Monday, June 6, 2011

Of Cicadas, Rabbits and Realizations...


Of Cicadas - They were very noisy last weekend at the little country cemetery where my relatives are buried.  I saw them crawling all over the tombstones and trees in the cemetery yard.  The photo above is a shot of one on a tombstone with his bulging red eyes.  Cicadas make their appearance every 13 years and the high-pitched buzzing sound you hear is their mating call.  Once the eggs are hatched, the baby Cicadas crawl back underground to hibernate another 13 years.  They feed underground on the sap of trees.  Thankfully, their appearance only lasts a few weeks.  We haven't had many of them in our yard yet.

Of Rabbits...The little critter in the collage above has been dining on my vegetable garden.  I see him hopping merrily along toward the garden nearly every day.  I haven't had the heart to do much about it, but I do think I'll try sprinkling some cayenne pepper on my plants to see if he'll leave them alone.  At least the deer haven't made their appearance yet this year!

Of Realizations...Okay, call me slow.  But as I was looking at some of my recent cemetery photos and shots of dates on the tombstones of relatives, I was doing some math and noticed that my paternal grandfather was 3 years younger than both his wives.  I never really thought about the ages of my grandparents at the time of their marriage and I don't recall my parents ever mentioning that fact even when I announced that I was marrying a man nearly 3 years younger than myself.

Here's an interesting story, at least to me.  Grandpa, as I called him, was married to his first wife and had a little girl named R.  His wife died at age 34 when R was 3 years old.  He then married his second wife, who had also been widowed and had a little daughter named L who was about 1 1/2 yrs younger than R.   So the two, each with a daughter, married and a few years later had a son who was my father.  To make things more interesting, when the two girls were older, they married brothers!  So the two girls who weren't really sisters ended up being sisters-in-law!  Confused yet?  They were my father's half-sisters, though, and as my father's older sister was 11 years older, I'm sure he must have been quite spoiled.  Another interesting tidbit, my 3 years younger hubby's birthday is the same day in September as my grandfather's.  

I had to put in a photo of my kitty, Stormy, in the collage.  She was front and center when my daughter was opening her birthday gifts recently.  She had a blast playing with the ribbons and hiding in the bag.  And she's now waking me up every morning by batting my mouth with her paws so I'll get up and feed her.  So much for sleeping in.

Until next time...

16 comments:

  1. What an interesting family history. Since the girls married brothers then their children would be almost double cousins. I am so confused:))
    Interesting about the same birthdays.

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  2. I loved this post! Reading about cicadas just brings back memories of my summers growing up (not sure why I really don't hear the cicadas now..?).
    Bunnies are eating my plants too.
    Always love to read tidbits about ancestors.
    And I LOVE the picture of your sweet kitty!

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  3. And wolf whizz works good on deterring rabbits, too, I'm told.

    You do have an interesting family line. I also find common threads running through and so I wonder how much of it is done on a subconscious level or if it is truly by chance. Lovely mosaic...

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  4. Hey Girl....Your family history sounds a lot like mine..Very intersting isn't it?

    I love genealogy and trying to figure out things that happened in our family...Enjoyed hearing about yours!

    Cute pictures...bugs and all!
    Have a Blessed day...
    Hugs,
    shug

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  5. Interesting family history. It is these stories that make genealogy so interesting!

    No rabbits or deer in the garden....but I expect to see the box turtles heading down the road to the house when tomatoes begin ripening!

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  6. Great collage. The cicadas are horrible! The rabbits and deer have both been leaving my gardens alone (so far...).

    Family history is great. I just found out recently that my Grandpa was married once before he married my Grandma. His first wife died, but yet nobody ever talked about it. It was like it was some shameful secret or something!


    Stay cool!

    Deanna

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  7. Love the tidbit of family history! Those are interesting connections... I love those! While driving across to VA, I passed through some areas in northern Ala. and the corner of GA and TN that I could hear the hum of the cicadas. They remind me of summer... =) blessings ~ tanna

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  8. I loved the family history. Reminded me of the song about the guy who ended up being his own grandpa (or something like that).

    Sweet pics especially of the kitten.
    Have a good week!
    Carolyn

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  9. How interesting about the cicadas. I had no idea they hibernated like that.
    Good luck getting rid of the bunnies. I have had some luck with Liquid Fence.
    Very interesting bit of family history you shared.

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  10. family histories what a blessing - hoping (ALL) your genealogy is all writen down to explain this events in such a simple way as you just did--wink! nice photos..

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  11. This family lineage reminds me of the song, "I'm My Own Grandpa"...funny! I love finding out things like this...people think their families are just "regular, normal" folks. A little digging brings up some interesting stuff. I had an aunt that married the same man three times...and this was back in the 1930-1950's!

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  12. Loved all the pictures and the thoughts. I loved the story about your grandfather and his relationships; what fun news.
    When we lived in the Northwest we had a rabbit that loved to come and distroy my panies.
    Enjoy your post today.
    Blessings to you!

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  13. Ark. Patti: It is confusing, isn't it? I suppose the cousins would be my half-cousins? I really never see them much and they are several yrs older. Which, now that I'm older, doesn't make a bit of difference, does it? :-)

    Dianna: The cicadas make me think of summers past, too. And I love that sweet kitty even if she is a pain in the tush sometimes. :D

    Vee: Hmmm. Where do you get wolf whizz? Okay, forget I asked that!

    Shug: If your family history is anything like mine, it must be interesting! My aunt is the genealogist in the family and has worked on it for years now. Still trying to find certain people.

    gld: Turtles! Oh no, I never thought of them harming the garden! I learn something new every day.

    Deanna: I wonder why the older folks didn't want to talk about their relatives? I know my maternal grandmother hardly ever talked about her first husband who gave her 2 children. Only the next one who didn't live very many years. Odd!

    Tanna: Oh, I envy your drive. I'd love to see more of that part of the country.

    Carolyn: Ha..I know the song you mean. Funny!

    Kim: I'll have to get some Liquid Fence and try it out. Thanks for the tip.

    Kris: My aunt is the genealogist and is writing down all the info. She's also started a book of memories which I can't wait to read.

    Deb: What's regular and normal? My hubby and I say we're the normal ones, everyone else is not. LOL!

    LeAnn: Glad you enjoyed the story. I love to read about others families, so I thought this story might be interesting.

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  14. What wonderful stories you have shared with us today. Your collage is simply fabulous, also. You know....when I come here I always feel like I'm visiting a long lost friend. It has been nice getting to know you a little better.

    xo

    Jo

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  15. I love your collage. So cool. And the story of your grandfather, sounds a little like my grandmother's family. Hee hee.

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  16. My Grama's Soul: Thanks, Jo, for your sweet comment. I have the best blog friends!

    Teresa aka JW: Glad you like the collage. And if your family is anything like mine, they are a tad difficult to explain. :D They were all good people, tho, so it all worked out well.

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