Cicada

This will be the first post of two from this past weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, Pamela and I took a short walk at Horn Pond, and although the birds were pretty quiet (which I frankly expected) we did come across this cicada that looks like it just broke free from it's nymph shell.
When we got home, I pulled out my Kaufman Guide to Insects of North America as well as doing a quick google search (because I know embarrassing little about insects) in hopes that this was one of the 'periodical' 17 year cicadas that I had heard about earlier in the season. (I guess this is an expected year for them) It turns out to be one of our regular ol' annuals. But it was pretty cool nevertheless. The color on it was amazing.

It seems that the nymphs, after going through several molts underground, and when the temperature is right (and who know what other myriad factors might be involved) crawl up to the trunk of a tree, and the adult breaks out of the nyphy shell, and hangs out there until it's wings dry. I think we just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see this guy.