This has become one of my annual posts.
I've heard the first cricket of 2021, the crickets of the second year of the pandemic.
It
was just for a moment, on Thursday, that I thought I heard the sound. On Friday I heard it again. My
spouse kept saying no, I don't hear it. Then, Sunday, the same discussion.
There was a buzzing in the air. But yesterday, it was official. I heard the song. No mistaking.
In a way, I dread the first cricket song, because it means winter is on its way.
For 2020, the date was Thursday, July 23. For 2021, I'm calling the date July 26..
So,
why track this date? In the pandemic, many of us continue to take comfort watching
nature, be it birds, flying insects, or sunrises and sunsets. With
change all around us, nature is a constant, and keeps on keeping on
paying little attention to us.
Which, maybe is why we have three bird feeders in our backyard today. And why, on my walks, I look for butterflies to photograph. I am learning more about hummingbirds each day, a bird that continues to fascinate both my spouse and me.
My 30-something son calls us "old". I call it "refreshing my interests". If that makes me old, so be it.
And then, there is the human desire to keep records, which is why I write this annual post.
As I blogged in 2019:
"My blog, with the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day meme I participate in each 15th of the month, has become a
kind of garden journal. I'm no good at diaries or journals, but
blogging is something I do keep up with. For now, anyway."
So, what does this pattern of dates mean? Not much, perhaps. You can see that my dates are all over the place.
But for now, I have heard the crickets, and I know the end of summer is approaching. Maybe it's still a few months away, although frost threatened us last September.
Also, COVID-19 is spiking once again. Once again, we face the possibility of a fall and winter to dread.
I can only hope that this period in our history will, one day, be just another fact in the history books. In the meantime, I will study the hummingbirds, try to ID butterflies, and listen to the song of the crickets.
...I'm not much at remembering these "milestones" of life.
ReplyDeleteenjoying what interests you makes you “old” ….shaking my head here …
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting about the crickets and how you keep track of them so to speak. I need to do this not with crickets but with how the morning air feels in August compared to July when it is so hot out. There is a subtle shift of it late August where you can see hope is on the way with the brutal summer starting to cool down a bit. I should keep track of the date from year to year starting this year.
ReplyDeleteCases are surging and I'm not sure why. Don't feel dread. Just try to enjoy life the best you can and the beauty around you!
betty
Thank you, Alana, for giving the rest of us that tiny bit of 'natural' peace as well. ❤
ReplyDeleteWow. I didn't realize what it portended back east.
ReplyDeleteCarol C
With so many refusing to do their part, I'm fearful that this moment in history will last. Longer than it needed to, anyway. I haven't heard the crickets yet around here, but I'm sure any day now. . .
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you're another one that doesn't keep diaries and journals! My daughter did give me a lovely gardening one for Mothers Day, but that's different. It's fun with stickers and washi tape!
ReplyDeleteI hear mostly cicadas. LOUD! And so large they startle me once I find them! I too strive to identify any wildlife in the garden, even the insects.
Got a little misty-eyed over this. The sound of crickets. The end of summer approaching. Another winter coming. *sniff*
ReplyDeleteSo, is this late or early? Although, you said they're kind of all over the place. Have you tracked whether an earlier "sighting" means an earlier winter? That would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteAlas, our hot weather can persist through October and sometimes into November, so I don't feel the approaching winter just yet.
Alana,
ReplyDeleteI always like the sound of crickets. It reminds me of late summers spent as a child or in recent past days at my late in-laws. We loved our time spent in the evening around a camp style fire roasting wieners and marshmallows where we'd stay long after darkness falls. I'm looking forward to having a place where we can do this again.
I think your record keeping here in Blogosphere is wonderful and I often read your daily entries from my in-box but don't make over to comment, though. Yeah, I'm an awful friend.
Covid is a very much real and I sorta figured out when this thing hit that this is probably going to be with us forever. It's going to transform many times, eluding the medical community to come up with a sure-fire cure against it. I pray that the Delta strain isn't as destructive, though. Folks just need to exercise good judgment. Unfortunately a lot of people don't know what that is. All we can do is to protect ourselves to the best of our ability and I believe that will go a long way to keeping people well.
Thanks for sharing this lovely post with the blogging community,my friend. ;)