not to tell a single soul. My secret (for everything) is YOUTUBE ! ! Just put in what you want to find and pick through the results. By searching "night sounds" , I discovered a huge assortment of crickets, rain, and all kinds of other interesting sounds to help put you to sleep when needed. Some of them are an hour, some of them will play all night. (Just make sure the iPad or iPhone is plugged in so you don't drain your battery if doing an all night one) I usually listen to subliminal motivational ones, and they go for a half-hour or so. There are also apps that you can get from the app store and put on your phone or iPad. I use my phone because it is smaller, and I am only listeniing and not watching. I have a folder for them. Here is a sample from Youtube to give you an idea.
I am lucky to reside in a village where there is a grassy area that we call prairie (although it's actually far from a prairie). The neighbors here have chickens so in the morning we wake up to the cock-a-doodle of the roosters. How about the mee-mee of the goats? We have that too. Add to that the ducks and their sound. At night, the sound of cricket is common here and sometimes we spot a firefly. When it rains, expect something louder like the croaks of toads. At first we thought they were the sound of cows,huh. Anyway, welcome to our place, not a rural but not an urban.
I guess I must be the exception here. For me the sound of a cricket especially one in my bedroom at night can be annoying. I don't want to hear a whole bunch of chirpping while I am trying to get to sleep. I guess I would have the same problem with other sounds of nature such as owls and frogs. I don't mind the sound of the rain, provided its only rain not accompanied by lightening and thunder. In that case I long for the chirpping cricket.
I do humbly appreciate some of the folks who have a high degree of anxiety over the sounds of nature at night, but the sounds are kind of cute in a gory sort of way. Much the same as a male human, the crickets, frogs, fireflies, cicadas, ect. are only calling out to find a mate. They sing, dance, squeak, croak, caw, and yes, rub their hind legs togeather to let everyone know they want to get lucky. I have tried the leg thing when I was young and single, incidentally, and I really could not get the hang of it, for all I got was thigh and ankle burns and no lady to answer my call. So, I then tried singing a bit of opera in the shower but not only did a female not knock on the door, but my neighbor called the police thinking someone was in great pain. Now knowing that making noises proclaiming amore was not going my good way of attracting the opposite sex I chose the way of the flashy firefly. Shark skin suit, patten leather shoes, coctail shirt and bow tie. Yup. That should do it. Shark skin went out in 1965 and it was around 1975. I did attract an older widow who was quite inebriated and thought I was George, her long dead husband. Years later, I did find my lovely wife. The tip tap of the computer keyboard was the primary attraction sound along with being able to spell and conjugate the verb form, "I am." Which, doesn't sound like much but it did raise me up a little higher than a frog or a cricket. Love was finally in the air, or was it the ethernet. We finally met, fell in love and were wed. I no longer have to finds sounds to attract her, only to hold her. She tip taps on her ipad, I tip tap on mine and we know these are the sounds of lasting love and friendship. Yes, the sounds of nature. It's love about to happen and young ones who need to be born. While laying in bed all you have to do is think of all of the love going around and around your abode of nature's passions. They are only making the squeaks of amore, the croaks of satisfaction, and the chirps of love found. All is well, and time for rest for the small world around you is in harmony and at peace. Until, of course, the female cricket is tired of the male's attention and eats him.
I would LOVE to have goats! I've seen a few pictures of them when they wag their tails. Who can resist a wagging tail?! And their babies are so cute. I don't live on a farm however so I don't think I'll be getting any goats any time soon.