I was washing dishes this evening, when I realized that I was hearing a very familiar sound in this unfamiliar place... cicadas! How appropriate for this evening, one of the shortest nights of the year.
Cicadas are such interesting insects. I remember being stunned to see the pretty colors on a live one when I was a kid, since previously I had only seen the split brown exoskeletons on the trees.
We had one type in Tennessee that sounded just like a chainsaw. That one was a periodical cicada that only makes an appearance above ground in a 13 or 17 year cycle. The cicada I am hearing tonight here in NE is the more common "dog day" cicada, but I believe periodical cicadas appear here, too.
June 23rd is now marked as Nebraska "cicada day" for me. It is very possible that they were out a while ago, and I did not notice them before tonight, but it will be interesting to see when I first notice them in future years.
The fireflies are out in full force, too.
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