Day 189
If I were an entomologist I’d be in bug heaven right about now.
If I were an ordinary person I’d be trapped in bug hell right about now.
And since I’m neither (an entomologist or an ordinary person) I’m kind of stuck in bug purgatory!
Living in Denver for 33 years makes one forget. It makes one forget that there are zillions of insects on this planet because only a few live in Denver. There were about 12 in the 33 years I was there. Maybe 13.
And here I am … living in Chicagoland … and if the singing of the cicadas and the chirping of the crickets hasn’t been enough to make me want to jump out of my skin … the relentless crick crick of some new bug on the scene is almost doing the job.
I don’t really mind bugs. Unless they’re in the house or on me. If they’re outside, I USUALLY say they’re okay. That’s their domain. But seriously … this is getting to be like some bad Stephen King movie with the take over of the world by grasshoppers and crickets and cicadas and whatever else is making this ungodly racket.
If bugs bothered a person … this would NOT be the place to live. The noise is constant. And it’s scratchy and kind of unnerving. Sam thinks it sounds like they are laughing .. ha ha, ha ha, ha ha. Insidiousness. I’m thinking it’ll be REALLY QUIET come winter. And for that reason alone (and it is the only one right now) I’m beginning to think that winter might not be so bad.
That is if I make it to winter and am not eaten by some insect before the snow flies.
I finally found out when cicadas go to sleep. It’s around 4am. I was up last night to let the dog out … hoping that the skunk was NOT parading around on my patio or anywhere near where it could spray the dog … and not a cicada was singing. Not one. It was BLISSFULLY quiet.
I pictured all those cicadas in red and white striped pajamas with little night caps on their heads, wings tucked underneath their fat bodies, snoring away. Finally.
And it was blissfully quiet … all except whatever was chirping. The chirping/sing-song mating call of Mystery Insect #567 started a few nights ago and they seem to have bug choir practice all day and all night long. No stopping for them. But, they might only have a life span of 17 days or something so I don’t really blame them for not sleeping.
In any case … I’ve never been in a jungle. Except for the Jungle Cruise ride in Disneyland and Disneyworld with the fake animals and there may or may not have been fake insect noises piped in. I now cannot remember! But I can only imagine that this is what a steamy jungle of insects sounds like. Ahh, the wild jungles of Chicagoland.
Anyway … as long as they stay outside they are okay. I am doing my best to tune them out … and am trying to pretend that their chirping songs sound like the soothing lullaby of the waves softly crashing against the shore on the Oregon coast. I have a great imagination and yet it’s not working! Bug calls sound NOTHING like waves!
Whatever. In a few months it’ll be so quiet out there I’ll probably be wishing for some bug songs to drown out the sound of the nearby traffic!