Pretty Pics: Things that Hang from Trees

This afternoon Patrick & I did some planning for new flower beds in our front yard. While we were out there we noticed how pretty the acorns looked on our deciduous Oak. They're pleasantly smooth & soft to the touch, too.

On the other side of the path leading to our front door is an amazing Magnolia grandiflora or Southern Magnolia. It looks lovely right now with all of its fruit.

Pretty, huh? It's all pink & fuzzy! Upon closer inspection, we noticed something else hanging on this tree in addition to the fruit...

If you're squeamish about bugs, you might want to stop here.

Still with me? Ready for a closer look? Okay, here goes...

Cicadas have left their shells all over this tree! Clinging to the branches...

and hanging from the undersides of leaves. They were positively all over the place. On every branch we saw more and more.

They reminded me of childhood summers at my grandparents' house in Ganado, in southeast Texas. My cousins & I would have contests to see who could collect the most cicada shells from the trees. Kinda like Easter egg hunting, except slightly disgusting. Their shells retain all of the little details of the insects that molted from them. I am simultaneously grossed out & fascinated by cicadas. How about you?

If you want to see lots more pics of cicadas, hear their song, & even watch time-lapse photography of a cicada molting (it's pretty darn cool!), check out the Wikipedia page on cicadas.