You Say Cicada, I Say Ci-cah-da

Incessant buzzing, skeletons hanging from trees, and a live one in my hair last night! I had just finished mowing the lawn (think jungle after having the mower in the shop for three weeks) and was sewing some Build A Bear pj's for Emily and Ella. I felt something moving in my hair and when I reached up to see what it was, I had a fat, green cicada in my hands! Yikes! Luckily, I kept my cool and showed it to the girls. They thought it was gross, of course.
When Dave and family were here, he found one just emerging from it's skin and showed the boys. They thought it was great. They also collected some of the shed skins and kept them in a bottle. The difference between boys and girls is huge!
Last year was the year of the 17 year cicadas. They come up from the ground and fill the world. People were buying netting to protect young trees. Show shovels were used to scoop them up and dispose of them. Luckily, we didn't have quite the problems with them here. It was in the older areas that more problems occurred. I read that some enterprising teens were collecting the shells, shellacking them and making jewelry from them!
Cicadas are just a part of summer here. When they fall silent, we know that fall is here.