Sunday, May 27, 2007

Cicadas! Cicadas Everywhere!

The only reason why I continue posting about cicadas is because they have completely overwhelmed my life.

I'm home alone with the kids, so I decide to take them to a park a few blocks away. My daughter and my younger son ride in a wagon I'm pulling, and I'm pushing my older son in a tricycle that has a handle in the back for an adult to push.

All my other posts about cicadas were nothing, let me tell you. NOW they mean business. Now they are on the ground, on the trees, and flying around.

In the back of my mind I knew my daughter did not like these bugs, but it wasn't until she started screaming, "Cicadas! Cicadas everywhere!" that I realized that, hey, she did not like these bugs.

I know all you bug-deprived northern Illinoisans just think I am posting fictitious cicada reports to boost my hits with entomologists, so here are some pictures taken in front of my house.

The light pole in front of my house.


Closer on the light pole.


Another view of the light pole.


Yet another view of the light pole.


One of them buggers close up.



Detail of a tree in front.


The base of the tree. Who wants pork cracklins?

8 comments:

Tanya Espanya said...

Ew.

But I'm glad you finally got your fix of them. Now move on and entertain me with tales of your kids or something.

Timothy Donavan Russell said...

Wowee. I'm with Ella. If there's one thing I like less than bugs, it's really big bugs. If there's one thing I like less than really big bugs, it's lots and lots of really big bugs.

jin said...

Wow. I had no idea.
I guess we have them occasionally here (about 40 minutes North of Milwaukee) but one never sees them (they are high up in the trees in very wooded areas).
They make a sound like an electrical current...right?

So, did you eat any yet???

Dale said...

Ca-reepy! Although I love that crazy noise they make.

Splotchy said...

tanya, here's a lovely tale about my two boys. they were poking at cicadas with a stick at the tree in those pictures, saying they were "cooking" them. My daughter even got into the cooking action. Heartwarming, no?

tim, I had a case of the heebie-jeebies during this cooking session.

jin, I don't eat cicadas. You must have me confused with my children.

dale/jin, yeah it's pretty cool sounds, but it hasn't gotten really loud yet. I'm thinking over the next week it's going to be really deafening.

Tanya Espanya said...

Aw, your kids are so sweet.

Joe said...

Man, I am so pissed off. To think you graciously offered for me to come down and harvest that morning. I got tied up dealing with a bunch of idiots at work and couldn't take advantage of your offered bounty.


My loss.

Splotchy said...

I might be jumping the gun as far as the proper harvesting time for the cicadas.

I don't know that the nymph phase has started quite yet.