I collect them...
but not for their appearance...
or style...
musician that I am...
it's their sound...
some light and tinkly...
others rattly... or bongy...
or even brassy...
some very high pitched...
some mellow...
others deep & profound...
some tuned to certain notes or keys...
others... more random...
and the timbre is the thing...
they sing with the wind...
clamor in the storm...
and sigh with the merest of breezes...
they are the sound track of my life these days...
the laughter and the song of God...
sometimes...style and timbre meet...
in a serendipitous blend...
as in this copper, Mission style w.c....
hanging on my front porch...
this is not a w.c....
but it hangs & twirls in the breeze...
and always makes me smile...
I have most of my collection in the back yard...
here on the Valley oak, are 2 smaller ones...
they flank the hummingbird feeder...
and have a very "tinkly quality"...
though the one on the right has a shimmeriness to it's sound...
this large group is my most varied grouping...
there are ceramic bells from the Oregon coast...
a ceramic garden Nymph w/oak leaves from Orcas Is, WA...
[she's holding a temple bell...]
there are 2 multi tubed chimes...
similar to the ones percussionists use...
there is a "tuned" one...
and another ceramic one...
I just can't remember where I got it from...
as the breeze is blowing...
I hear them singing outside my window...
even as I write this...
in this close-up...
you can see the 2 ceramic ones...
as well as one of the several tuned ones...
I have in different "keys"...
in this close-up...
you can see the multi tubed ones...
flanking another hummingbird feeder...
and behind the one on the right...
another ceramic chime...
here... you can see an old ceramic bell...
that was my great aunts, then Mom's...
it hung outside my bedroom window at the ranch...
and it's hollow "bong" takes me "home"...
past it, is a rusting[it's supposed to...]pyramid chime...
and just to the left...
a tiny cat chime I found in the leaves...
I thought it was lost...
such a tiny delicate sound...
it's closest to my office window...
this chime was Mom's...
I have one just like it in pieces...
a victim of winter storms...
Mom had hers re-strung...
the blue hummingbird to the extreme left...
was also Mom's...
it was a gift from a teacher friend...
and she had it in her room at the "home"...
here...you can see the grouping...
the blue hummingbird chime next to the feeder...
on the right is a granite shard chime...
it has an exquisite quality but is very fragile...
as is the petrified wood one that needs to be restrung...
on the left...my glass "autumn leaves"...
here's a close-up of the "autumn leaves"...
it has a very tinkly sound that goes so well with the granite...
over in the plum tree are a couple of the tuned ones...
the long one is the "Westminster Strike" one...
the copper teakettle has a nice mellow tone...
this is more of a grouped shot...
that includes another tuned one...
my new copper rain chain...
that clanks in a strong wind...
and a couple of small tinkly/shimmery sounding ones...
around the bird feeder...
they let me know when something is eating...
here is my "Celtic copper leaf" chime...
although it rattles & clanks more than chimes...
the black tubes next to it are the most resonate chimes I own...
and remind me of a tam tam gong with the length of it's sound...
back under the peach tree is a faded "dolphin" chime...
it used to be very bright & tacky looking...
but has always produced such an exquisite sound...
that I looked past the tacky appearance...
in the nearby cherry tree...
there is a small copper tuned one...
a medium tuned one...
and what's left of another medium sized tuned one...
the victim of winter storms...
which will go with all the other tubes...
to be re-strung...and to someday sing again...
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