Hear them ring?

It is ten minutes to five and I am eagerly awaiting the top of the hour. I haven't heard the church bells in weeks and I'm hoping that it is just because I haven't been paying attention. They've always faithfully pealed on the hour, every hour between 8:00am and 8:00pm. I asked Adam yesterday if he had heard them recently and he admitted, puzzled, that he wasn't sure. It's funny to me that we can grow so accustomed to something that it can completely elude our notice.

I'm fairly certain they aren't real bells. I'm not sure how they could be, considering they can play a full diatonic scale and the bell tower at the Catholic church seems barely big enough to house a single bell. Real or not, though, I think the bells add to the homey, quaintness of Waterville. It is the perfect effect when you're out tending a garden or enjoying a warm, summer evening on the porch. I love to analyze to the overtones as the longer songs ring out. If you listen close and really zero in, you can hear that the overtones sound a little louder than the melody. It actually makes the song sound kind of strange.

Sadly, 5:00 has come and passed and I still don't know if the bells have rung! Just as the hour changed, a massive Dodge Ram drove by, drowning out all but its own sound. I poked my head out of the window in hopes that I could hear beyond the sharp diesel clatter, but to no avail. Maybe I'll be able to hear them tomorrow as I spend some time outside, packing up my soaker hoses for the winter.