Snapshots: The Locust Swarm

I now have had a small taste of the Biblical plague of locusts visited upon the Egyptians. Or the marching army of locusts described in On the Banks of Plum Creek. 

I was not a fan.

Although the numbers of locusts we saw last week weren't as formidable as those two events, there were enough that it was disturbing. The swarm arrived in our village on Monday. I drove out of our gate and while I was waiting for Poppy to close the gate behind me, I sat looking at our neighbor's pasture. It looked as if there were cottonwood seeds or something floating through the air there.

And then I realized that all those things in the air over the pasture were flying locusts. They covered the roads and swarmed in the air. 

It was hard to get a photo of them, but all those dark spots in the road are locusts.

Driving through them sounded like hail as they slammed into the windshield over and over. 

My car's grille has looked like this for a week.

The boys went running through a pasture and reported that it was hard to see, because the locusts kept flying into their faces. They pretended the insects hitting them were gunfire, though, so I guess it was fun in the end.

I'm glad someone found a silver lining to this particular nasty cloud, because no one else has appreciated them. They haven't eaten my garden (yet . . .), but they have completely destroyed all the pastures. They prefer grass, and all the new grass that was finally starting to grow after the rain is totally gone. It's ugly. Neighbors are having to feed their cattle purchased feed, and probably will have to sell some of their herds off.

The swarm only reaches a few miles, but it was centered here for at least four days before it moved on. I've been asking the older people what breaks the locusts' cycle, and they all agree that a hail storm will kill them off.

I am hesitant to wish for hail, but I guess it would have a positive effect in this case.

Anyway. Here's something nicer.

Poppy disappeared into her room for several minutes and reappeared asking me to come look at her "barrette masterpiece." It was pretty impressive.

We have actually been getting rain, and I haven't had to water my garden in several days.

Almost half an inch in about an hour one afternoon resulted in . . .

Very heavy fog the next morning.

And a foggy sunflower, just for fun.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.