Winter, what sounds do you think of when you hear that word? For the residents of northern lands, winter brings with it a unique set of sounds, some enjoyable or memory-making, some unpleasant.
For these denizens of cold climates, a good snow storm announces that autumn has departed and winter has finally gripped the landscape.
- During the evening, you may hear the wind whistle around the eaves of the house, seeking an entry point. Just knowing that you are not outside to feel its icy fingers on your skin makes the shrieking wind a warming sound.
- Toward the early hours of morning, if much snow has fallen, the scraping sound and rumble of a snowplow will come to your ears as it prepares streets and roads for morning traffic.
- Join your neighbors outside in the morning hours after a snow storm. Snow blowers labor to clean sidewalks, engines droning to finish the job quickly. Shovelers, individually or in groups, grate the sidewalk with metal or plastic scoops. The rhythmic scratch, pause, scratch, pause, speaks of the effort.
- From driveways and parking lots arise scratching sounds as early risers find their vehicle windows coated with frost and ice.
- People out walking for exercise crunch snow crystals under their boot-clad feet. Many northern regions get snow before Christmas. When the countryside is layered under a blanket of snow, the special sounds of Christmas are even clearer in the chilly evening hours.
- While scurrying from store to store to find the perfect gift, you are likely to hear the jingle of the Salvation Army volunteers' bells before you see them or their red kettle.
- On Christmas Eve, the local church bell may sound, its bell tolling deep and solemn, calling people to worship.
- Christmas carolers of different sizes and ages assemble in small groups to sing at nursing homes and the houses of neighbors and shut-ins. Some voices may stray off-key or attempt to harmonize, but what they lack in professionalism, they make up for in enthusiasm and good wishes. When Christmas is over and the New Year is but a memory, temperatures dip below freezing. Northern inhabitants struggle against nature in an attempt to remain warm.
- In the afternoon and early evening, you may hear the sound of someone chopping wood, each heavy thunk of the axe driving a wedge in logs too thick to burn outright.
- In the evening hours, the woodcutter and his family may sit about reading or playing games while the fire in the hearth crackles and sparks.
- Listen when the temperatures dip and you may hear the foundations of the house settle in, snapping with the cold. On weekends when the temperatures hover above zero, families may venture outside to take in winter festivals or walk in the forests for recreation.
- Remember the winter scene in the movie “Dr. Zhivago”? The scene where the horse-drawn sledge travels across an endless field of snow? Listen for the sound of sleigh bells jangling with the horses' movements. Or, if you don't remember that movie, think of the movie, “The Polar Express”, and the bells on the reindeer harnesses. What is a winter festival without horse-drawn sleigh rides?
- If you venture out on a lake during the deep winter, the ice will snap under your feet sounding for all the world like gunshots. No need to worry, since many smaller lakes already have a thick enough layer of ice to hold your weight.
- Chickadees and nuthatches chatter around a well-stocked bird feeder. Occasionally, a blue jay screams out its name as it comes to feed. In the distance, a woodpecker may be heard, tapping at the trunks of dead or dying trees. At nighttime, a great horned owl may hold a conversation with one farther away, comparing the evening's hunting foray. Their question, “Who-who, who, who?” remains unanswered. Perhaps you will hear the far-off cry of a wolf.
- The most beautiful sound of winter is really not a sound at all. Stand still in a snowy wood and listen. Silence surrounds you.
Sounds of winter in northern climates evoke feelings of warmth, security, and peace. Hearken to the beauty of winter.
