vastateofmind

Post another pic of your pup again at the brewery, somewhere on one of these threads...so friggin' cute.

FIFY. I have been (with only 2), and know you have been, too. OMG. I had to go out and reprimand my own yellow Lab this afternoon for circling the big-ass oak tree and slurping up God knows how many dozens of cicada nymphs and adults for 30 minutes straight. She's such a hog. The first night she discovered them around the tree (about 4-5 days ago), she gorged herself and (to @Kmlwx's point several weeks ago), promptly emptied the contents of her stomach because of it. Thought I'd have to get out the Elizabethan dog collar, but she's listened to me the rest of the afternoon. Until tomorrow.

@WinterWxLuvr posted a meme a page or two back, purportedly of someone selling "bags" of gasoline out of the trunk of their car. I seriously almost blew my coffee over my keyboard when I saw that one.

The first 20 feet of trunk on my backyard oak up to the first big branches -- where I captured my posted pics/video earlier this week -- were thick with nymphs and emerging adults last evening just after dark, too many to count. That whole side of the yard (the oak is in the back corner of my property) was rustling with countless nymphs making a beeline for the oak, the fences, the shed, anywhere they could get at least some elevation. I even saw a handful of oh-eff-it nymphs starting their molts at the top of some tall dandelion stems. If you got down low to look across the grass, you could see it "moving" in spots...eerie. I'm thinking we might actually start hearing these guys next week? Oh, and just for you, @gunny23 & @mattie g -- let's just say I'm going to be a little more careful about walking under my backyard oak in another week or so. (In fairness, this video is of cicada Chremistica umbrosa of South-East Asia...our Brood X periodic cicadas apparently aren't this incontinent.)

Okay, these are some GREAT chasing pics and video....I especially liked the inflow video, where the dust movement allowed you to actually SEE it! Please keep 'em coming, these are awesome!!

Currently 44 IMBY, with heat running full blast inside. Third morning in a row I've slid into the fleece long bottoms...UGH.

LOL....it's not just you.

Yeah, @WxWatcher007 -- go to "HAIL!"

Checked the big backyard oak last hour....a lot of those nymphs I filmed molting over the past two days unfortunately seemed to have only made it only partially through their transformation. I've lost count of how many mature cicadas I just saw hanging out on the tree trunk with mangled, malformed, half-shriveled or not-even-unfurled wings. I wonder if the cooler weather overnight might have interfered with the complete "drying out" of the wings on the newly-emerged cicadas?

YUMMO! Cuke/Mater/Feta salad is one of my summertime favorites...so easy, and it tastes sort of refreshing after a hot day.

How's everything looking so far, at least what you've already got planted? Mid-40s for a number of nights in a row hasn't done any damage, has it? We got down to 47 last night, enough to kick on the heat this morning. I'm not looking for 90s and humidity yet, but please oh please, can we just have nighttime lows above 50-ish....

Meanwhile....it's currently 48 with yet another overcast morning. Hoping the sun makes its forecasted appearance this afternoon.

Very cool. He's a great beer connoisseur to have on staff, if that counts for something in your workplace. Good luck to you today, @Baltimorewx!

Just captured a short while ago after sunset on the big backyard oak -- there's a whole lotta moltin' going on.

The album of videos I posted here yesterday was apparently a preview of today's big show. Just went out under the giant oak IMBY where I shot those videos, and the ground immediately around, and about 4 feet out from the trunk was almost boiling with nymphs hauling ass for the tree trunk -- at least 10x as many as I saw yesterday. This fascinates me, as I missed most of this the last time Brood X made a visit! I did my part to save 15-20 of the nymphs at least a little travel time, by lifting them up from ground level to about 6 feet up the tree trunk, the level of the tree they seem to best love to start their molts. I'm guessing I shaved about 30-40 minutes off the trip for that small group...but there were sooooo many more. Felt like I should do that to give them a fighting chance, as there was a small group of crows hanging out around that tree this morning, gorging themselves on the cicada buffet. I'm sure they'll be back tomorrow morning...and many mornings to come.

Went to record the insane Labrador retriever during a spirited bout of "tug" last evening, but instead of hitting the regular record mode I accidentally selected slow-mo....hence this. The slowed-down audio of her growling and tags rattling makes it sound like you're standing in a torture chamber.

#PREACH Ended up buying a six-pack of that late Saturday, after trying one in the make-your-own-six-pack at Wegmans on Friday. It IS that good.

Getting real busy out there IMBY... https://photos.app.goo.gl/BFka7yr5uxfr9m84A

LOL...why do you think I've been putting off that half day of back-breaking work?? And I dare say, you have even more than me to do!

Bring it! I've a couple patios that desperately require power washing (that I've admittedly been lazy about doing), and a partly sunny afternoon in the 70s with low wind at week's end would just fit the bill. Currently though, it's 72 with clear skies....we busted a few degrees high, which is fine by me. It's a nice afternoon out.

Seriously. I've been within several hundred feet of lightning strikes before, which was bad enough....can't imagine it striking close enough to dislodge a chunk of pavement and send it hurtling at me and my vehicle at 100 mph.

Because of the originally forecasted cool-ish, semi-washout yesterday (which, of course, failed to materialize...thanks, NWS!), Mrs. V asked if we could stay in for Mothers Day and if I'd instead make brunch for her and the youngest offspring living in Arlington. I obliged -- whipped up a batch of Betty Crocker's morning crowd pleaser, Impossibly Easy Breakfast Bake, and then picked up on Saturday a fresh loaf of Great Harvest Bread's Xtreme Cinnamon Swirl bread to make her personal fave, French toast. Oh, and maybe a mimosa (or two). She never wants to eat "heavier" stuff like this, so I was happy to make it for her...and because she's an awesome mom, too.

Interesting....I'd have thought where you live would be chock full of the smaller wildlife. We have literally dozens of foxes and a fair amount of raccoons that populate our big-ass subdivision, which also blows my mind...why so many in close-in suburbia? Not sure, but I wonder if it's because our neighborhood is hemmed in on three sides by woodland/protected wetlands (Coast Guard, Huntley Meadows and Fort Belvoir).

Oh, yeah -- I actually HAD that Red Zep in my hand at Wegmans this afternoon!