I love windchimes. Several sets are scattered about our yard. More so now, with MM having helped me resurrect a couple last week that had lost one or two elements, but which were easy to repair. So I now have a set of seven tinkling dolphins on the east porch; a set of three "beefy" iron ducks hanging from the old skeleton of the now-deceased Catalpa; a set of three pottery bells hanging on the south side of the picnic shelter, and a very boistrous set of six aluminum tubes on the southeast porch.
You would think all that noise would be intolerable, but since they all front on different sides of the house, they don't all "sing" at the same time.
Windchimes aren't true weathervanes, yet they do offer an auditory message as to the direction of incoming weather. Right now, for example, the wind is piping up to around 30 mph or so and coming directly out of the west, and the chimes on the southwest corner are beyond musical. Their merry clanging is telling it loud and clear, sounding the alarm: batten down the hatches, we're in for a good blow. The dolphins on the east, however, are completely silent. They are unperturbed, and gently swimming through the air, coaxing tiny --almost inaudible--notes from one another, safe in the light breeze, protected from gusts in the lee of the house. On the other hand, the dolphins respond vigorously to the east breezes. That's when we can expect snow in the winter. "East wind shall blow and we shall have snow." So during cold weather, when we get an east wind, the dolphins are my messengers bidding me watch out for snow.
At night, especially, I find the "voices" of the chimes comforting and revealing. We've often been awakened by one or another of the chimes, and sometimes that's important.
Right now, the iron ducks are out there under the Catalpa tree, paddling vigorously and clanking against one another, so the wind has shifted some. Time to get this posted before the electricity decides to take a vacation!
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Gorgeous imagery and capture of the sense! Loved this writing!! And I am captivated by the notion of putting chimes on different sides so that they can "sing" at different times. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe too have wind chimes in various locations. I look forward to warmer days and open windows so I can hear their songs again.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post Elora - I love wind chimes :) Oh and I just love the reflection in the first photo!!
ReplyDeleteMy children gave me a wonderful wind chime for Christmas. It has hung outside my sun room since then until this week when the wind broke a piece off the bottom. It was a mighty big wind. :) In fact, it was so big that a lumber yard nearby lost one of it's sheds to it and several trees have succumbed. My wind chime survived, just a bit less than before, but still merrily ringing out the spring breezes. blessings, marlene
ReplyDeleteDarla, Thank you, dear girl! I'm so glad you enjoyed this post! And an assortment of wind chimes--with their distinctive voices, do become harbingers!
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Vicki! We actually didn't light a fire in the woodstove last night, and managed to keep warm! So 't aint far away! (See Peeper post! :-))
Thank you, Miss Elora! And I have LOVED your cabbage recipes, which I plan to try out this coming year when we have cabbages once again! Thank you for the wonderful cooking lessons direct from Italy. Waaaay better than Lydia! :-))
Marlene! So good to hear from you! Oh: :-(( so sorry about the damaged wind chime! Can it be repaired? Or, perhaps it works just as well without being repaired. Loved your post a couple of days back. Never got a comment up for you, but it was splendid. It's the last one you wrote. Such fun. Love reading what you write, and how you write it!
Thank you dear people, all!
I too am a windchime person as the one kind of weather we have here is almost constant wind. Last winter I hung windchimes from the hanging basket hooks by the front door and we hear their gentle clanging even through the double glazing. Plenty more chimes hanging up at the scree garden each with their distinctive sound. Some need repair and I love the glass weight in your picture, much nicer than the old lids I've used temporarily for some of mine. I've got the plans for an aeolian harp
ReplyDeletethough I have no idea what it would sound like(surely wonderful with a name like that). Must build it one day.And I love those ducks too.