Sound before Rain

Hay for sale....seriously, we need to sell some.
Looks as if this guy would buy if he had pockets to carry his money

Eerie how sounds carry when rain is in the offing. Trains haunt, whistles flaunt, pitting distance against stability, tracks rumble and thunder under weighty wheels, rattling the windows and waking the sleepers.

If I had a dollar for every wheel that passed in front of this farm, even for only an hour, I would be rich indeed. 

Imagine how many pass in a day, with two state highways, one on each side of the river, a bike path, the NYS Thruway and the busy train tracks over there! I would take a day's worth in dimes and never worry about a dollar again.

The valley funnels travelers past, all hours of the day and night, until if there is a pause, say at three AM, we all awaken and listen in restless concern...what is wrong, what is wrong?

The roosters crow right here in the kitchen, deep and throaty, high and squeaky, the young entry being heard from.

Did the barn creep up to perch on the window sill sometime in the darkness?

Or is just the lowering clouds and emptying branches snuggling all around us, bringing the busy valley and the early animals to intrude on the morning?

I don't know, but it focuses attention on things usually ignored.

Yesterday was one of those restless days before a storm. I made a batch of cider jelly before the sun came up, filtered and froze the rest of the cider, and puttered all day, propagating mint plants, watering things, and doing household chores.

No one could sit still for long. Even Lazy Daisy was antsy and busy about the burying of biscuit ends in corners, under tiny pieces of paper that utterly failed to shroud them, and prancing about a job well done.

Or clicking toenails an hour before dinner and shoving her dish around pointedly.

Even the birds were busy with the Jays finally braving the feeder right next to the window. They had been avoiding it until then. They are still swift and loud in their dining.

I like to note first bird each day...many days a Carolina Wren. Yesterday a Chickadee, today a what the heck? Something chip noting happily away....I think maybe a robin....hmmm.....too dark to be sure.