Buzzz...I'm Back!

Hope you enjoyed the nice long holiday weekend. I just returned from Nashville, Tennessee, where I attended my nephew's high school graduation.

While spending time with my husband's family was fun, one thing horrified me. The cicada bugs. Have you ever seen them?

These creepy bugs have returned to Nashville (they visit every 13 years) and won't be leaving until the end of June. They're ugly, annoying, and louder than you can imagine. Let me tell you, they were flying in my hair, buzzing around my head. I was stepping on dead cicadas which made a big crunch sound. Not fun. They are so loud that the sky sounded like a million rattlesnakes!

Cicadas live on tree roots underground for 13 years and generally arrive in the world by crawling up a tree trunk in nymph form, then crawl out of their shells, which get left behind on flowers and patio furniture, and within days, completely morph into flying adults. EW!

antique Chinese jade cicada necklace

Obsessed with these creatures, I took a close-up look at one, and it was actually quite pretty. The wings have an Art Nouveau look to them. I wondered, was anyone making jewelry out of these locusts? Apparently so.

I stumbled across this lovely antique Chinese silver and jade cicada necklace. The five early hand-carved jade cicadas are surrounded by solid silver repoussé floral frames.

John Urban at Jurbanrings makes these earrings (above) using real cicada wings embedded into lightweight resin. They are quite interesting.

Rachael Sudlow cicada jewelry

Rachael Sudlow traces a cicada wing to reveal every vein & line, laser cuts it onto thick brass or stainless steel, and the spindly lines become the framework for a beautiful wing pendant or earrings.

I understand that some of the folks in Nashville are frying and eating these cicadas. Apparently they are low-fat and have a lot of protein. Can you say "ew" again?

I'm happy to be home with some noise-free atmosphere, that is, except for the darn kid next door who never stops strumming his guitar.


If you have a hankering to hear what cicadas sound like, I've included this little video just for you...watch if you must!!!

Have a great week!