Away from the Siege
I live in Beverly. If you live in Beverly or have gone through Beverly over the last week or so, you know that we are under siege. Under the siege of the seventeen year cicada.
We live on a typical city lot and I think there are at least one million cicadas in our tiny back yard. They are everywhere. They're in the grass, they're on every tree and bush, they're on the driveway, the garage, the cars, the house and on every flower.
These disgusting little creatures burrow up from under the trees and sit for a bit dazed and confused. Then they lose their exoskeleton which is frankly, even grosser than the fact that there are a million bugs in my backyard.
After this weird little molting session, the cicada are still dazed and confused, but I now have a million live bugs and a million exoskeletons hanging off every surface in my backyard. And, as if that weren't enough, there are hundreds and hundreds of SEA GULLS in the neighborhood munching and pooping their days away.
Seeing sea gulls everywhere is more than a little disconserting. Having their poop everywhere is as disgusting as having the cicadas and their exoskeletons that started it all.
Fortunately, the Prince and I had a trip planned so we hightailed it out of town. We hightailed it out of town just in time because we're missing the beginning of the next chapter of the cicada story which is the screaming. The cicada screaming had just barely begun. It was a dull roar, but I'm told that the noise, when they're in full mating force, will drown out a lawn mower.
We're not gone long so I know we'll come back to the cicadas at their hormonal crescendo and the screaming will be unbearable. I'm going to liken it to having an epidural during childbirth. They give it to you, the pain goes away and then the darn thing wears off. It wears off, you're still in labor, but you've missed the gradual increase in pain. You go from boom, boom, boom to BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, completely missing the boom, boom, boom that got you there. We left during the dull roar and I'm afraid we're going to go back to an ungodly climax.
I realize that this an overly dramatic comparison, but I'm freaked out and disgusted at the nature going on in my utterly urban backyard. We weren't here 17 years ago so we're cicada virgins and the sheer number of bugs and the creatures that have shown up to prey on them is bizarre. How do the sea gulls know they're there, by the way?
Cory is handling things at the Shop while I'm gone so stop by and visit her. As always, I'm sure she's doing a wonderful job and will make you feel right at home.
Be home soon.
We live on a typical city lot and I think there are at least one million cicadas in our tiny back yard. They are everywhere. They're in the grass, they're on every tree and bush, they're on the driveway, the garage, the cars, the house and on every flower.
These disgusting little creatures burrow up from under the trees and sit for a bit dazed and confused. Then they lose their exoskeleton which is frankly, even grosser than the fact that there are a million bugs in my backyard.
After this weird little molting session, the cicada are still dazed and confused, but I now have a million live bugs and a million exoskeletons hanging off every surface in my backyard. And, as if that weren't enough, there are hundreds and hundreds of SEA GULLS in the neighborhood munching and pooping their days away.
Seeing sea gulls everywhere is more than a little disconserting. Having their poop everywhere is as disgusting as having the cicadas and their exoskeletons that started it all.
Fortunately, the Prince and I had a trip planned so we hightailed it out of town. We hightailed it out of town just in time because we're missing the beginning of the next chapter of the cicada story which is the screaming. The cicada screaming had just barely begun. It was a dull roar, but I'm told that the noise, when they're in full mating force, will drown out a lawn mower.
We're not gone long so I know we'll come back to the cicadas at their hormonal crescendo and the screaming will be unbearable. I'm going to liken it to having an epidural during childbirth. They give it to you, the pain goes away and then the darn thing wears off. It wears off, you're still in labor, but you've missed the gradual increase in pain. You go from boom, boom, boom to BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, completely missing the boom, boom, boom that got you there. We left during the dull roar and I'm afraid we're going to go back to an ungodly climax.
I realize that this an overly dramatic comparison, but I'm freaked out and disgusted at the nature going on in my utterly urban backyard. We weren't here 17 years ago so we're cicada virgins and the sheer number of bugs and the creatures that have shown up to prey on them is bizarre. How do the sea gulls know they're there, by the way?
Cory is handling things at the Shop while I'm gone so stop by and visit her. As always, I'm sure she's doing a wonderful job and will make you feel right at home.
Be home soon.
posted by Tricia | 5:57 PM
1 Comments:
Ha! We travelled to Beverly yesterday to see/hear the cicadas. A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there, every 17 years. We just can't figure out why there aren't any in Hyde Park -
Diane Hall
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