Spent this last weekend recording the blizzard that hit the midwest. I was in Galesburg, IL, which didn’t get hit as hard as Chicago did. Apparently I picked the right weekend to visit my parents!
These pictures are from an afternoon spent at Blackthorn Hill Nature Preserve, just outside of Galesburg. It’s a really wonderful reserve. Though it’s not a huge plot of land, the main feature is a beatiful natural prairie. During the warmer months, the prairie grasses can grow well above your head, but this time it was all packed down by snow.
It was real neat to be out there at a time like that. It was obvious no one had been through there since the snow started. No (human) footsteps, no tire tracks… just me and my gear.
I’ve recorded here before, but never experienced it so quiet. One of my favorite recordings was at the prairie, the snow was coming down in huge flakes, and it was warming up just enough slightly melt them, making them audible when they hit the grass. Who says falling snow doesn’t make a sound? 😉
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Recorded with an Oktava MK-012 M/S setup feeding a Sound Devices 702T recorder. No processing aside from a low-cut for the wind.