Sounds on a Frozen Morning

Temperatures on the farm this time of year seem to be several degrees colder than the forecast typically suggests.  So, when we saw lows predicted in the upper 20's (Fahrenheit) we had to remind ourselves that it would likely be much lower at the Genuine Faux Farm.

Sure enough, we had a low temperature below 20 early this past week.  

On Tuesday, we got up and noticed that the cacophony was visiting us in full force.  For those who are not inclined to follow the link to the blog in the previous session, the cacophony is a large flock of various types of blackbirds that loves to find places, such as ours, that has some trees and open ground to rest as they wind their way to the South for the winter.

The short clip below gives you an idea of what they sounded like at our farm that morning.

 

They, of course, were not too keen about my moving around to do chores, so they flew to their next spot and the world became quiet.

My feet crunched as I walked over grass that had frozen and had not yet thawed (the temperature was still 21 degrees at that time).  I noticed that we had a light, intermittent breeze and there was very little in the way of sound at that moment.

Then suddenly, during a light puff of air, I heard little popping noises, followed by the sound of dry, frozen leaves falling and striking other dry, frozen objects.

I think most of us in the Midwest can identify the sound of rustling dry leaves in the wind.  So, the second sound was very much like that.

But, the first sound.  It grabbed my attention.

I stood silently for a couple of additional gentle puffs of wind until I figured out what I was hearing.

The little "pops" coincided with the green leaves disengaging themselves from their tree, before they tumbled down to join their compatriots... making the rustling leaf noise that was familiar to me.

Sometimes, magic happens in small ways that we don't expect on a frozen morning.