I left early this morning to get a walk in before the sun was high in the sky and caused me to swelter. The kids are now out of school for the Summer so less people and traffic around made for a hushed and humid morn as I did my 2¼-mile round trip to the Wyandotte/Lincoln Park border and back. I was enroute to Wyandotte when I first heard it. The unmistakable rhythm of a woodpecker drilling his beak into a tree. I swiveled my head to get a look at this fractious bird but could see nothing. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt – my ear could not detect his whereabouts either … and then he stopped. Soon thereafter, a similar, if not identical, noise sounded in the distance. It wasn’t an echo. I couldn’t find the offender this time either. Then, the first noise resumed, subsequently stopped, then sure enough, the other woodpecker once again responded in kind, as he drilled fast and furiously. The pair was raising a ruckus and causing consternation to someone out there to be sure. I hope no one wanted to sleep in. On my return trip from Wyandotte to Lincoln Park, the pair was still up to their respective drilling expeditions, each episode lasting a minute or two. I had to stifle a smile as I imagined one or two homeowners nervously glancing out the window, mindful of the series of staccato jabs into their prized trees, and witnessing a pair of fine-feathered friends performing their rendition of “Dueling Banjos” out in the backyard. As I moseyed on home, my imagination went into overdrive and I soon could hear none other than Woody Woodpecker looking down from the tree and laughing hysterically in that goofy sound he always made. Further pondering those little buggers caused me to conclude they were merely alerting each other to bug and grub hidey-holes via Woodpecker Morse Code. Well, go figure.

“Nature is what wins in the end.” -Abby Adams