Dog Days

It's something I noticed in early May, but have only got around to writing about now. The cicadas, those cheerful (if noisy) green bugs of Summer, began to sing a month early this year.

This is something I pay attention to. Each year, for many years now, I've noted the first whirring drone from the trees. I suppose this is because to me it's the primary sound of Summer. It goes with the blinding sunlight and searing heat, and especially as a youngster, was synonymous in my mind with freedom.

The dog-day cicada

The sound they make is certainly hard to ignore.

Before this year, the earliest I've ever heard them was June 6th, though mid-June is more typical. But early May? Very odd indeed. What could have caused them to sing so early? It seems wrong, as if the normal cycles of things have gone off track.

What's more, the katydids, whose song is a late Summer phenomena for sure, have been buzzing away every night for weeks.

I can't help but wonder if this deviation is normal or if climate change is playing a role.Though sometimes, I half-jokingly think, this is more evidence that the simulation is glitching.

It may be less scary to imagine that our universe is a simulation rather than our world changing in ways we are not prepared to face.