Today I Give Thanks for Nature's Surprises

 

Today I give thanks for nature’s surprises.

 

The “big buzz” began at about 7:30, immediately after our supper.  We tried to find the source.  In one of the bedrooms?  Out the back door?  The kitchen door?  No.  It appeared to be coming from the front door.  And it was loud!  “We’re never going to be able to get to sleep tonight,” my husband complained.  He was so right!

 

The attached video of the front door includes the buzz – but at about 1/30th the volume of the original.  Rick opened and closed the door more tightly.   The buzz stopped for a moment, and then it began again.  When he went outdoors, again it stopped for a few seconds, but then it started over, louder than ever.

 

I messaged the owner of the house we’re renting.  I described it as a high-pitched electrical buzzing, akin to an electric shortage.  I asked if there was an alarm system attached to the front door – something we might have never noticed – maybe it was shorting out?

 

No, she replied.  There was no alarm system, nothing like that.  She was trying to imagine what it could be.  Finally, she asked if I could send a video, which I did (see below). 

 

Later, I could only imagine her laughter.  “Marcy,” she texted back, “It’s a cricket.  Turn on the outside light.  They don’t like bright lights.  If it happens to continue, just sprinkle water around the grass near the door.”

 

“A cricket!” I wrote back.  “This is a much different sound from the crickets I grew up with in Indiana!”

 

Her reply came back immediately and included a laughter emoji.  “Marcy, that’s the Puerto Rican cricket’s love song!”

 

Apparently having failed at his amorous overtures, our Puerto Rican cricket had already moved on.  The night was silent again.  We turned out the lights and listened to the quiet before falling into a deep sleep.

 

Today I give thanks for nature’s surprises, surprises that can provide amusement and laughter – and never-ending opportunities for curiosity and learning, too.