Icewind's Ramblings

Woody Woodpecker leaving his message of love It's that time of year in Georgia when the birds are out in force with many species hitting the ten bird feeders and bath on the property.  The golden finches and cardinals are my favorite.  Woodpeckers are out pecking on the trees and telephone poles.  The red headed ones look pretty and tend to show off their territorial skills by sometimes forcing the gold finches and tufted titmouse away from the feeders.  I always wondered why woodpeckers peck on telephone poles since there can't be any bugs to dig out, certainly none that don't taste foul from years of soaking in creosote.  Turns out the birds use the poles for the same thing humans do — communication.  Woodpeckers don't use the wires, just the poles.  The dried wood makes satisfying sounds that can be heard by other birds for blocks around.  If the wind is right the sound can carry half a mile as I can hear birds pecking away on my neighbor Jim’s property abou

Wind Chimes Is there a sound that helps you fall asleep?  I have friends who need sound to fall asleep and use various things to give them that comfort to fall into a nice sleep cycle.  One uses a hair dryer (has had them catch fire a couple times over the years), another cannot sleep without the television going softly in the back ground.  Still others have used “sound generators” to give them different sounds such as waves crashing on the shore or a water fall into a lake or stream.  I guess it is a comfort thing for many people, myself included.  What sounds do I like to hear?  The ocean surf is probably my favorite but it is only a few times a year that those natural sounds make its way into my ears.  The sound of a thunderstorm passing by is another one that I missed while living in Alaska all those years as we had none there.  The closest thing was occasionally “thunder snow” would fall it there was the right combination of static electricity, upslope air and humidity.