The first time I learned about cicadas, I was visiting family in North Texas. As I was getting my luggage out of the car, I heard rustling and buzzing in the trees. I asked my daughter what that noise was.
Somewhat concerned, I said, “Do they sting?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “You probably won’t even get to see them, but you’ll hear them.”
And hear them I did. I was fascinated by these creatures, and I started to research everything I could about them.
You see, I have a history with life’s littlest creatures. For the past few years, I’ve planted milkweed for monarch butterflies, and each summer, I had the pleasure of watching them lay their eggs that then turned into caterpillars, which built cocoons and eventually emerged as butterflies.
There is something so beautiful about monarchs, the way they flap their wings as if to thank you for providing a home and milkweed before they begin their migration.
I also would buy praying mantis eggs from the local gardening store. When they hatched, I would disperse them throughout my yard. They’re very tiny when they first come out of the egg, and often I would see a few grow to maturity. I find their praying hands to be a symbol of hope and happiness.
Ah, but it doesn’t stop there. One day I saw a carpenter bee near a little wood sculpture in my yard. I watched it go inside through a tiny hole. And it turns out for many years, the carpenter bees and their next generation lived inside the sculpture. They had quite a distinctive buzz, much louder than the honeybees that would visit and pollinate my flowers.
One day, after my husband and I moved to Texas from Southern California in August 2023, a beautiful yellow butterfly was in my daughter’s yard, just sitting on her window screen, its wings opening and closing almost as if it were welcoming me to Texas.
Finally, I was able to sit outside every evening and watch the trees and the leaves bustle with the cicadas’ buzzing.
I’ve always appreciated nature, and to have it right in my own backyard is so comforting.
I believe that nature nurtures. If we slow down and really take a look, there is so much beauty to behold.
Just last week, I saw a monarch butterfly hanging out in our new yard. I went outside and took a photo and welcomed it. The following day, I went to the local nursery and bought a milkweed plant in the hopes that the monarch would lay its eggs.
Summer will be here soon, and I’m excited to hear the cicadas once again.
