Discarded Cicada Armor

What the heck? At first glance I couldn't figure out what was stuck to the old cement street sign as I rounded the corner walking one of the dogs. I took a closer look and realized it was a discarded cicada casing. I hung onto the dog's leash with one hand and snapped an iPhone photo with the other. This deserved a more detailed view so I came back later with my Canon 7D.

We live on a wooded lot, home to many LARGE insects including cicadas. These guys make a loud screechy racket during the summer months, night and day. Check out Wikipedia's definition of cicada for an eye-catching time lapse series of one molting. It's about halfway down the page on the right side. Kind of creepy but pretty cool, right?

A Slice of Sunshine

We feed the birds hulled sunflower seeds, sprinkling them on the rock wall that runs along the back porch. One adventuresome seed fell into a pot of basil and decided to become a flower. I love it when that happens.

Staying Power

The magnolia trees are still blossoming in late July, despite days of nearly triple digit temperatures. I spotted my first blossoms in mid-April and have since fallen in love with them. The extreme heat may cause a few brown spots but it doesn't dampen their intense aroma. So sweet!

I took this with my iPhone during a late-morning run across campus.