Cicadas are big, ugly bugs. They’re odd in that they live most of their lives buried underground only to emerge after 17 years to mate and start the cycle again. These broods come in waves so they are typically concentrated in a particular area. Back in 2021 (I think) was when they were very concentrated in Dayton. That was the year we did the 5K there and there were cicadas and cicada carcasses everywhere. I remember GG talking about them. Until I saw with my own eyes how many there were, I could hardly believe it. Remember. Before we moved, we lived somewhere with very few trees. Well…. apparently this is our year. There are a lot of bugs in our woods and the patio is littered with carcasses. Sometimes when we’re on the deck, we have to actually raise our voices to be heard over them. I’ve never been that woman that’s scared of bugs or a smasher of bugs. If one gets in the house. I generally try my best to transport the bug or spider back outside. I’m not scared of these either, but good grief. They are ugly.

I’m happy to report that we also have lovely critters in the woods too!

Update: The cicadas appear to be near their end. Thank goodness! After reaching the summer solstice with perhaps one day that seemed even remotely “summery”, we are now on day 3 of 90+ with high humidity. Right now it’s 93 and my phone tells me that it feels like 103 (which I can confirm). As the heat and humidity began to rise a few days ago, we had some storms. This resulted in the biggest, brightest rainbow we have ever seen. The picture doesn’t do it justice. It was actually a double, but the other one is very faint. It was directly across the street from our house. This was the view from our driveway.