I'm trying to raise Noi to have a love for nature, as that was the wonderful gift given to me by my grandpa Elmer and mother and father. The older I get, the more I realize what a treasure that has been in my life. Luckily my husband loves nature too and loves insects, which makes me very happy, because I do too. Yesterday we went to the grove of trees near Hideto's parent's home and searched for cicadas. They are amazing little creatures that sing beautifully. In the early evening they crawl out of small holes in the ground (where they lay dormant for six years). If they are not eaten by Japanese ravens, they will hide in a tree and shed their skin, like dragonflies.. If you can find them in their holes, you can put a stick in the hole and wait for them to grab it, then pull them out, just like ice fishing! Otherwise, you walk around with a flashlight and look for them crawling out and then grab them, put them in a bucket, and bring them home. We found two last night and we brought them home and put them on a curtain. Then they crawl up the curtain until they find a cozy spot and prepare to shed their skin. After shedding their skin, they are bright green.
Then we went to sleep and in the morning, the cicada was sitting on the curtain, all brown, waiting for it's wings to harden. Shortly afterwards, we released it outside.
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