Happy Anniversary!

Today marks a milestone! It was one year ago today that I attempted to break into the blog world. I was nervous to say the least! I could not imagine anyone ever wanting to read anything that I had written..or read about anything that happened here on the Bayou. Face it..my little corner of the World is just not that exciting to the outside world. But my oldest son insisted that I try. He set up the blog, used a few of my pictures and sent me a password to get started. Eek! "Just write about anything that happens during your day." he said. "Just write it how it happens..in your own words..in your own style..and don't worry. People will read it." That scared me even more. Now here it is a year later and I have not missed a day of posting. I never knew that my Bayou had enough exciting events to ever fill a week much less a year. Then again, perhaps it is not the excitement but the peace of the Bayou that draws an audience. My Bayou is peaceful..something that I wish I could share with the World..with you.

At night recently, the peace and quiet has been disturbed a bit. My friendly mockingbird still serenades me from the rose arbor but now added to that is a loud buzzing. The cicadas (locusts as we call them!) are out and about big time! These fine critters let you know when they emerge from their subterranean life. I have the wonderful little exoskeletons all over the fences and arbors where they shed. The skin splits up the back and out crawls an incredibly weird-looking bug. One that is so strange that it is beautiful. These guys are said to crawl around underground for a number of years before making their way above ground. Once out, they molt and climb to the tree tops. Here the males form groups to "sing" away until some female enters the picture. Reproduction is the sole purpose of all of this confusion. The female will cut slits in tree branches to lay her eggs. She will lay up to six hundred eggs which will hatch in about eight weeks. The newborns will drop to the ground and dig in where they will stay for the next thirteen to seventeen years. And life goes on..the cycle begins again.

Their buzzing will last about two weeks or so, then all will be quiet. The above ground life of the locust will be over. I do not mind the buzzing of the locusts..the sound blends with the rest of the noisy nights on the Bayou. With the window open, I can hear all of the calls, chirps, whistles, grunts, growls and howls of the night. I try to identify each creature by its sound which is not always easy. Some sound so alike that at times I am confused to just what creature is prowling outside the window. In a way, all of this noise is part of the peacefulness of the Bayou.