Strange sound

A couple of years ago, Greg and I had gone to visit my mom and stepdad. Earl told us he thought there was something wrong with the VCR or TV. Curious and willing to help solve the problem, we asked him to show us what was going on.

He pushed a button on the remote, and there it was... a very strange sound. It was sort of like a muted machine gun or a rapid stuttering mechanical something.

Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh!

Greg and I looked at each other. "Hmmm, do it again," we told him.

He pushed a button again. Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh!

Very strange. Greg tried it. Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh! I tried it. Uh uh uh uh uh uh uh! Right on cue every time.

I looked closely at the TV, VCR, all the components. I couldn't see anything that could possibly be causing such a noise. I was perplexed.

In the meantime, Greg had gone outside to look around. He came back in with a little grin on his face. "Teri, come outside with me, just for a second."

He pointed up at the roof, the chimney to be exact. Lo and behold, a woodpecker was sitting right on top of the metal cap of the chimney. I ran into the house and got Earl. This time the woodpecker gave us a little percussion performance, pecking happily at the chimney cap. We all started laughing.

"Well I'll be damned," Earl said. "Isn't that the funniest thing."

The TV is next to the fireplace in the family room. The sound was echoing down the chimney. That woodpecker must have thought it was the best sound he'd ever made. But how he managed to do it right on cue when my stepdad used the remote, I've never figured out.

Now, whenever I hear a woodpecker I'm reminded of that story. Occasionally, I'll hear that same sound coming from my fireplace, but now I know what it is. And I hear Earl laughing, "Well I'll be damned!"