July 24th Thunderstorm

Another thunderstorm post??? Yes.

We've had so many thunderstorms in the area lately. This was one that my wife and I spotted east of Greeley, Colorado on Tuesday, July 24th. We were taking the dogs for a walk at Glenmere Park. At first it was still too light outside to see any lightning. By the time we were headed back home, the lightning was giving us a good show. I then drove out east of town to try to get a less obstructed view.

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Looking east across 11th Avenue from our house.

As seen looking east from the eastern edge of Greeley.

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Cicada Nymph

Yesterday I found a cicada nymph emerging from the dirt in our neighborhood. It is one of the large mountain cicadas that we get here in Greeley every year. We have had many cicadas singing in the trees for weeks now, and a giant cicada killer wasp digging burrows in the neighbors' rocks for several days, so this one seems to be a late riser. I see adults and the exoskeletons of nymphs more often than I actually see a living nymph, so it was cool to see this one. These are definitely larger than the ones that I grew up with in Yuma, Arizona. I placed this one on a tree in the front yard and found the shell on the ground beneath it this morning. Nature is cool!

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Front Porch Flicker

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This flicker visits the suet block on our front porch daily.

Greeley, Colorado - 9 January, 2016

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