Nature? Bah.

I don't really want to be the kind of grumpy misanthrope (misornithrope?) who hates birds, but honestly, whose bright idea was it to call the noise they make singing? I've been waking up lately at about 4 am, and if I don't go back to sleep quick before the cacophony begins, I'm pretty much up for the day.

This is one way (maybe the only one) in which I preferred Florida. Muscovy ducks are the fugliest of the fug, annoying, and I was always a little scared of them, but at least they are quiet. The most bird noise I ever heard in Miami was a little polite cooing from the doves.

Maybe it is because of the air conditioning--I kept my window shut almost all of the time--or maybe because, in Florida, it doesn't start getting light at 3:45 in the morning, but I never had this problem there.

Note to self: the neighbors probably already think you're weird. Going outside at dawn to throw shoes at the trees, however tempting, is a bad idea.