I got home from work on a Tuesday, and since it was garbage day, I went to pull the bins up from the street. As I walked down the driveway, the noise in the air was deafening. It was that dull, insect roar that fills the air at various times of the day. It was loud. But then I heard an individual noise, louder than all the rest that seemed to be coming from one of the trash bins.

As I got closer, I couldn’t see the source, so I got to my chore of bringing the bins up and flipped the lids closed. The second I did, the sound ceased. When I looked on the ground, there was the noisemaker, crawling along. I picked him up and when I did, he started up his noisy symphony again. Even though this was just one little bug, it was incredibly loud that close. Apparently, he got comfortable in my hand so he stopped making the noise, but I found that if I gave him a little nudge, he would start back up again.

I wanted to show the girls, so I headed into the house and as I approached the garage door, I think I startled them with the sound. It echoed like crazy inside the walls of our home. The girls came running to find out what was making all of that noise. They got a kick out of seeing the little noisemaker in action. They each took a turn petting its back to start the sound again, then we took him outside and let him head back out into the wild.

As you can tell from the picture, the little guy is a cicada, and even as I write this newsletter at the nursery, I can hear them calling from the trees. They are one of those bugs that we just live with. They aren’t bad, as they don’t damage plants, but they aren’t notable at eating other insects to make them a good bug. But did you know that there are lots of good bugs that you want in your garden? See our article on notable bugs that you should thank when you see them.

Thanks to everyone who came out this past Saturday for the Veggie Gardening Seminar, it was a full house! Great to see so many people getting out in their gardens and planting something healthy. Next, we’re going to keep with the edible theme and talk about fruit trees. I’ll teach you all about planting trees, caring for trees, and special care that is needed for some through the fall and winter months. Come out to the workshop, then take a stroll on the boardwalk and tantalize your tastebuds with all of the amazing trees that we can grow in Florida. I tell you what, I’ll even ask the bugs to keep the noise down.