The sky is falling!

Ka-boom! come the noises in the evening. Another bowling ball lands on our roof. The loud noises echo through our open house and are only enhanced by the sloping metal roof.

The first few times, you jump and say, “What was that?”. After a while you get more curious and really wonder, “What could that be?”. But the sun has already set and as hard as you peer into the darkness, you’re not going to be able to identify the noisemaker. Nonetheless, you hop over to the window, nose pressed against the glass, looking for anything conspicuous.

You’ve noticed, it only really happens after dark and coincides with the blowing of the wind. It must be something falling. The sky must be falling! No, that couldn’t be. Must be something falling out of the trees. You’ve surmised that much, but haven’t really figured out the details.

After a while the sounds, though still as loud, become less interesting. You original curiosity is replaced by a milder, “Oh, I wonder what is making that sound.”

A few days later someone clues you in on the truth. The culprits are either bush babies (gelagos), monkeys or bats munching on an evening snack in the mahogany tree next to your house. Inevitably some pods fall on your roof which makes quite a ruckus. Some of the louder noises are made by falling avocadoes sent down by a clumsy diner. Occasionally though, it is just the evening breeze that sends a fruit crashing down on the roof.

One of the culprits at work . . .