Introducing Illinois #1- Buggy

Tonight my extended family is gathering at the new Larsen home in Utah to celebrate Aerika's birthday. I admit I am a little bummed to think of the fun that they are having without us, but I like to think that one of them will stop at some point and say "I wish Ash and Corey and the boys were here." and they will take a minute to miss us. The conversation will inevitably turn to my mom too. Today is not only Aerika's birthday, it was my mom's special day too. She would be turning 49 today. I thought about her at church and then I really missed my Utah counterparts. My Aunties look so much like my mom and I see a lot of shared mannerisms in their faces. I would have liked to observed them tonight. I love them just for who they uniquely are, but I love them for keeping a little bit of her alive too.

Alright, I'm stopping now. Anymore of this and I will get depressed. I just hope you Utah folks know that I love ya. Lots and Lots. Miss you, think of you often, pray that you are well.

The same goes for you, Mom... but I think you already knew that.

Moving on to more bloggy business I am ushering in a new series on my blog.

I'm going to be introducing Illinois to you. I want you to see some of the things that we have experienced while getting to know our new home. Tonight's theme: BUGS

Illinois is chocked full of them!

Some are magical... that's right I said magical... some are annoying... some funny... some downright pull-your-hair-out maddening.

First on our list falls into the funny category. I saw this guy as I headed out to the trash one morning. He was sitting in Cindy's shoe in the garage:

He is a furry caterpillar! Oh my stars a furry caterpillar! I shrieked a little when I saw him... not at all scared, but very taken off guard. I didn't even know these things really existed! I thought they were just funny Sesame Street creations! I bolted back inside to gather the troops. We watched him, and Jack even got brave enough to pick him up but it "freaked him out," and he put him down really quickly. He also said it was a little too tickle-y and felt weird. I wasn't brave enough to touch but I loved watching his little body ripple up and down to get around. It was fantastic!

Cindy told me that at Harvest time when they start chopping down the cornfields these furry guys will start migrating out of the field. They cross the street in great throngs all arrayed in their unique colors. I was totally startled at this yellow guy, but I guess they come in other colors too! Indigo and whatnot! I am determined to get a picture when this happens.

As you can imagine with all these caterpillars there is also a crazy amount of butterflies. Everyday I see at least 3. The monarchs here are beautiful. I have seen some as big as the palm of my hand and in all different colors. Wonderful huh?!?

NOT so wonderful are the next on my list. Take a look at this disgusting thing:

We can attribute part of his ugliness to the fact that he is dead... but most of it is just who he is: Mr. Locust aka Mr. Cicada. The first time I met one of these guys I was digging with Cindy in the front yard. I put my shovel in and removed some dirt to find these pink, wriggly, fleshy looking legs just wriggling and wriggling around. I started screaming and wondered why in the world a baby rat was buried in the ground!?! I couldn't see the rest of it's body and I was freaking out too much to find out. Cindy finally informed me it was a locust. We covered him back up so he could finish growing before he came all the way out. Ewwww! Ewww!!!

Not only are they ugly and big, they are LOUD!!! At night time in the summer you can hear them emitting this almost electric sounding squeal. It's awful! Some of the natives here actually find their "song," calming. I don't get it at all. The only thing I like about these guys is that they die and stay just like they are. They will drop out of no where when you least expect it... dead... at your feet... weird.

Also on the list of bugs that I'm not loving... mosquitos, fruit flies, gnats, and hornets. Now, we had all these things in Utah, but man alive there are so many more here! One of the first things I bought here was a can of OFF. Sheesh. Somedays, when it's hot and there isn't a breeze, it's totally unbearable and I make the boys come inside because I can't stand it! Also I think someone is slipping the hornets steroids. They are so very large. Corey saw one at the park last week attack a cicada and drag it up a tree. Disturbing? Very.

Okay, so we have to deal with the unpleasant bugs, but this next bug kind of makes up for them and makes me love the insects here. Okay. Look at this picture and see if you can spot it:

Did you see it? The tiny twinkle of lights in the field? Corey took that photo on the first night we saw them. It was early in the season for them so there wasn't very many. Now if you drive at night you can see tons of them dotting the fields and spreading their magic.

I saved the magical bugs for last: Lightning Bugs or as I call them: Fireflies (I think that's more romantic sounding don't you? Corey tells me to call them lightning bugs but in my heart they are fireflies for sure)

Corey was anxious to show them to me because he has such wonderful memories of them growing up. So one night shortly after we arrived here, we put the boys in bed and went out for a drive down Staley Road. I felt like a teenager again and imagined that I was a girl who just came into town for the summer, and the local boy I had taken a liking to was showing me the sights. We crept down into the field and gazed across.

One by one tiny little lights started to appear for a few fleeting seconds each, coming and going softly, always rising upward. I know I've already said this, but the only word to describe it is magical. I guess because of them, and few other things I described Illinois to Whitney as enchanting. She liked that and sometimes tells me on the phone when we say goodbye something like "Enjoy enchanting Illinois!"

It is enchanting. One night at the park Alaster was surrounded by them and he and Jack spent a while trying to catch them. It was so calming and lovely to watch.

I'm so glad I am here and get to experience these small little pleasures.

I love that I am experiencing them with Corey, and getting to know the land of his childhood.

Stay tuned if you like for more installments of "Introducing Illinois."