Tagged: summer
Locusts. Or not.
Locust.
That’s what I grew up calling this bug. And, they sing in the trees. Loudly. The song of locusts equals summer, to me. It always has.
I love the sound.
But, in in the process of looking up a fact concerning the locust, I learned something. And, because I’m just dumb enough to point out my stupidity in public, I shall now tell you what I learned, so you can point and laugh at me and say, “I knew that! You didn’t know that, Elizabeth?? I thought everyone knew that….”
I’ve gone my whole very short and young life thinking the bug pictured above is called a Locust. But, in actuality, it is a Cicada. I’ve heard of Cicadas, of course, but I’ve never referred to the above bug as one. To me, it’s a locust.
But, now my whole world has changed forever, because I must now call it a Cicada, the correct term. This is almost as life-changing and disturbing as finding out “barbed wire” is the correct term, not “bob wire” …. Apparently, a locust is the term referring to a swarm of grasshoppers, like the plague in the Bible.
I am finding myself spiraling downward, quickly.
Summer will never be the same. Ever.
I will now have to say, “I just love the sound of Cicadas, and not locusts, as I grew up saying, all my life, thinking locust was the proper term for those bugs, but, noooo, it’s not the proper term, because they are called cicadas, which just doesn’t sound right to me and never will….”
*sigh*
Sadly, our backyard is host to a few palm trees, and no locusts/cicadas. That means, I do not hear their song, here at home. (Saves others, now, from hearing my very long-winded diatribe.)
But, when I visit my mom, the sound of locusts/cicadas, especially this summer, is almost deafening. And, I love it. Or did…when they were locusts.
They are everywhere in my mom’s trees. (I actually took a video of all the locusts/cicadas in my mom’s trees with my new phone, but lost the video when I brought my phone home to sync with my computer….I will try again, soon.)
Did you know they shed their outer exoskeleton as they grow larger?
It’s pretty amazing. And weird.
As a kid, I used to pick the old shells off the tree limbs–you have to remove them carefully, though. They are crunchy and fragile.
If you have any trees around where you live, stop for a moment and listen. I betcha $10 bucks you’ll hear locusts/cicadas. Then, if you do hear them, take a moment to actually look for them. Look closely! They camouflage themselves really well. When your eyes finally start picking them out, you’ll be amazed. (Don’t worry, they don’t sting or bite.)
I guess I shall now crawl back into bed and try to come to terms with this new bit of information concerning a most sacred summer symbol.
I will never be the same.
E.
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That Good ol’ Summertime… Part Uno
I love summer. That’s one of the things you need to know about me. It’s my favorite time of year, but certainly not because of the incessant heat (and humidity), in my part of Texas. I choose to ignore those aspects of the good ol’ summertime.
Since there are numerous reasons why I love summer, I thought I’d kick-start my blog by showing you. (Plus, I need a place to share my inner-mourning over the end of a perfectly good summer. I rather prefer the schedule, or lack thereof, of summer. The start of school brings about structure and schedule. Yuck.)
To quote Julie Andrews, these are some of my favorite things.
Summer veggies. They’re the best, right? I always feel so much better eating the fat-laden pizza or hamburger, if I have a yummy summer vegetable sitting by its side.
One of my favs? Tomatoes…right off the vine.
Sweet, juicy, ripe tomatoes plucked right off the vine are the very best…. Growing up, my parents would just slice them, put them on a plate, and serve them with lunch or dinner.
And, don’t even get me started on those delectable little cherry tomatoes.
You can just pop these in your mouth like candy.
That burst of juice when you take a bite…mercy. Add a little salt and pepper, and it’s a little taste of heaven…
I thought it might be a good idea to grow my own tomatoes, this year. It had been a couple of years since I had done so. In the past, I’ve had relatively good luck growing my own tomatoes; they’re pretty easy to care for. And, it doesn’t hurt my cause that tomatoes love our Texas sun and heat!
So, earlier this summer I did what any t.v.-obsessed individual would do. I purchased the Topsy-Turvy!
The Topsy-Turvy is an amazing creation that defies all logic in the plant world…or, at least, my world. You plant a young tomato plant, upside down, in the contraption and then hang it. After a week or two of tender, loving care, you will magically have a HUGE tomato plant growing downward.
I just knew that by, say, early July I would have big, red, juicy tomatoes.
Tomato. That’s what I got. One.
It was not big, or juicy. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of it. It was not worthy. In fact, once I plucked that scrawny fruit from its stem, this is what happened:
I still haven’t mustered up the guts to move the tomato plant carcass from my porch.
Maybe I haven’t moved it because I believe it’s a metaphor…. Summer ’09 is coming to an end; shriveling, drying up…another good summer gone.
Thanks a lot, Topsy-Turvy.
I’m thinking I might have better luck with a Snuggie.
E.
Out to Lunch... 