Monday, May 23, 2011

Bugs & Blooms ~ And a Prayer

They’re back! The Periodical Cicadas, that is! I spied our first emerging “Thirteen Year Locusts” this morning in the front yard.
Left Behind – the Shell…
shell
The Cicada ~ Kind of pretty in their own little creepy way…
cicada
A Gathering of Cicadas (the first of many gatherings, I’m sure)…
group
The noise level hasn’t picked up yet, but soon it will. Buzzzzzz… bzzzzz… bzzzz. Some sounds you just don’t forget!
A collection of blooms and plants around the yard this morning, after my locust-observing.
blooms_collage

Bee Hive check today: discovered that we have bee babies in the making!! Hooray!! An amazing amount of larva already (a good thing). The Queen has definitely been busy, as well as the rest of the occupants. Another hive will be added on top soon. Sadly, my camera battery ran out, so no bee photos today!

Finally, our hearts, thoughts, prayers go out to the victims, families, rescuers, and all affected by the devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri. We traveled through Joplin several times while the Fiddler lived in Dallas, Texas and found it to be a friendly town, and certainly a welcome rest stop along our way. It’s hard to imagine the devastation they have experienced. The death toll, at the time of this post, stands at 116. Unbelievable. The company that the Fiddler works for is sending a big trailer with donations by the residents of our local communities. We’re all gathering items now to load and send on Wednesday.
Heartwrenching.
image

A Joplin resident carries his wide-eyed daughter through the wreckage looking for family just after the tornado hit on Sunday evening, May 22, 2011.
Photo Credit: Joplin Globe

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. More crazy weather to come in our neck of the woods this week. We’ll all breathe a sigh of relief when this unsettled weather clears out!
sig3

20 comments:

Janet @ My Miniature Donkeys said...

Excellent photos, as usual. Even nice big close-ups of the cicadas, I guess...

Unknown said...

Marvelous capture of the cicada. Yes, weather has been terribly concerning & damaging in too many areas. Hope that it all passes with no more lives lost or town destroyed.

Have a lovely week ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

Blondee said...

Beautiful pics, as always! You are so right about the sound of the cicadas!!!

Tonia said...

We found one of the periodical cicadas last week. No real noise yet its been to rainy.But I know it will start soon.. Cool pics!!

TexWisGirl said...

wonderful mosaic and great red-eyed cicada!

truly sad for Joplin. what a weather year it has already been!

Gone Country said...

I've never seen a Cicada but I have definitely heard them! Thanks for such a great capture of them! Your yard must be beautiful with all those lovely blooms!

The devastation is terrible.

Gone Country said...

What I started to say before my computer decided I was finished... was the devastation is terrible in Joplin and in so many areas lately. My heart & prayers go out to everyone affected.

Unknown said...

This is turning out to be an unforgettable year, unfortunately, for unpredictable weather. I heard Missouri this morning and my first thoughts were of you and Patti. I was so relieved to hear you are far away and heart broken for those who have lost so much.

Hugs ~Andrea~

PS.. Glad to hear the girls are doing all right!

Sheila said...

I am hoping that we don't have any of those 13 year Cicada's lurking around here! We had the 17 year ones not too long go & they killed 3 dogwoods & some other trees in my yard! When I would mow, on the riding lawn mower, they would actually hit me in the face!

My heart aches for Joplin too. My Missouri roots still run deep.

Rural Rambler said...

Good Morning Tammy! Your collection of blooms are beautiful. I agree, I think the Cicada's are cool in their own kind of creepy way. I am happy you have some baby bees! And yes our hearts and minds are tuned to Joplin. My neighbor and dear friend's son and family live in Joplin and her son was here for the funeral of his Uncle when the tornado hit, his wife and two girls were back in Joplin. They are all ok, Thank God. Take care at Flat Creek and lets all try to get thru these next two days!

Lynda said...

Love the collage of beautiful flowers! 'Our' cicadas ARE noisy already!
The tornadic activity this year has been heart-wrenching.

Melinda said...

Stay safe and saying prayers for those in Joplin.Several of us have posts about the happenings there.
We are supposed to have bad weather here in Eastern Kansas to night. Thunder and rain right now, who knows what later!!!

Melinda

Anonymous said...

Your blooms are beautiful!

I had not heard about the tornado in Joplin. What a tragedy. Here in Arizona, I was just commenting the other day how it is rather odd. It's still chilly in they daytime. That's pretty unusual where we live.

Elle Bee said...

Beautiful photos. We have a loud chorus of frogs in our neighborhood right now. I love it! My thoughts are with the families in Joplin...

Dawn said...

The flowers are fabulous:) Great shots. I wish our weather would get better. My lilacs are just now blooming.

Ann On and On... said...

I just listened to a CBC broadcast about them...what a fantastic event to be a part of. Yes, they are a little creepy, but amazing in the same breathe.

Jenny said...

Tammy, my prayers join yours and so many others! I'm not a big fan of these bugs. There's something so creepy about them.

Hope your Memorial Day weekend is going well.

Kilauea Poetry said...

Hi Tammy..missed you and your lovely blog!
Your header is gorgeous and the mosaic is fabulous!!
My heart goes out to those people..hard to believe all that devastation!
Well, I do wish you and your family a blessed memorial day (hugs), Regina~

~from my front porch in the mountains~ said...

The Cicadas arrived here 3 weeks and now are winding down. Sadly we have lost several baby trees that J planted last year! The noise is so incredible the baby Girl will not stay in her yard to play! Does her bizniz and back inside!

What an awful weather year so far...
So many in our prayers!
xo, misha

Q said...

Dear Tammy,
I have had so much fun this evening catching up with you....
Always a delight to see what is going on in your neck of the woods.
Hope you had a wonderful solstice.
I took notes while I read will be trying the laundry soap recipe. The cute factor is important in my household!
I love hearing the cicadas. Fire flies and cicadas are summer!
Hugs,
Sherry

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