Creepy, Crawly and a Welcome Distraction

A few nights ago, on a walk, Shira noticed quite a few of these guys on the sidewalk:

Apparently, they are cicadas which have recently emerged from the ground. Cicadas are a pretty big deal around here, coming out on a 13 or 17 year schedule and being quite the DC phenomena. Two notable features: they're loud:

Even if you see no evidence of cicadas, they might make themselves known to you by their deafening songs. “These are among Mother Nature’s loudest creatures,” Raupp said. “The decibels can range upward of 85 to perhaps more than 100 decibels.”

That’s similar to a rock concert or jet airplane flying overhead.

And, they're edible:

After 17 years underground, Brood II cicadas are slowly emerging from North Carolina to Connecticut. Eventually, billions of cicadas will noisily make their presence known along the East Coast, rising from the earth to “sing, mate and die.”

While plenty of people express disgust over the beady-eyed bugs, others take a more creative approach. One way to make use of the swarm: eat ‘em. After all, cicadas are a low-fat, high-protein snack, says National Geographic.

Here's 10 recipes to get you started. Alas, Cicadas aren't Kosher, so I won't be joining you in your snack.

Apparently, this is an off year brood, so it lacks the shock and awe of the regularly scheduled broods. But still, in an area that's so political attuned, it's nice to have something else making noise around here, rather than the latest Trump controversy.