I went for a walk today because it's been awhile and I immediately decided that it wasn't going take place through the subdivision. A path at the bend in the street leads into the woods and that option seemed far more appealing. It was wind-still and very quiet, save a few chattering chickadees.
Near the end of my trek I heard a woodpecker above me, somewhere, and its hammering was feeble so I assumed that it was a Downy. Then another joined in. After a few seconds a third woodpecker started drumming, maybe even a forth on the downbeat. From eerie silence to what sounded like roofers from a distance. I'd never heard that percussion fest before. That got me thinking, which is always a mistake. What if I were to install three or four hollow trunks in the backyard and cut them to length so that lumen diameter and trunk length became a Helmholtz resonator corresponding to a given frequency.
Then invite the local Downy clan to visit. Each drumming peckerhead would create a predetermined tone depending upon which hollow trunk they chose to percuss. If enough woodpeckers drum on enough hollow trunks will a musical beat ensure? Welcome to my world of the imagination.
