Jultember: zero cicadas were harmed...

i am always threatening to punch a cicada in the face, as that noise they make drives me up a wall.  

you: what kind of lunatic threatens to punch an insect?
me: i do.

today i got my chance.

(s)he was climbing on the anti-squirrel barrier around one of the tomato plants. [that is a quarter-inch mesh grid, so you can tell that this is one big bug.]

i was moving in to try to get a better shot—with my camera, not my fists—when (s)he flew off. so i can truthfully state that zero cicadas were harmed in the making of this post.

and, speaking of tomatoes...

this was harvested from the balcony garden project over the course of about twenty-four hours.

want to know a little secret? i am not that big a fan of tomatoes.

i like growing them, but i am not usually bursting with joy when the time comes to actually eat them. those little guys will likely end up in tomorrow's dinner, and i am considering peeling and chopping the bigger ones so i can freeze them for later use.

sad part is... there are even more of the things waiting to be picked, which leaves me thinking that maybe i should just get a couple deck chairs and do what sane people do on their balconies come next Summer.