We Are Being Invaded...

by cicadas ! They crawl out of the ground, making the ground look like peg board. They're brown, winged and have beady red eyes. They leave their "shells" everywhere. The noise they make can drive you crazy! The scientists say "They only come every 17 years"! Yeah, lot of good that does. There are at least three broods of cicadas in our area, and of course, they are on different 17 year cycles. So actually some where in town has them about every 4-5 years.

This year's group is brood 14. It will be mainly be on the eastern side of town. Thankfully we live on the west side. We had brood 10 on our side in 2004.

However, my parents, my sister and her family and my brother & his family all live in cicada central on the east side of town. Here are some pictures I took of the beginning invasion (you can click on the picture for a larger view).






The whole invasion should last about 6 weeks. "They" (scientists) say this first couple weeks won't be to bad. The "swarms" won't start till about the third week. I'm so thrilled I live on the west side of town!