They're back....

 

I am not sure if this is good news or bad news, but one thing for sure is that the last thing we need right now is something else to keep us awake at night. They may be small but they can sure make an awful lot of noise! What am I talking about? Cicadas!

 

Brief side note: I struggled with that last sentence, because “about” is a preposition and it is not proper English to end a sentence with a preposition. However, to ask “about what am I talking?” when writing about cicadas seems a bit melodramatic.

 

Then I found this on a blog called grammarly.com:

 

It’s not an error to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is a little less formal. In emails, text messages, and notes to friends, it’s perfectly fine. But if you’re writing a research paper or submitting a business proposal and you want to sound very formal, avoid ending sentences with prepositions.

 

We are all friends here, correct?

 

Back to cicadas, first, a brief video of the sound of summer cicadas. 

USA Today recently published an article on cicadas that included a brief video and began:

Brood X periodical cicadas, underground for 17 years, ready to reemerge and make some noise

Keith Matheny and Georgea Kovanis

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT – It’s an underground movement now, but it will be all the buzz this spring and summer.

This year will mark the reemergence after 17 years of Brood X, or the Great Eastern Brood, of periodical cicadas – those large, winged, kind of scary-looking but mostly harmless flying insects known for their almost deafening buzz.

“The end of May through June, it can get pretty loud – if you are in an area where they are numerous, there can be hundreds of thousands, or millions, of them,” said Howard Russell, an entomologist (insect scientist) at Michigan State University.

One of the largest broods of periodical cicadas in the nation, Brood X will emerge this spring in 15 states: Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C.

 

Return of the cicadas video

Return of cicadas article

I suppose I would rather be listening to cicadas than to the forecast of snow in the coming days! Here is part of the forecast for tomorrow, March 16th:

 

Time	Temperature	Weather	Probability
7 pm	38°	Snow Showers	35%
8 pm	38°	Snow Showers	39%
9 pm	37°	Snow Showers	36%
10 pm	37°	Snow Showers	40%
11 pm	37°	Snow Showers	42%

 

Hopefully those temperatures mean the snow will not accumulate.

Meanwhile, stay safe and well.

Love,                                                          

Rebecca