Cicadas are coming, cicadas are coming!!! Oh my.....

[Miss Mary]

We have them here, too, occasionally, but not to the extent that you mention Miss Mary. Thank goodness!!

Tom - thank goodness indeed. They haven't yet emerged but 5 billion are expected to swarm areas of Cincinnati! I remember the last outbreak, 17 years ago. Older neighborhoods with huge trees and ground that had been left undisturbed for years, were hit hard. We were living in a newer condo then and I only remember hearing them, seeing them in bushes but they weren't that bad. Even though I don't recall them being that intrusive 17 years ago, we're to be hit 5 or more times more with go around. So who knows what it will be like. I'll keep you posted. Don't think anything will happen for awhile. It got down to 29 here last night, we need warm days and warm nights for it all to start up. Oh what fun.

Mary

[breeze]

(*breeze is tapping her foot and scratching
her chin...)

Hmmmm....I hear that fried grasshoppers are
a delicacy in some countries...

There's GOT to be some way to make a profit
here, people...!

[Miss Mary]

We have a Cicaca Watch in place now in Cincinnati - LOL

There was a segment on pets and Cicadas on the news the other night. Seems the hard shell or wings cannot be digested. Not sure about cats, but apparently dogs will try to eat them. Until they're sick. The after effects come out one way or another. So I said - oh lovely. I had decided not to let our Golden out much during this invasion. Hubby saying oh no, let her gorge on them, get sick and then she'll tire of that feeling. Either way, I can just picture a 2 a.m. night sitting up with her!!! Not looking forward to this at all!!!

Mary

[breeze]

Hmmmm.....ok, Miss Mary...so much for digesting
them! Can't we make jewelry out of them with
a little inscription that says "Cicada Invasion 2004"?

[Miss Mary]

Hmmmm.....ok, Miss Mary...so much for digesting
them! Can't we make jewelry out of them with
a little inscription that says "Cicada Invasion 2004"?

Yes, but who is going to pick the darn things up? LOL Not me I tell ya.....LOL

It's supposed to be all over with by mid-June. Maybe we should have planned our vacation early, we're booked in July! Dang...

Mary

[breeze]

LOL, my nephew is looking for another part-time
job....hmmmm....(*breeze is thinking VERY hard...)

He may be our answer to profit!

[Miss Mary]

Here's a funny local article about the soon-to-be-upon us cicada invasion.....

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/0 ... cadas.html

The article states that cicadas are Mother Nature's natural pruners, they nibbled off the end of tree limbs. Oh thank you dear cicadas for that job!!!! Their ETA is May 21st - my daughter's birthday! Poor kid.....she won't forget this birthday. Hey Laura, want to have a camp out in the backyard with all your friends? LOL We'll build a bon fire, roast marshmallows.....I know I'm in an odd mood this fine Monday morning.

Annette - sign your nephew up!!! We have labor, yeah. Now onto the marketing.....

Mary

[breeze]

LOL, all of the trees that brother has planted
around here are over 6-ft. tall, so, that's a plus.

Hey, Miss Mary - your daughter's birthday
camp-out could be quite a...er...ahem!...SCREAM!

[Miss Mary]

LOL, all of the trees that brother has planted
around here are over 6-ft. tall, so, that's a plus.

Hey, Miss Mary - your daughter's birthday
camp-out could be quite a...er...ahem!...SCREAM!

It would be frightful!!! Hey, we could roast cicadas? Can't believe I said that.....I'm an animal lover and don't even like to harm insects unless of course they come into my house. But outside, I leave them be.

Annette - you're on a roll there!!! We'll put you in charge of PR/Marketing!!!

Mary

[Miss Mary]

Cicada update - lately we've had so much rain in Cincinnati, that the cicadas are now building dirt chimney's above the soil, since their tunnels are being flooded out. People are noticing these chimney's or mounds in their yards. I haven't seen any yet. But my dog is going nuts on walks. She'll stop, push her nose into the ground and then scoot all over the place, wanting to dig like mad in specific spots. I don't know if it's b/c of the cicadas or moles!!!

Cicadas are due to emerge here May 21st, give or take a week. So we're getting close!

Mary

[breeze]

Miss Mary, those dirt chimneys are going to make
mowing the lawn QUITE the adventure!
It's ironic that they're causing problems before
they even emerge from the ground!

[Miss Mary]

Annette - I'd have to really inspect my lawn closely but just from glancing at it while playing with the dog, I don't have any. On the morning news they showed some chimney's so I think I'd see those if they were out there. Of course I have 40+ eyesight now.....he he. Our street is only 15 years old, so we're all hoping we won't be hit hard with them, since the soil was disturbed building our homes. People in much older neighborhoods will be hit very hard, they were 17 years ago and we're expecting 10 times at least more.

These little buggers have been causing lots of trouble, in that the entire town is talking about them. For weeks now!!!

Still haven't bought one single annual yet. Proud of myself actually! My annuals did very poorly last year. We had a rainy start to the summer and the roots were almost ruined from repeated rainfall. Not a reason to skip annuals, I'm just not into that anymore I guess. And yes I'm using the cicadas as my excuse!!!

Mary

[therock1811]

Ground temp this morning was 60.6 where it was about 61 last night...some areas beginning to see them include W North Carolina (last night) and an area 60 miles N of Atlanta (Thursday night-early Friday).

[therock1811]

From http://www.fox19.com's homepage...

The current ground temperature is 63.4, with a high ground temperature reading of 67 degrees and a low of 61.3°.

Now all they need is .6° and a bit of rain...

BTW anyone know anything about a cicada's tendencies towards pool water? Reason I ask is because we're going to have my graduation party on May 28th and am thinking about opening the pool for it...

[breeze]

Jeremy, that pool may be a good place to duck
from those rascals!!

[breeze]

Hey, Miss Mary - got this from the College of
Mt. Saint Joseph website Q&A page - they ARE edible!

Periodical cicadas are best eaten when they are still white (teneral), and they taste like cold canned asparagus. Like all insects, cicadas have a good balance of vitamins, are low in fat, and the females are especially high in protein. They are also Atkins friendly!

Seems the Native Americans dined on them -

Look out, world - a new delicacy is in the making!

[therock1811]

LMBO! I guess so...I'm not big on the idea of eating them myself...BTW 12 fully grown cicadas were spotted on the W side of Cincinnati yesterday of all places on Mt. St. Joseph's campus! I'm in downtown Cincy this morning and will be heading to a park about 6 blocks away at about 10am to see if any are up there...

[Miss Mary]

I thought that was ironic that the first cicadas to hatch out were found at Mt St Joe!!! Where Professor Kritsky teaches!!!

This morning my dog was crawling all over the ground, nose on top of the ground, munching away. I tried to get her inside but she looked at me like I was nuts! Eventually she came in. So we all asked her, yes we're crazy about our dog, were you eating cicadas? LOL Oh I am not looking forward to this cicada invasion with a Golden Retriever! This will not be fun!!!!

We are invited to three HS graduation parties Memorial Day weekend. Three! I bet those families are sweating it. And this week my youngest daughter's softball games start up. She asked for the infield, they gave her the outfield. I can just see it now - she'll be wanting to quit! Can you picture that scene - cicadas flying about and you're trying to be a center fielder? And her very first game is a doubleheader!!!

Mary

[Stephanie]

Everyone's talking about them around here as well. Anyday now!

[Miss Mary]

Steph - here it's any minute now!!! A few neighbors cut grass and since up until a week or so ago, we had lots of rain, my grass was very tall. Although I cut last Thursday! Then I thought hey maybe they're cutting so they're not blasted by the sudden outbreak? Not a dumb idea....so I just finished up cutting again. Twice in one week. At least I'm caught up now and those little buggers can pop at any minute now. It was creepy cutting grass though, gnats and flying insects everywhere. I kept thinking - I'm going to be hit in the leg any sec now! LOL

Mary