A friend and I were talking about the weather — as one does.
She observed that several times this summer she thought she heard rain, but when she looked outside, it wasn’t raining. There was only the sound of wind in the leaves.
I said I’d noticed the same thing! In fact, a few times my dog has balked at going outside because he thought it was raining when it wasn’t.
A couple of days after our conversation, I heard rain when there wasn’t any, so I went outside to investigate.
All of the trees were still. Except the aspens. And that explains it.
Aspen leaves have flat stems that are perpendicular to the leaf. That combination means even a very light breeze will cause them to quake or flutter, while other leaves remain still.
So, go outside and find yourself an aspen. Aspens have a lot of common names, like poplar or popple. Pick a leaf and take a close look. Try to roll the stem between your fingers. It won’t roll smoothly like a maple or oak stem.
But why have my friend and I only noticed the leaves sounding like rain this year and not others?
My guess is that it’s because this spring, we had a steady supply of rain, so the leaves are full of moisture, not dry and crackly. Maybe the supple leaves sound more like rain.
Or maybe we just happen to be paying closer attention.