Infestation

We have a forest at the back of our lot that is actually OUR forest, but seems to be occupied by enormous bugs of some sort. Having said that I am already wondering if the area qualifies as a "forest" around here or would better be described as a "woods" or even "wooded area" and if, in fact, those are giant bugs we hear or some other denizen of the deeps.

Their chatter is so fierce, though it waxes and wanes with the breeze and the temperature, that we are loathe to go too near the edge of the woods, for fear of being carried off. What could be in there?

We read about the cicadas last year, but didn't see quite the infestation we'd been led to expect. But this year the June bugs are so thick that they produce a rat-a-tat-tat sort of rhythm as they hit the windshield when we drive. There has been a huge butterfly sort of thing waving its wings at my window all day, and we have certainly shooed wasps off the house and deck. But do these things make that much noise? COULD they? Maybe, instead, we are hearing "tree frogs." IS there such a thing as a tree frog?

What really worries us is that anything that is in our woods in sufficient concentration to make that much noise must be eating something. Our trees, for instance. Will we wake up one morning to find the whole thing denuded?

Before all this heat and drought and noisy bug business, our woods was a cool, sweet smelling place to sit and watch fireflies. We put two Adirondack chairs at the edge and spent some nice evenings sitting there. I miss that. I really don't like summer. I really don't like bugs.

We have an infestation - of undefined or indeterminate proportions. I'm staying inside.