MY FAVORITE THING — Wind Chimes

Ava Grego can’t wait for all those windy days of autumn to arrive.  She only recently moved into her East Norwich home, but already she’s got the seeds of a garden in motion, with hostas, rhododendrons, even an orchid planted around a stately old oak tree.  But the big noise in the yard are the “amazing” aluminum wind chimes that hang from one of the tree’s branches.   Grego, who describes herself as “a retired housewife,” chimed in with some choice words about her amazing find during her recent interview with Newsday staff writer Daniel Bubbeo.

What makes these wind chimes so amazing?

They’re huge!  They’re seven feet from the hook to the paddle, and they sound beautiful.  They’re nice to listen to when I’m in the garden.

When did you get them?

I got them at Dee’s Nursery in Oceanside during their annual Fourth of July sale.  My friend and I belong to the Rhododendron Society, so we go there each year to pick up supplies.  I almost didn’t buy them.

Why not?

I thought they were funny.  Did you ever see wind chimes that big?  And then I was afraid they’d make so much noise that they’d annoy my neighbors.  I figured I could always take them down it that happened.  I even had them highlighted with spotlights [around the bottom of the tree] so I can see them at night.

You also have smaller wind chimes.  How are they different, other than in size?

The little ones will twinkle more.  These [big ones] have that very hollow, resonant sound.  I think they’re very masculine wind chimes.  The others are more feminine.  They’re tuned to the chimes of King David, and they’re resonant for a few minutes after making their gonging noise.  I was so proud because I put them up by myself.

How did you do that?

I took a trowel and tied it to a rope and then tied the rope to my belt loop.  Then I threw the trowel over the branch of this oak tree.  Then I tied one end of the rope to the extra large S hook I bought and hooked the chimes onto the bottom of the hook.  Then I had to pull the rope up to the branch, coax the hook onto the limb and tease the rope off the hook.  It was really hard, but I had a lot of fun doing it.

Reprinted with permission.
Newsday September 7, 2006
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Written by Daniel Bubbeo