This Morning Offered A Few Surprises!

avatar

This morning I decided (as many mornings) to check on things in the yard including the plants, flowers, trees and, of course, the Cicadas. The Cicadas really started showing up a few days ago and even started singing just yesterday. My surprises this morning were mostly lovely like finding the Roses and Honeysuckles in bloom.

sublimesunday5-23-2021-1ok.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-2ok.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-3ok1.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-4ok.jpg

While they just started blooming, the Irises were just about almost done blooming. Surprisingly, the Irises bloomed longer than usual which was nice and I suspect that was because we had a few relatively cool days when they first started blooming. It was nice to enjoy them a little longer than usual!

sublimesunday5-23-2021-5ok.jpg

This pretty "Saucy Red" Salvia is one of a few flowers that I received for Mother's Day from my daughter. They were looking a little sad so I gave them some water.

sublimesunday5-23-2021-6ok.jpg

However, the other flowers I received seemed to be doing much better. They are two different kinds of Lantana flowers.

sublimesunday5-23-2021-7ok1.jpg

Naturally, the Spiderwort flowers were looking phenomenal!

sublimesunday5-23-2021-8ok.jpg

Now, let's go check out my last surprise but I will warn you that it may not be for the "faint of heart" so if you are squeamish than you may not want to continue on! We are about to go from lovely to ... well ... I'll let you decide! You see, yesterday the Cicadas showed up more than they had a few days ago but this morning there were a shocking amount of them. I'll be doing another more "in depth" showing next week probably as well. I really didn't see too many in the front other than by the property line of my neighbor and a few here and there. The same goes for the sides of the house as they weren't too bad there either. Well, the back yard was a whole another story! They were all over the green Hostas!

sublimesunday5-23-2021-9aok.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-9bok.jpg

It seems they like the green Hostas over the white and green Hostas but they were all over them ... both on and under the leaves.

sublimesunday5-23-2021-10ok.jpg

Same with the vines that go down the length of the garage. Hey! I warned you ...lol!

sublimesunday5-23-2021-11ok.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-12ok.jpg

They also like to land on window screens and fences. This is just a small sampling of them on the fence. If you look closely then it almost seems like they are smiling at you. 😁

sublimesunday5-23-2021-13ok.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-14ok.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-15ok.jpg

They were everywhere in the grass, on the blades of grass and even on Dandelion stalks!

sublimesunday5-23-2021-16ok.jpg

Anyway, the large influx of the Cicadas was my last surprise and we expect even more to come. Next week I hope to go to the house I grew up at and record them. I'm really hoping that happens so I can include it in my next Cicada post. What? You want to see more now! Okay ... just two more photos but remember you asked for it! 😉

sublimesunday5-23-2021-17ok.jpg

sublimesunday5-23-2021-18ok.jpg

Thank you @c0ff33a for #sublimesunday!!
All photos and text by me @deerjay. All rights reserved.

TEAMUSA-hive_footer_blue_deerjay.jpg

sublimesunday nature photography life palnet neoxian creativecoin
0
0
0.000
22 comments
avatar

pixresteemer_incognito_angel_mini.png
Bang, I did it again... I just rehived your post!
Week 57 of my contest just started...you can now check the winners of the previous week!
!BEER
5

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Love all the flowers coming out - my favs are Roses, honeysuckle and Iris's.. Interestingly your Cicadas are similar but quite different from the ones we have in New Zealand. They are gone for the year so I can't get a pic to show you.

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Thanks so much @andysantics48!! I forgot to mention in my post that these were the 17 year Brood X Cicadas. Our regular ones have a greenish black body and black eyes and will arrive a little later in summer. I did look up Cicadas there to see how they look. They still look different than our regular ones also. The photos of the ones I saw online look like they have camouflage on..lol. Pretty cool! There are so many here right now but they don't live for too long. I did go out this morning to take a few photos and almost walked into the house with a couple on my shoe. I don't think the inside cat would've minded though. 😉

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Love your roses Dee. I bet they smell divine. The beautiful flowers in your area are ahead of mine. 💕 Cicadas do seem to be smiling.:) They really take over when they arrive. We don’t have them here.

Have a wonderful week.☀️

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Thank you very much Jo!! The roses do have a lovely fragrance. So far the Cicadas have not been too close to them. During the day when it is hot and sunny they fly up higher in the trees to sing for a mate. It is cool to hear. Some people hate it but I don't mind it. They will be much louder by where I grew up at so I may not feel the same if I had to hear them that loud. This morning they were back down low. There is so many that even I am amazed and just a little creeped out just at the sheer number of them. I almost walked into my house with a couple on my shoe this morning. Tiger probably would've like that..lol. I almost feel sorry for my husband the next time he has to mow the yard. I just hope he doesn't bring any hitchhikers inside with him. 😏💕

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Beautiful flowers - all are so nice. I'd love to spend some time there and take photos.

Also the cicadas look nice and photogenic with their red eyes if there were only one or two of them, but they seem to have a big meeting in your yard - it looks like a scene from a horror movie 😁
Wish you a wonderful week @deerjay 🌞

!PIZZA with !BEER or with !WINE - perfect dinner :)
!invest_vote

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Thanks so much @johannpiber!! Our neighbors driveway is covered with them. Our driveway is suprisingly clear..so far. Yesterday they were high in the trees singing but more came up and this morning there were even more out in the yard. I think they are interesting and cool but the amount I was seeing this morning even overwhelmed me. If you are looking down to photograph them then be prepared for what you see when you decide to look up...and I'll leave it at that..lol. 🙄💖

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Oh, I don't even want to imagine the view I have when I look up - this amount of them would be too much and it reminds me on the movie The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock, but the cicadas are more creepy with their red eyes 😱

!PIZZA and !BEER - sounds like a nice dinner :)
!invest_vote

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Love your garden of flowers @deerjay, but I am intrigued about the cicadas. Love the close up photos but Is it usual to see so many in your garden? It is that I have not seen so many before.

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Thanks so much @angiemitchell!! These are the 17 year Brood X Cicadas. They come up from the ground every 17 years in great numbers. They pretty much come up to breed then die. The female lays eggs that hatch and the Nymphs burrow back underground for 17 years and that is their cycle. We have a annual Cicada that will appear later this summer but they won't be so many. Right now there are even more outside and even I am amazed at how many are there. 🤨🙂

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Wow, how very interesting, every 17 years! Do their wings sing in the early evening? Because if they do you would have one big entertaining musical concert.😊

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Yep, it is amazing! The males sing the most when it is sunny and hot. They go to the upper parts of the tall trees and sing for a mate. You may be able to hear some at night but during the day it sounds amazing especially since the ones in the distance sound like a whirring. I recorded them but it didn't come out as well as I would like but I may try again this coming week. It has gotten chilly here again and so they have been staying low and quieter. I picked one up and I think they go almost dormant from the cold. I held it in my hand and I think the warmth caused the little creature to perk up some. I had to put him back on a leaf but I felt sad for them. The next two days will be wet and chilly so hopefully they will survive. I'm gonna check on some later. I'm really not a big bug fan but I think their story is a cool one. There are also more still coming up. 🙂 💖

0
0
0.000
Reply