Ed Schiebel is a friend and colleague from AT&T Labs. Ed's now with IBM, but we still work down the hall from each other, go figure. When he first came to me with his digital yard recordings, I gave a listen and liked what I heard. They had an atmospheric quality, the ability to transport a listener to another place—and, to offer that possibility in an interesting, calming way. Of a number of digital takes, Ed settled on this one, which seemed just right, right out of the air. He did no editing, other than a slight ramp in volume at the very beginning, so as not to startle anyone out of specific revery or slumber.

Experimenting, I slipped the demo CD into the sound system at the Middle Ground Cafe in Gambier, where I live, and sat back to see how the morning crowd would respond. It seemed to soothe them, even as they were revving up over cups of the MG's patented "eye-opener" blend. I saw some mildly puzzled looks, faces at first unsure whether the bird sounds were coming from inside/outside or, what? But then, as I watched, the puzzled looks gave way to gentle smiles, knowing nods, and a sense of delight with waking up in the virtual country. On the third morning I played it at the cafe, the staff dissuaded me from taking it off after twenty minutes, saying, "But—we like the birds!"

We think you'll like the birds, too. Even Ghost, the rooster, who has passed on to bird heaven, will endear himself...perhaps. He and the whole Littlewood crowd give you their best on this country morning, for keeps.