Monday, July 21, 2008

The Cicada

**I'll be out of town until Thursday...we're heading down to the 'Burgh for a couple of days for a small vacation. See you then with lots of new pics to share!**
Let me warn you right up front....this post is about a bug. If you're squeamish, some of the pictures might be a little much. (Yes, DMac, I'm talking to you.)
On Saturday, we found a cicada crawling up the lilac. In the shot below, he's trying to crawl over my redneck bungee cord that's holding my birdfeeder.

We watched as he crawled up the trunk of the lilac and then just stopped.



I had to leave for the grocery store, so I missed the rest. Dan took all the rest of these shots with his little point and shoot! I thought they came out pretty well and he actually caught the cicada in the process of molting!

Isn't it like some alien movie or the Jeff Goldblum version of The Fly or something? Ewwwww!!


Almost all the way out!!
Ahh! Freedom!
After he got out, he rested for a bit, dried his wings, and then flew away. Isn't that cool?

16 comments:

10ecscrapper said...

Neat pictures. I have never seen that process. Seen plenty of shells but not the actually shedding. Thanks for sharing

Yvette A said...

Oh wow, what a capture of the change way to go Dan. I love how you got the before and he the after....I don't think we get those bugs here.

Jess said...

Wow, these are amazing! Creepy, but amazing, lol! Kudos to Dan for snapping the rest of the story too, how awesome of him!

Angela2932 said...

Great photojournalism, but what the heck! You mean they crawl out of one body and fly away????? Kind of like something out of Alien!

♥ Amy said...

Yes, that is SOOO cool. That shot of the bug fresh out of his skin is amazing. I remember collecting those empty shells when I was little. These pictures are fantastic!

Amy said...

EEEWWWW! Great shots of a creepy subject! :)

Anonymous said...

Wow--nice catch, Dan!!

SLUSH said...

sooooo you deserted us for BUGS???? ;)

Cool pics Moods!!

Michelle said...

very cool. love all the details. oh, and EEWW!!

Margaret said...

What a fabulous sequence! Nice shots...Kind of icky, but great photos!

Anonymous said...

I can not believe you guys caught that..wow that is amazing!
Cari

Anonymous said...

first, it's nice to see a post where dan doesn't take a cheapshot in some way.

secondly, these pics are nice. very national geographic.

thirdly, if you're going national geographic, where are the pics of tribeswomen with saggy boobs?

Kim said...

Great captures, how long did the process take???

stefanycmt said...

WOW! That is so cool! Great shots!

April said...

oh these are incredible..so interesting. absolutely discusting but i think that is so cool to see though.

Danny Lucas said...

Sometimes, a picture tells the story.Sometimes, a collection of pictures says it better. But, on rare occasion, a juxtaposition of pictures will tell the story better than any other way of expression.

I read the Father's Day Tribute to Dan and viewed the treasures of unrealized dreams via photo.
Few Fathers are appreciated these days. So, to make him a star, in the eyes of his child, was a "forever" picture moment.

I could not help but think of Karen Carpenter singing as I viewed Dan's silent strum in black-and-white.
Both Dan and Karen had shattered dreams. Dan is photoed as a "star". Karen sang of "Superstar" She lilted her voice singing:

"Long ago, and, oh, so far away
I fell in love with you before the second show.
Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear,
but you're not really here.
It's just the radio."

The pictures of Father's Day 2008 tell a story of "Long ago, and, oh, so far away" too.
Then, children, then more songs come along, then children,
and one day you realize there is a cacaphony going on.....
a cacaphony of silence.

So you listen to Karen some more:

"Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby?
You said you'd be coming back this way again baby.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
I love you, I really do."

The tough times come; folks are rooting for you, BUT,
they do not have to mire in the quicksand along with you.
Funny thing about the quicksands of marriage.
The more you struggle; the deeper you sink.
Like real quicksand, you must be still to be saved.
Lay flat with trust; and "swim" on the top slo-o-o-o-w-w-l-y to safety.

Will she wait?

Karen sang about that:

"Loneliness is such a sad affair, and I can hardly wait to be with you again.
What to say, to make you come again?
Come back to me again, and play your sad guitar."

Soon, a slug climbed up a lilac tree. It was captured in minute detail. The travel was oh, so..slo-o-o-o-w-l-y.
The critter never gave up.

Just how high do you have to climb in slime?
Why does it take so long?
Will I ever get to the top?
Will she wait ....or run off to the store?

"Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby?
You said you'd be coming back this way again baby.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
I love you, I really do."

Fast forward to the finale in photojournalism.
Metamorphasis has occurred.
A new creature crawls out of the old body.
Indeed! The new creation will never inch along the ground again.
The new creation has wings and will soar.

From the man who sat in black-and-white strumming his life with his fingers, killing him softly with his song, we met Dan.

From the newly emerged cocoon of life, we meet Dan again.
"Ahh! Freedom!", she says.

"After he got out, he rested for a bit, dried his wings, and then flew away. Isn't that cool?"

Yeah, that's cool.

Stars, dads, superstars are like that.
He will be back.
Hang in there Dan.