New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Crickets roaring outside tonight.

Wednesday 08/18/2004

Wow, what a blast of crickets chirping outside my windows tonight. Seems like they too are late getting started this year. I stepped outside a few minutes ago to soak in their glory. Crickets are crowing from every direction including it sounds treeward. Do crickets climb trees?

It was not until this week that I detected a pretty full chorus of crickets from my deck. After two days in the 80's, yesterday and today, they crickets are in some glorious mood to sing. I feel like joining them in celebrating what it seems has been a very short summer. In fact I invited my Mom, Mary, up for dinner with me tonight. Much of the feast of fresh tomatoes, yellow beans and delicious new potatoes were picked from her garden today. I did buy a half dozen ears of corn as well, as her's are a few days from being ready. Just she and I enjoyed the fine meal on the deck. As we relaxed and spoke afterwards, I noted the full chorus of crickets tonight. She claimed to have heard numbers earlier this week at her place a mile from me. But she quickly announced that a frost was only three weeks away. More often than not one of her old wives tales is fairly accurate at predicting one thing or another. Her family in Augusta Maine had to raise nearly all their families provisions during the great depression, although her parents, both Russian immigrants, did work at the local cotton mill and survived better than many of the time.

But tonight is a glorious summer night. Not a bit of a breeze to stir the sound filled air. I must get back outside to drink more of it in.

The rain of Monday has filled my mothers corn ears with plump kernels. As I'm sure it has fleshed out the local blackberries as well. I'll be looking for some to sample in the next few days. Gotta go and get outside! The night is too wonderful to miss.