Missing Sounds of Late September

Mornings are slightly cooler, afternoons are in the 70’s. The sun feels warm and delightful. The direction of the sun and the angles of shadows are definitely different due to the Earth's tilting on its axis. 

In our part of the world, the leaves have not started changing. Well, I should say it’s occasional. We don’t notice it driving around anyway, but once in a while, we see a red leaf on the ground or the change of garnet red lily pads and water shields on the lake. 

This past week, I have been aware of sounds I am not hearing. 

The hummingbirds are gone. I miss them motoring past, darting from the trees to our feeders, racing to the nectar first. They are there one day and then they are gone. Suddenly, our patio feels empty.

In the evenings, the absence of frogs and cicadas is noticeable, adding silence to the night. Yet during summer, croaking, chirping, and buzzing are almost taken for granted until their sounds are no longer there.

In spring, we naturally associate the local calls of birdsong, which is extremely joyous during the mating season. Even though the goldfinches are still at the feeders, they aren’t calling to one another—that wonderful whistle they send out, which comes from further away or closer. Rasby bluejays continue to request that the feeders be filled in the morning, and the geese migrate overhead. 

Squirrels and chipmunks are not as vocal, either; their sounds are more of a shuffling to and from feeders or other food sources, as they are very busy preparing for winter. Woodpeckers are prevalent, looking for food in the trees, which reminds me of a new sound this time of year—the whirring sound of chainsaws cutting downed trees for outdoor fires or warmth inside.

Presently, there is an unexplained quiet in Northern Wisconsin; it could be the absence of summer vacationers, or, according to http://today.uconn.edu/2015, our ears can detect faraway sounds, which can be recognized from a distance. Perhaps the silence I have become aware of is the absence of harvesting machines that have cut the hay and harvested the corn. Farm-work sounds of tractors and harvesters no longer reflect off the forest or earth around us. They are not sounds we would recognize during the harvest process, unless we were driving by. We are only aware of them in the silence that follows when the harvest has been completed. 

I suppose that same phenomenon would hold for the multitude of lakes surrounding us, filled with boating and water activities, or vast miles of ATV trails.

Regardless of the sounds we become accustomed to in the summer, we definitely become aware when we no longer hear or detect them due to the absence of vibrations. It is definitely quieter in our ‘neck of the woods’.

What sounds have you missed this time of year where you live? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to leave your comments below.