The blueberries are ripening. Some are already ripe. We also have strawberries ripening. The varieties that we have are all everbearing, meaning they will bear fruit all summer long. That story and much more is coming right up.

As always, I want to take a minute to welcome all the new listeners and welcome back the veteran homestead-loving regulars. I appreciate you all so much. Your presence is appreciated. Let me know if there is something in particular you would like to hear me talk about. Is there a particular animal you want to know about? What about cheesemaking? Or are you only interested in eating these great cheeses. Let me know.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

Creamery

The new cheese cave is operating wonderfully. I put another couple of wheels of our Peaceful Heart Gold in there just a few days ago. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to open that door and feel the nice cool air come rushing out. Rather than an upright freezer space it is an entire room dedicated to housing our cheeses.

The cheeses are stored on wooden shelves. This is keeping with traditional aging techniques. We turn the various cheeses regularly to keep the interior moisture balanced. Right now, each cheese has its own shelf (we have four varieties) and only one side of the cheese cave is being used. I can’t tell you how freeing it feels to have that many shelves to fill up and no worries about running out of space.

Cool Bot

We use an apparatus called a Cool Bot to keep the room at the proper temperature. It fools the air conditioner into believing it needs to keep running. Normally, an AC compressor is going to stop when the temperature gets down near 60 degrees. However, for cheese we need it to be 52 to 55 degrees for most cheeses. The Cool Bot fools the air conditioner and the compressor keeps running until the lower temperature is reached. It even has a Wi-Fi connection and an app that offers a graph of the temperature over time. It’s a great invention. The cost of a commercial cooling unit would be impossible for us to justify.

Today the humidifier was added. I’ll need to get an electronic and remote humidity monitoring set up in there, I think. As I said, we have one with the Cool Bot for the temperature, but I’m going to look into something to monitor the humidity as well.

The roof over the milking parlor is really moving along nicely. I can see how it is going to look now. Sometimes Scott explains to me how one thing or another is going to be done and I really don’t have any kind of visual in my mind about what all those words mean. Now I can see it and it is amazing.

Quail Chicks

Between Saturday, Sunday and Monday 52 quail chicks hatched out. We were amazed. Normally it is expected that about 70% of the incubating eggs will hatch. That’s a good hatch rate. Sometimes it is much less. But 52 out of 64? That far exceeded our expectations. We did lose one yesterday, so now we have 51. I’m so excited about this great hatch.

They are currently in the brooder where they will remain for the next two weeks. In the first week to 10 days they will fully feather out and at least quadruple in size. It is unbelievable how quickly they grow.

It’s so exciting. These little birds are fantastic to raise. We have set up a cycle and every six weeks we will hatch another batch. This plan will go throughout the summer and into the early fall. We will have lots and lots of quail in the freezer by the end of fall. Since we do not raise chickens yet, this will be our poultry supply for the winter.

Sheep, Lambs, Goats, and Kids

Yesterday we brought the lambs and their moms up for their 2^nd spring health check. Spring time is when the internal parasites really take off. We have to keep a closer eye on them during this time. Everyone passed with lying colors. It’s so good to see this. I can’t tell you how good it is to see this.

Homesteading has many challenges, and for us, learning about this cycle was a hard lesson. We do our best to raise our animals as close to nature as possible. Their health is of paramount importance to us. In 2010, when we began, we were completely unaware of how vicious and fatal these internal parasites can be for our sheep and lambs. We watched in horror as a perfectly healthy lamb would succumb to them within days if we weren’t watching closely.

Parasite Monitoring

At one point, we were taking poop samples regularly to try and get a handle on the problem. Basically, we looked at their poop under a microscope and counted the number of eggs. That gave us an idea about the number of parasites they carried. There is also another test where we look inside the lids of their eyes. Here we are looking for dark pink tissue. The lighter it is, the less blood they have and the closer they are to imminent death. For the adults it is dangerous when the eyelids are pale. For the lambs and goat kids it is often a death sentence.

This is all pretty morbid so let me get to the good part. We did begin to use a chemical wormer. And in the beginning, we used it often. Three to four times per year. That is the standard for commercial operations. But we were determined to use better animal husbandry practices to bring this under control. And when I say “bring this under control” that is the mentality of most commercial sheep operations. They want to keep it under control. For us, we wanted to gain control and then, using better pasturing techniques, we wanted the problem to be a small one if not completely eliminated. I can’t say I will ever be comfortable saying it is completely eliminated. We keep a check on them.

Success!!

Today, we check them twice in the spring, once in late summer and once in winter. And I cannot remember the last time we had to use a chemical wormer. I know it has been over a year. And when we do have to use a chemical, it is only on the select few who might need it.

How did we accomplish this? Good pasture rotations was key for us. One of the problems we ran into that cost us a lot of lambs and even a goat or two was a drought that reduced our pasture grass. The grass was far too short. Again, this was the early days. We were uneducated novices. As the animals grazed, they were clipping that grass way too close to the ground where the hatched larva didn’t have to climb very far up the grass to be eaten.

Today, Scott manages this very, very well. He knows exactly how high the grass needs to be before we let any of the animals graze in a particular pasture. And he knows when it is time to move them to the next paddock. The result is a health check like we had yesterday. And the health check we had a couple of months ago just prior to the first lamb arriving. Everyone was doing well. No issues with parasites.

Missing Goat Kid

One small side note on this health check. Along with the sheep and their lambs, we brought up the one renegade goat and her kid. Because we do not want any more mistakes with unauthorized goat breeding, this goat kid needed to be banded. It is a relatively simple procedure that causes the blood circulation to be cut off to his testicles.

We tended to him first and that went off without a hitch. Then Scott picked up each lamb and we checked their health and banded the three boys in that group also. Next, all of the big girls were checked. All done. Let’s get them all back into the field. Only one problem. Sometime during all of the hubbub, the goat kid disappeared. He was just gone. But you know, I’ve said this before. Goat. There is no keeping a goat in when they don’t want to be kept in.

The Search

We looked and looked and could not find him.  I followed his mom all the way back to the pasture in which they were currently residing. I followed her all the way to the back of that pasture until I lost her in the woods. He never showed up. I walked all the way back to the corral area. I checked the other two adjacent pastures. No sign of him. Those goat kids are sneaky and can hide most effectively.

I had exhausted myself walking up and down those hills, likely over a mile. And it was hot. I gave up. He is three months old and can make it on his own if need be. He is old enough to be weaned after all. So, I let it be for the night. Sure enough, this morning when Scott went out to get the cows, there he was, back with his mom. All’s well that ends well. But he really took me for a ride.

Cows and Calves

I have just a short note on the cows and calves. The cows are still doing their thing. That means they eat, drink and sleep. Occasionally, they will offer up a couple of moos. Mostly they eat and then lay around chewing their cud.

The calves managed to get into the travel lane and all the way up to the milking shed. We still don’t know if the gate was accidentally left ajar or if they worked it loose. No matter, they are back in their corner of our world, happily grazing and running around in the grass. Well, Wendell runs around a lot. Luna, not so much. Wendell is only a couple of months old. He still has lots of vim and vigor going.

Blackberries

The blackberries are in full bloom. It will be another month before we reap that harvest. The mulberry trees are blooming. That fruit will not be ready until much later in the year, closer to fall. I haven’t seen any kiwis, but the vines are doing very well. We have a few peaches coming along, but I didn’t see any pears or apples. That is not to say they are not there. I did not look at every single tree. I looked at them in passing as I went to the blueberry patch.

Blueberries

As I said, the blueberries are ripening. We have a couple of rows of blueberry bushes. There are several different varieties. Most of them still need to ripen, but one variety was ready to go. I went out there with a basket of course, just in case. However, my basket was not big enough. There were so many of the early variety that were ripe, I quickly filled that little basket. It held more than a pint but less than a quart. You see? I wasn’t really expecting there to be very many blueberries. So, I was pleasantly surprised.

I carried the little basket filled with blue jewels back up to the milking shed where Scott was still milking the cows. He was pleasantly surprised and grabbed a bunch of them and proceeded to enjoy their sweet loveliness. Not only did he enjoy them, but Daisy got a turn too.

Donkeys Are Fun

Daisy is our eldest miniature donkey. She came up for her usual scratches and hugs. After I provided those, I offered her a blueberry. It took her a minute to figure out that it was a treat. She had never had them before. She has had carrots and apples, but never blueberries. It didn’t take her long to come looking for more – and more, and more, and more.

Her daughter, Cocoa, also came forward. But she was not catching on to the treat I was offering her. Plus, because Daisy had caught on, she kept pushing her muzzle into my hand and stealing the berries I was offering Cocoa. After a while I gave up on Cocoa and gave a few more to Daisy. She loved them.  

Strawberries

On my way back to the house, still having a nearly full basket of blueberries, I stopped by the garden to check on the strawberries. Why not? Sure enough, I brought in a handful of those as well. I put some of the blueberries in my yogurt. What a treat. Later, or perhaps the next day it was, I put some of the strawberries in a dish and poured fresh raw milk cream over them. That was an even better treat. Yum, yum.

Garden

The garden is doing fantastic. I still have some plants to get out there. But the ones already planted are just catching on and steadily branching out. I noticed a small sweet banana pepper already. It was about 2 inches long. And the others are blooming up a storm. The bees are having a time out there.

We have about 100 square feet of potatoes planted and they are getting really big. Potatoes was the first thing we planted. I was not sure that any plants would come up. I was using potatoes we had grown last year as seed potatoes. So they did come up and I’m happy about that. The next big hurdle there will be whether they are healthy all the way through to harvest. The problem with replanting your potatoes is they are subject to all kinds of destructive molds. We shall see. We shall see. Our soil is really good. Scott put fresh, clean compost in all of the beds. Fingers crossed.

Cicadas

As far as the cicadas, what began as a novelty that happens only once every 17 years has now become mostly an annoyance. Night and day. Day and night. They go on and on and on. Sometimes it is so loud, I can hear it clearly through my earbuds even though they are tightly fitted into my ears. Not only that, but the life cycle for many of the adults has reached its end. They are dozens and dozens lying dead all over the place. The birds and the cat are loving that, but I don’t find it quite so attractive. In another week or two it will all be over, not to be seen or heard again until 2037.

Final Thoughts

I love my life here and wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s hard work. It’s sweaty work. Sometimes it’s frustrating and heartbreaking. Many, many times it’s peace and tranquility – except for those cicadas. I’m so done with them. The fresh fruit is coming in and soon the vegetables will be arriving. Cheesemaking is progressing. I’m getting better and better with my methods. The creamery that rose out of the ground over three years ago is getting closer and closer to completion. I couldn’t ask for more in my life.

I’m so happy you came along for the ride around the homestead. I look forward to bringing you more stories next time.

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Reblochon raw milk cheese is coming. There are other new cheeses that I will be making over the next few months, but this one is the one I’m most excited about. It gives me a chance to enhance my cheesemaking and affinage skills. And I love learning and practicing new things. It enlivens my soul to create new things. What about you? Do you like learning? If you ever find yourself saying, “I’m bored”, it’s time to expend some energy learning something new or doing something you’ve never done before.

Let me take a minute here and say welcome to all the new listeners. I’m glad you found me and I hope you will stick around. And a hearty welcome back to my veteran homestead-loving regulars. Thank you so much for stopping by the FarmCast. I appreciate you all so much. As usual, there are exiting events and activities going on around the homestead.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

The cicadas continue to sing. It gets louder and louder every day. I don’t know how much louder it can get. There are lots of empty exoskeletons under the trees and some dead cicadas. And lots of those perfectly round ½ inch holes under every tree. I never hear them in the trees out the back door. They always seem to be a couple of hundred yards away. But they must be there. I talked about their life cycle in the last podcast, “The Cicadas in Southwestern Virginia Have Emerged”. If you missed it, check out our website. Click or tap “podcast” on the menu and give it a listen.

Kittens

I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but we have feral cats that roam around our property. There is one in particular that we have seen time and time again over the past couple of months. She intimidates the quail, hanging around, always watching, drooling over their plumpness. Anyway, I saw her go under the carport a couple of times. I figured she was stalking mice or other small varmints under somewhere back there. I found out a few days ago that it was not the case.

As I was about to pull the car back into the carport, I saw a black lump right in my tire track that was not there before. I stopped and got out to investigate. As I approached the black lump abruptly jumped up and dashed behind the air conditioner compressor. I calmly walked over there and peeked behind the unit and, sure enough, there was a little black kitten there. It had small white markings on feet, head and tail. It was quite cute. I looked a little further and found another black lump of fur hiding farther back in the corner. Two kittens. That explains the momma cat hanging out under the carport.

Sheep and Lambs – Goats

This morning I moved the goats back in with the rest of the girls, cows, sheep and donkeys. They moved easily. Most of them have shed their cashmere winter coats and are looking quite sleek. One is looking really ragged. I may have to sheer her. She has a very heavy overcoat which impedes the undercoat of cashmere from shedding completely. It mats and becomes impossible to comb out. But the clippers work well to get her cleaned up.

We had our final lamb born two days ago. I thought we might get another set of twins. But no. Another giant girl. Nearly 12 pounds. She is healthy and active. So glad to be done with lambing. And for the first time in a long time, no issues with moms or lambs dying. No abandoned or neglected lambs that require bottle feeding. Yay. Let’s pray for their continued health.

We end this lambing season with nine new babies. Well one is nearly four months old and harder to spot as a lamb every day. Just a few inches shy of being as tall as his mom. They will all be like that in a few months. They are the cutest animals on the homestead IMO, but only for a short while. Then they look and act like the adults. But until that time, finding them jumping and hopping in the evening during play time is a pleasure I never get tired of experiencing.  

Cows

I need to correct something I said last time regarding the cows and artificial insemination. It’s a small thing, but I like to be accurate. I said that the AI was initiated with a uterine implant and shot. Scott corrected me. It was a vaginal implant.

On Monday there was a uterine implant. The artificial insemination took place. Now we wait for 21 days to see if they come into heat again. If so, we try again. I’m already counting the days. And I do it more than one time per day. It’s going to be a long three weeks.

Quail

We have 64 eggs in the incubator. On Friday, they go into lock down. That means the eggs come out of the automatic egg turner, the incubator is resealed and cannot be opened until three days after the first quail chick hatches. I expect to hear the first peeps on Saturday or Sunday at the very latest. I’ll be able to give you a total number of new chicks in the next podcast.

Garden update

Scott and I transplanted all of the tomatoes and peppers into the garden. I started them from seeds some time ago and they have been ready to transplant for more than a week, maybe even two. But the weather was not quite right.

Having completed that part of the planting, nearly the entire garden is planted. Is still have a bunch of celery starts to transplant and lots and lots of culinary herbs. I have cilantro, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and mint still to transplant into the garden. However, today was not the day to do that. The temperature finally reached a nice mid-70s to low 80’s range for about 3 days. But I guess spring is already over. Today it reached 90 degrees. I can deal with that in the summer, but in the spring, I’ll just stay inside and imagine that it is balmy outside. I don’t want to lose that feeling of spring until much later. There is plenty of time for steamy hot days in July and August.

I love to see the garden full of green. The potatoes are up. Sunflowers are planted along the entire west end – about 70 feet. I didn’t count the number of plants but I’m guessing about 50. These are mammoth sunflowers so they will get really big heads and have lots of seeds. I’ve watched a couple of videos on how to dry them so I am educated for the fall harvest of those giant flowers filled with seeds. I love having these new experiences. Literally, I am growing these for fun. I’ll probably feed them to the birds this winter.  

Creamery

This is the most exciting news. The small cheese cave is complete. Aaannndd – we moved all of our current cheese in there for aging. Today Scott ordered a humidifier that will assist with keeping the moisture at the proper level. I’ve never had this before. I either had to wax cheeses to keep them from drying out or make small batches and keep them in plastic containers with lids to keep the humidity up. This new setup offers a multitude of possibilities.

Earlier this year I began working on what is called a washed rind cheese. In a nutshell that means that when the cheese comes out of the press, another process is started to create the perfect rind. It involves some kind of brining or salt water bath. It can be just salted water or it might be salted water with additional cultures designed to grow specific molds on the cheese surface creating a unique rind and adding flavor to the cheese. I am so excited at the possibilities.

Recently I acquired some new cheese molds. One is designed to create a cheese called Reblochon. Some of you may know of this cheese, but for those that don’t about it, here is a short description. This is a French cheese originating in Savoie mountains. It is a washed rind cheese as I just described. The center is very soft, similar to a camembert. Officially, it is made with raw milk. However, the cheesemaking and aging is essentially complete just shy of the 60 days required for commercial raw milk cheese in the US. The only way to have this cheese in the US is to make it yourself. Oh, there is a pasteurized version, but it just isn’t the same. I’ll only be making very small batches for us and for any herd share owner that expresses an interest. I expect to perfect my washed rind cheese skills.

Those perfected skills will assist me in creating a washed rind version of our Pinnacle cheese. It is an alpine-style cheese. You’ll find it to be similar to a traditional Swiss gruyere cheese. With the completion of the cheese cave, these kinds of new opportunities are just waiting to be explored.

Final Thoughts

There is never a dull moment here. Something new is happening each and every day. At least in the spring that is true. Most days, there is more to do than it is possible to accomplish. Spring bursts out of the ground at a dead run and sometimes it’s hard to keep up.

The warm spring days also invoke a new creativity in me. New growth in me just as the new growth is literally springing out of the ground. I’m so excited about making cheese right now. With the new cheese cave and new opportunities to be a better cheesemaker with a larger skillset, I’m in seventh heaven.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. Also, please share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content.

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

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The cicadas in Southwestern Virginia are out and about. It happens once every 17 years. It’s truly a phenomenal occurrence. I can’t wait to get to that topic today.

But first, welcome to all new listeners and welcome back to veteran homestead-loving regulars. That you for stopping by the FarmCast for every episode. It wouldn’t be a show without you. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week including all about the cicadas.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

Life goes on at the homestead, right though the rain and more rain and more rain. We trek twice a day out into the pastures to bring up the cows for milking, rain or shine. It’s getting pretty muddy out there.

Cows

The cows are not bothered by the cicadas. They continue to carefully navigate that mud and come up to the milking shed twice daily. Last Friday they each got a second trip into the shed. We have started the artificial insemination process. There is a uterine implant and a hormone shot to start. This will make all of the cows cycle together. The reason we want that is so we can breed them all at once and the calves will all be born within days of each other. It makes the calving season short, sweet and predictable. Once they start cycling together, they will continue to cycle together. It’s lovely system.

The next step is removing the implant and another hormone shot. There is a very specific time window when the actual insemination occurs. I believe it is approximately 60 hours after the second hormone shot. I’m learning as we go. Scott is the one with the detailed perspective on this whole process.

The process of placing the implants involved a physical exam of each cow. It was a relief to find out that Buttercup is actually pregnant, though she has a long way to go before she delivers. The vet estimated she is about 6 months along. Cows take 9 months to grow a healthy calf, just like humans. We look for her to give birth in August.

The other four are getting ready for the next phase. They didn’t complain too much during the process. It was quick and painless. Except for those shots. Cows don’t like getting a shot any more than humans do.

Sheep and Lambs

Let’s talk about the sheep and the lambs. These guys are also oblivious to the song of the cicadas. The lambing is just about done. There is one more ewe that looks like she will deliver in the next couple of weeks, but it could be longer. And there is one that does not look pregnant at all. She babysits the lambs a lot. I think she would like to have one. We shall see.

The big news with the lambs is the giant set of twins that was born about 5 days ago. This is a great mom and she didn’t require any assistance. But I have to wonder how she managed it. Normally, our lambs are 6 to 8 pounds at birth. Sometimes less. We had one that was only 5 and a half pounds. Sometimes more. We had one just shy of 9 pounds. But these two from the same mom totaled over 25 pounds. Think of it. Normally, even if a ewe had lambs on the upper edge and gave birth to two lambs 8 pounds each. That’s a total of 16 pounds of lamb. This 3-year-old ewe carried a set of twins totaling over 25 pounds. The boy was 11 and a quarter pounds. The girl was a whopping 14 and a half pounds. The day they were born, they were larger than the lambs born two weeks previous. And lambs grow fast. The little 5 and a half pounder may have doubled in weight by now. But she is still way smaller than her newest half-sister.

All are healthy and thriving. It’s a great thing to see. So far, so good. No lost lambs. I did just rescue the newest boy. He was on the other side of the creek. Because of the rain today, the creek was swelled and he didn’t want to cross. He was stranded on the other side of the fast-moving creek water. Fortunately, he didn’t try to run away from me. I caught him easily and returned him to mom. All is well. Fingers crossed, the last ewe delivers healthy lambs without issue. I say lambs plural because I think she will also have twins. But you never know. Last year she also had a large lamb, but a single.

Goats

I have no idea what the goats think of the cicadas? But I am pleased that they are more and more comfortable with me being near. The sheep also are getting more comfortable with human interaction. Oh they will still run away if you get too close. But the point is I am able to get closer before they run away.

I am happy to report they are staying in their assigned paddock and not sneaking off to wherever they want without regard to our fencing plan and rotational grazing plan.

Donkeys

Of course, the donkeys ignore the sounds of cicadas generated in the trees all around them. They want a little cuddle and a scratch. That’s it. Once they get that, they are happy campers. It’s strange to see their winter coats are still hanging on. It will likely be July before they have a sleek coat. Even with brushing, their winter coats hang on long after I think they should be gone. But what do I know? It’s not up to me.

Quail

The tree right next to the quail cages is full of cicadas. Poultry and fowl are pretty carnivorous. The quail would likely enjoy munching on them if they could get close enough but that is not going to happen. The cicadas are too big to get through the mesh cages. The quail are left to hear them and not be able to eat them.

The breeding groups are doing very well. There are 13 hens there and we get anywhere from 8 to 11 or 12 eggs a day. Nine or ten is most common.

The young ones are doing really well. You would not believe how big they are now. They are barely three weeks old. They went from being the size of my thumb to larger than my whole hand in that short period of time. They still have a little way to go to reach their full size. Their unbelievably fast growth rate will slow down a bit and they will become fully mature over the next five weeks.

Creamery

Scott is off the farm right now. He had to go to town to pick up that special grout I talked about last time. I think tomorrow he will be finishing up that smaller cheese cave. How exciting is that? I think that is what he has planned but I could be wrong. He is also diligently working on that roof over the milking parlor and open-air animal barn. There is an attic area over the milking parlor. That is the part where we stand when setting up the cows for milking. This roof and ceiling are a couple of feet higher than the rest of the building. Over the past few days Scott has been building a stairway from the attic over the rest of the building to the attic floor of the other roof. It looks really good. His talent with building is always amazing to me. I look at that stuff and think, “how does he do that?” It seems so complex to me. I think it is complex. He is simply very talented with creating buildings.

Cicadas

Let’s get on to the main point I want to talk about today. The cicadas. There are pictures posted on our Facebook page. Go over there and check them out. There is at least one video where you can hear their mating calls there as well.

I don’t know how many cicada broods there are. They are numbered from I to XXIII, but there are numbers missing after XI. Brood IX is emerging in north-central North Carolina, southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia. It began in mid-May and will end in late June. They started emerging when the soil, 8” beneath the ground, reached 64 degrees. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence. We have had plenty of that.

This brood, and other species like it, referred to as magicicada periodical cicadas, emerge every 17 years. Other magicicada periodicals emerge every 13 years. There are seven magicicada species. There are hundreds of other cicada species that emerge every year.

Life Cycle of the 17-Year Magicicada

Cicadas begin their life as an egg which the female deposits in a groove she makes in a tree limb. The egg looks like a grain of rice. The groove provides shelter and exposes the tree fluids, which the young cicadas feed on. These grooves can kill small branches. We hope we have no problem with our orchard trees. The brood is emerging all around it.

Once the cicada hatches from the egg it will begin to feed on the tree fluids. At this point, it looks like a termite or small, almost translucent, white ant. Once the young cicada is ready, it crawls from the groove and falls to the ground where it will dig into the ground until it finds roots to feed on. It will typically start with smaller grass roots and work its way up to the roots of its host tree. The cicada will stay underground approximately 17 years. The cicadas are active underground, tunneling and feeding, and not sleeping or hibernating as has been commonly thought.

After 17 years, the cicadas emerge from the ground as nymphs. We are seeing this now. There are hundreds and hundreds of small, perfectly round holes, about the diameter of my pinky finger, all over the place. The emerging nymphs climb the nearest available tree, and begin to shed their nymph exoskeleton. We can see lots of this going on now. All over the trees there are nymphs in varying stages of shedding. Once free of their old skin, their wings inflate with fluid and their adult skin hardens. They have red-orange eyes. Their wings are longer than their body. It’s an odd-looking creature. Check out our website. The featured image is a cicada. Once their new wings and body are ready, they begin their adult life. It is quite brief, only about a month.

The adults spend their time in trees looking for a mate. That is the song that we hear every morning and until sometime after mid-day. The males sing. The females respond. Mating happens and the cycle begins again. Eggs laid and hatched. Young cicada falls to the ground and digs in for another 17 years.

Why Are There So Many Cicadas All at Once?

One answer is predator satiation. The first cicadas that emerge are eagerly consumed by predators. Birds, raccoons, squirrels, dogs, cats, snakes and so on. They eat until they are overwhelmed. They fill themselves to the point of exhaustion. This gives the remaining cicadas a chance to escape.

In areas where there aren’t enough of them to satiate the predators completely leads to dwindling populations. Some eventually die out.

I look forward to the next few weeks as this phenomenon continues. Who knew we would be one to have part of this brood on our property?

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today’s podcast. I hope you enjoyed the cicada information and the homestead updates. I look forward to next week when I hope to have some garden updates to share – if it ever stops raining long enough to get anything planted.

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Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

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