After being in the ground for years, the cicadas have emerged. They have reached my area of Virginia, and they are loudly announcing their arrival.
Physical evidence of their existence is mostly made up of empty shells lying around outside or still clinging to branches of bushes.
Another sign of the presence of cicadas is the sound they make.
The sound they make in the woods behind our house seems otherworldly. I’ve never heard the arrival of a space craft (except in a movie), but I imagine that an approaching hover craft would sound like cicadas.
Usually I can hear them only when I’m outside. But lately, if the house if pretty quiet, I can hear their insect roar through the walls.
I don’t like a lot of noise. If I concentrate on the sound of the cicadas, I get a bit anxious, and I just want it to stop. It’s like an irritant.
But what if I compare the whine of the cicadas to the presence of intrusive thoughts?
Angry, fearful thoughts sometimes crowd in, especially when I’m lying down at night trying to go to sleep.
But if I use the river of thoughts strategy, I can practice watching those angry and fearful thoughts float on by without engaging with them.
With the cicadas, I can get busy doing something or focus on a more pleasant sound, and soon I’ve forgotten about their song. I’m no longer engaged in the sound.
Last week, I took some photos of the cicadas in our yard. I might as well make friends with the singers.
Do you have cicadas in your area? How do you handle noise that you have no control over?
I was just telling some coworkers last week that I love the sound of cicadas. I have no idea why, but I always have. Weird I know :-)
ReplyDeleteNot weird, Keith. I just think the sound is kind of weird. And loud. :-) Thanks for your comment.
DeleteI haven't noticed them around here yet this year. We saw some last year though, but I guess they were a different type.
ReplyDeleteLisa, from what little I've read, there are different kinds. My cousin had them in a neighboring county (Bedford) last year, but we didn't have them here. I don't know how the pattern works. Thanks for your comment.
Deletei don't think we have them, i don't think i have ever heard of them.
ReplyDeletei have difficulty concentrating with any kind of repetitive/humming type noise. a generator, a power washer noises like that!!
Debbie, this is definitely a repetitive noise. It's more of a constant hum than a cricket-like noise. Oh well, I might as well get used to it! :-) Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
DeleteI love the cicada songs.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the other day I thought I heard them near the woods but I thought it was too early in the year. Maybe they are here?
Elizabeth, I don't know which direction they move, or where else they are this year. They've been around here for a few weeks. Thanks for your comment.
Deletewe get the every year variety here so they are a sound of summer to me. my mother-in-law used to call them 'dry flies' as they don't sing as loud if it's going to rain (supposedly).
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting about calling them "dry flies." It rained off and on over the past weekend, and Larry and I were trying to figure out how that affected the cicada's sounds, because sometimes we couldn't hear them. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
DeleteHi Tina,
ReplyDeleteWe do have cicadas in my area (Montreal). I haven't ever seen one, though, but I know that sound. I associate their sound with very humid weather, which I cannot tolerate at all. Thus far, the weather in Montreal hasn't gotten humid...yet. This means that I haven't heard them yet, either, as they only make their noise in humid weather here. I am not overly fond of them only because of my associating them with humidity, which I really can't handle. They are usually in trees and are fairly well camouflaged, and because I don't have a garden of my own and have always lived in an apartment, this is most likely why I have never seen them. You can also hear them in fields as well.
Oops, I meant to add that although I don't like the sound that cicadas made, I DO enjoy the cricket sounds! :)
ReplyDeleteLinda, I can't stand humidity either. It gets sooooooo humid here in Virginia during the summer months. I really dread it and am so thankful for air conditioning.
DeleteI like the sounds of crickets, too. For me, it's more soothing than the cicadas.
I do hear something out there at night(in Iowa) but thought it was Locusts, could be cicadas though. I like hearing the crickets but not the louder locusts. It is funny you should write this post because yesterday in church they did this song that jacked up my anxiety so bad it surprised me. Nothing has happened quite like this before to me. So the congregation had to sing a stanza over and over and then, kind of like a round, this lady sang over the top of it a melody which was quite beautiful. Hearing the same line over and over again really affected me in a negative way..I wanted to actually leave it was so bad. I kept thinking how strange it was because part of my OCD is doing things repeatedly so you would think this would have comforted me..but it did the opposite.
ReplyDeleteKrystal Lynn, I don't like repetition like that, either. It's almost like the sound becomes an obnoxious noise instead of beauty. I also get the weird sense that the sound is never going to end. I think it's that way with the cicadas. I'm sorry you had that experience yesterday. Thank you for sharing it.
DeleteI enjoy their sound as it usually is on a clear, calm summer night and they remind me of childhood summer vacations.
ReplyDeleteNancy, sounds like a great thing to be reminded of! The sounds of crickets and the smell of honeysuckle take me back to summer nights when I was a child. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteWe don't have cicadas here but I used to see their shells on the trees when we visited Arizona. And I could hear them in Nebraska as well. So loud!
ReplyDeleteKristina, very loud indeed! It's like a wave of sound. I guess because I don't hear it every summer, I haven't gotten used to it. Thanks for commenting.
DeleteI love the sound of Cicadas but I do not think we have as many as you do. B
ReplyDeleteThanks, Buttons. I am getting more used to it. My husband and I are noticing differences depending on the weather, the time of day, etc. It's kind of interesting.
DeleteI grew up in Memphis, so you are describing a sound familiar to me. But here in the Pacific Northwest, that sound is missing. I'm trying to think if there is something comparable here, but I can't think of anything. Maybe rain on the roof for most of the winter--ha! And lately, I would have to say the incessant construction noise of the house remodeling happening across the street. But that will end, and the house will be lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Galen. Incessant construction noise--ugh! But as you say, it's temporary and will have lovely results. I hope to get more used to the cicadas.
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