We had a break in the hot weather this week and it was wonderful. With temperatures in the low sixties at night and 80's during the days, it felt like fall was just around the corner. And I guess it is. The heat is returning with temperatures in the 90's for the next several days, but I enjoyed the break while we had it.
I learned something new about cicadas this week. There are periodical ones and there are
annual ones. I had only ever heard about the periodical ones--the ones that come out every 13 or 17 years in great swarms with deafening mating calls. West Virginia and surrounding areas had one of these events this summer. However, there are also annual cicadas that appear every year. The life cycle of these are 2-5 years, so that there are some hatching every year. The periodical cicadas only occur in the Eastern US, so the rest of the world only has annual cicadas.
Now the reason I bring this up is that I've been seeing a few cicadas and occasionally hearing them recently. I assumed that they were out-of-place, leftover ones from the big swarm west of here. Thanks to
What's that Bug, I learned they were annual cicadas. It all makes so much more sense now.
Here are a few things I saw this week
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| Zinnia. You are seeing pictures from this planter every week because it's one of the few things with color these days. |
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| Notice the delicate pink and white flower among the coreopsis. It is growing on a "weed" that I usually pull before it blooms. However, this one got away from me and I'm glad it did. It was a nice contrast to see this among the surrounding yellow flowers. |
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| Another "weed" I enjoyed seeing was red clover. |
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| I will miss seeing the cows behind us when we move. |
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| This day lily continues to produce one bloom at a time. It's the only day lily making a showing in this heat. |
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| Torenia. This is my first time trying this annual. I think I will use it again. |
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| It's molting time for blue jays as you can see with this bald one. |
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| Cicada |
Just got back from a camping trip so I'm behind the times with your move. Glad to see you get to enjoy some of the beauty of your current property (and that the temperatures moderated!).
ReplyDeleteI feel for you about your dad's boat. I have my dad's fishing boat--in fact, we took it camping and the kids had fun catching several fish in it. I don't care for fishing, myself, but I know what you mean about being able to see your father when you look at the boat.
I'm glad to hear from you, Kris. I was wondering if you had gone on a trip or something else was going on. A camping trip before school starts sounds like fun.
DeleteI'm glad that you are able to use your father's boat. It's nice to carry on family traditions.
Poor little blue jay! I didn't know they lose their head feathers each year. I also didn't know that about the cicadas, but it makes some sense. I've never heard of the swarming kind, and I was wondering if maybe I was confused because when CatMan and I ride down by the river we hear what we thought was cicadas singing. So I guess we just have the annual kind.
ReplyDeleteLook around. You may see some bald cardinals this time of year also.
DeleteWhen Lois was talking about the cicadas, I remember you commenting about not hearing about cicada swarms in your area. When I read about the annual cicadas, your comment was one of the things that now made sense to me.
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ReplyDeleteSorry, Strayer. I accidentally deleted your comment about the blue jay. I like the idea of a defiant teen's haircut. Blue jays often have an attitude just like that.
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