What's the buzz on the patio?

crisp, fresh peas from the patio garden

I know there has been much debate about whether or not the "year of the cicada" is actually as bad as people say it is. In parts of middle Tennessee it really has been! In our little subdivision (which has not been around for more than 13 years - the length of time in between said years of said bug's invasions) we have not experienced the tremendous volume of bugs. However, in the tree line that was undisturbed, on the edge of the neighborhood... You can hear them buzzing like a giant stereo needing to be grounded. How's that for an analogy? That one was for my siblings.

While harvesting the peas shown above, I was startled by some loud buzzing coming from the pea plant. Lo and behold, my first sighting. Ugly bug, yet fascinating.

This particular cicada did not fly away, but it's companion did. This one hung on to the plant and subsequently died while holding on. My little boy decided to squeeze it and I heard my daughter yell, "eeeeuw! He has cicada juice on his fingers!" Nice.

It looks like a mechanical bug, or the alien thing that is featured in the opening montage of Men in Black.

Here is a lovely shot of the onion flower that shares the pea plant's pot. I didn't want to leave you with a cicada nightmare image.