Day 34: Falling

Peters Hill, Arnold Arboretum, 6:50am - 8am
frosty, very cold, mostly clear

Today it rained leaves. It was a gentle rain.

At first I thought the birds were shaking the leaves loose. Then I realized the leaves were descending of their own, even from bird-less branches.

I tried to record the sound of the large leaves landing softly on a thick bed of fellow leaves, but the audio didn't capture well. It certainly couldn't convey the feeling of watching one by one waft, drift and spin down, now this way, now that.

Felt a bit like the first snow flakes of the season: each one was large and distinct, quiet and beautiful.

The Bird of the Day was unusual for Peters' Hill, though I think I've heard him once before. Let me prep you with my version of his call so you can pick it out of the scenery.

My version:


In nature:


In nature (close-up, short variation):


I thought about writing a song about Falling Leaves.. but remembered that it's been done. My sketch today was for looper, will use just abstract sounds (not words) to render today's leaf fall.