The Cicadas Have Come A-calling!

You are asking “ Where? Where?” right? I had been hearing reports of the cicadas surfacing in Virginia and other parts of the country but couldn’t understand the silence in my neck of the woods. Not wanting to miss out, I dispatched my trusty scouts ( okay, husband and daughter) to explore the trails around the Cold Spring, NY area. I myself was unable to go as I’m currently wading in Mumbai’s monsoon mayhem which is in itself an adventure of a different sort. Wouldn’t you know it – the cicadas are out in full force in the Bear Mountain region. They are have been making merry and are dropping like, well, cicadas. So if you want in on this scene, hurry up and get to the area. If you cannot, enjoy the attached images and sound recording.

Why the critters are not showing up everywhere is a mystery. I haven’t as yet investigated the reason but I’m wondering if they are present in higher elevations because their cousins on lower ground were drowned out by the floods caused by recent storms as well as the consequent rising level of the water table. If anybody can bring clarity to this question, I’d love to hear it.

At a time when the weather all across the globe is topsy-turvy, it is comforting to know that the cyclical emergence of the cicadas can still be depended upon. For the moment, for this instance, just take pleasure in being part of this amazing, beautiful world and remain a believer. Keep faith.

Download and play video clips of cicadas below in high resolution…

Sound of cicadas

Digging a hole

Or play them low resolution…

Sound of cicadas:

Digging a hole:

WP_20130625

Cicada Holes

(c) 2013 Shobha Vanchiswar

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2 thoughts on “The Cicadas Have Come A-calling!

  1. I tried opening the links to see and hear the cicadas, but got an error message on both. I’d love to see/hear them!

    Please try it again. They were tested on a Windows PC running Internet Explorer.

  2. Aha! That makes sense. Poor things may have drowned here in the lower elevations. I had grouchily wondered if they had been extinguished in communities that favor generous use of pesticides.
    Thanks for the fix!

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