It’s an odd spot for a windmill – up in a wooded canyon, rather than out in the open. It’s fan barely reaches above the nearby junipers and oaks. I don’t know how long it’s been there; the storage tank is rusty and leaky; even the watering tank is starting to leak, although it still holds enough water for the cows and wildlife.
Shadow and I visited the old windmill a few days ago. It was a warm day, but the breezes were starting to kick up ahead of a winter storm. It was very quiet, with just a few distant calls of ravens, jays, and juncos. And the old windmill creaking and banging away.
The old Aeromotor windmills have a time-tested elegance to them. Invented 125 years ago, they are simple and functional, steadily pumping water without the use of an internal combustion engine. For me, the creaky, groaning, and rhythmic clanging of the sucker rod has a soothing quality. Cowboy wind chimes.
Recording notes: Recorded with a Sony PCM-M10 with Audio-Technica AT2022 and FEL SK3.5 pre-amp. Recording subject to high-pass filtering and normalization.
ooooh. favorite soundbite so far. a naturalist shouldn’t say this. ha.
Joe: I know what you mean, I felt that way recording it!
A lovely contraption.
Very soothing. And a wonderful variety of sound – including the sound of spilling water.
Thanks, Joan.