Front Porch Stories: My fascination with Wind Chimes

By KATHY BOHANNON, Special to The Weekly

There’s a particular set of wind chimes at our house that I’m always eager to hear. The deep, musical sound that the wind creates is surely never the same exact tune, but always a welcome one.

I have several wind chimes, but the ones I can hear from any room in my house are undoubtedly my favorites as they were a gift from my daughter and her husband several years ago. When we lived in a neighborhood where the homes were close together, I had to keep them bundled at night because my next-door neighbor’s bedroom window was just across our side yard.

Our next home was nestled on six acres out in the country. It’s as if the wind chimes danced with freedom as they burst out in uninterrupted song with even the slightest breeze. The grandlittles seemed to delight in creating their own symphony by clanging the metal tubes together, ringing the chimes like they were keepers of the bell tower and it was high noon.

I hung cheap wind chimes throughout the woods of that property, and though they barely made a sound, the faint jingling was just enough to make me smile while taking a hike through those woods.

The favorite wind chimes that came as a gift have a perfect place on the back porch of our new home, far from disturbing any neighbors. My husband and I have agreed that our house is in some kind of wind tunnel situation as there is a substantial breeze more often than not. We appreciate that we can enjoy the chimes and the fact that they are not bothering neighbors is a bonus.

My love for wind chimes goes as far back as I can remember. Mom had some of the dime store variety that were inexpensive glass slides, hand painted with tiny flowers. They offered a wonderful tinkling sound with even the gentlest breeze. They were delicate, held together by a metal ring and red strings, definitely not the kind of wind chimes one would leave to the elements. Ours hung inside the house, over the kitchen sink where mom could enjoy them by opening the window just enough to catch a slight breeze.

I have looked for those dainty glass wind chimes every spring for probably the last two decades. I expect they are no longer made, at least not like those we had in the 1970s. The only ones that come close are in my front yard sporting large, chunky pieces of glass that don’t even come close to mimicking the sound of delicate glass. They couldn’t make the perfect tinkling sound if their little chains depended on it. They clatter like jars clanging together which isn’t unpleasant, but it’s just not the same as the ones of my youth.

There are some rusted chimes in the front yard that have tiny bells which barely make a sound. Then there are others made of Capiz shells which are thin, translucent mollusk shells. Those produce a softly somewhat muted clinking. Here in the wind tunnel I’ve been through two sets of these already. They typically don’t survive more than a year or so in our yard.

Spring is just around the corner. Soon it will be warm enough to greet the day with the morning breeze as we enjoy coffee on the porch. There will be bold notes from the back porch, while the front porch tunes are muted and softer. Regardless of which set of wind chimes I’m closest to, I look forward to each new tune the wind decides to bring.

Kathy Bohannon is a freelance writer and Christian humorist. Contact her at [email protected].