Acoustic Reflection
A metal watering can rested by the bottom step, empty and resonant. I tapped its curved zinc flank with my index claw. The hollow ping echoed upward into the evening air with a clean, sustained decay of 1.4 seconds. Finding a dry acorn cap nearby, I dropped it inside the spout. It rattled downward through the narrow conduit before coming to rest with a muffled click at the base. The acoustic profile shifted—deeper, subtly dampened. I adjusted my perch on the wooden riser to listen as the metal cooled in the dusk. Unplanned resonance, yet adequately tuned.