Thursday, May 7, 2015

Burning Stubble

It's a smell that I love: smoke.

Maybe from my months (years, altogether) of living with only wood for heat.

Here, some farmers burn stubble and the smoke carries long distances.

This burn was just a mile from our place and we took a drive to have a look. Sometimes these fires, even when watched closely, do get away on a person because of the ever-present wind.


Bits of black papery char were floating down into our yard from somewhere, possibly from this fire or even a burn further away.

We have yet to consider having a small bonfire in the front yard, what with the surface of the ground so dry and quick to kindle, and the wind being what it is. It's been too cold anyway; Bev and I sat in the sun the other afternoon but had to put jackets on.

I stand on the step after dark and listen to the birds and frogs and look at the stars, but not for long. Instead I open the bedroom window a crack while reading in the evening. The sora has not yet returned, and I'm waiting with some anxiety. What if it doesn't return? I'd miss it terribly.

It's rare to catch a glimpse of the sora, but I get to LISTEN TO IT before falling asleep each summer night.

4 comments:

  1. That is a bird call I haven't heard here on the Canadian Shield in Ontario! Which sound is it that the sora makes at night, the sound files I found on the internet were very loud and piercing, but perhaps they aren't representative?

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    1. The ker-wee or the whinny are the ones I'm most familiar with; particularly the ker-wee at night. I don't find them bothersomely loud or piercing, perhaps because they're far enough away to be pleasant.

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  2. The Sora has a lovely song - sweet. Here in my woods, summer's serenade is the deafening thrum of cicadas. For various reasons my windows are rarely open, but during the summer, I open my bedroom window at night so I can hear the cicadas - a sound I hopelessly adore.

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  3. I will have to look up the cicada sound. Is that like a grasshopper? But tomorrow; now, it's past my bedtime and I have to be up early to get to work early tomorrow. One of the best things about summer is being able to leave windows open and listen to the birds (and apparently, cicadas!).

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