It announced someone had gone outside, someone had come home or someone had forgotten to shut it properly… again. Not long afterwards, those same sheets became cubby houses, hiding places and race tracks as kids darted between them pretending they were invisible. The sprinkler ticking across the lawn Tick… Tick… Tick… Every sweep across the grass was another invitation to run through it. The kettle seemed to whistle all day long. Kookaburras laughing as the sun went down As another summer day came to an end, the birds took over.