Over the past few days, the frequency of appearance of the periodic cicadas has increased from common, up through abundant, to inevitable. On today's walk down the trail, I was detecting dozens on the wing at one time. The singing is audible when I wake up, and doesn't taper off until late afternoon. I've learned to distinguish the hollow roar of M. septendecim from the metallic song of M. cassini, which is more prevalent in the Sugarland Run floodplain over by the RCP rehearsal hall. M. cassini sounds something like a dog day cicada, as I confused earlier.

17 years in the ground hasn't done anything for the critters' collision avoidance mechanisms. During a 25-minute drive home from work, I'm sure to clip half a dozen of them with my windshield. On the trail, I have to do the ento-dance to prevent them from flying into me.

posted: 5:05:12 PM