Opinion : Singing with the Cicadas

Isn't it funny how little things can instantly send you back to childhood? Like cicadas. My earliest memory of the insects was as a child in Walker at my grandparent's house. They had a huge tree in their front yard that was just full of the bugs. I remember being fascinated by the sound that they made, AND how densely the tree and ground was outside their front door.

If cicadas occur every 17 years I would have been about 8. I loved the sounds of them. I think this sound that triggers that same feeling I have when I get to hear the sounds of the countryside. In the country, on a good day or evening, you can hear crickets, frogs, owls and even a random coyote.

As a city girl, the fascination of hearing a bug and not being a little leery of them was odd. Now say the words, "June Bugs" and that sends a shiver up my spine. Those things remind me of the crunching sound they make when stepped on. For some reason, I remember those at the same location.

So cicadas and June bugs. It's weird how the two can send one back to a happy time and wishing you could capture that particular evening again and also make you grimace. If I could be a Benjamin Button and travel back to that time with what I know now, I would gladly. I'd love to ask grandpa and grandma more questions about their childhoods, now that I know a bit more about my family tree. But that can't be done. Unfortunately.

The grandparents moved out of that house and it is now graced by the local Casey's. Not quite the same as Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Now that I've gone down the rabbit hole of discussing bugs, whatever happened to ladybugs and lightning bugs? I can't say that I've seen a ladybug in years. I was delighted to point out a lightning bug to my granddaughter and explain that when I was her age we'd catch them and put them in a jar. "Like a flashlight?" I hadn't thought of it being like that, but I guess if you had enough of them...I told her about the idea of catching them to send them to Iowa City for research. Of course, she gave me a weird look.

But those were the good old days when you went outside to play until it got dark and no one seemed to think that was odd. It was the day before phones, tablets, computers and all the gadgets that seem to keep kids in the house today.

So there you have it. my memory about cicadas, ladybugs and lightning bugs...all thanks to a little video linked in an article put together by Iowa State Extension that you can find HERE.