Waiting for the Sound of Crickets

Sitting on the garden bench, eyes closed, focused on the conversations around me. Birds calling, bees buzzing, the high-pitched humming of gnats. Something was missing: the sound of crickets.

I turn down the brain chatter and expand my focus. I hear it: a lone cricket. If I were to walk towards the sound, instant silence. Crickets have ears in their knees and even slight vibrations are perceived. Result? Instant broadcasting blackout. (Unfortunately, a stealthy parasitic fly can zero in on their location causing the cricket to become larva food.)

 Working nonstop in the garden for several days I became too focused on the work needing to be done and not the resulting beauty of my co-creation.  Allowing myself time to hear the garden speak to me had been overwhelmed by the push to get things done before stormy weather rolled through. I traded the benefits of peacefulness and bathing in the beauty of the present moment for a check-the list-off mentality.

From the bench I saw gray clouds drift over the mountains and  the birds jostling at  the feeders. In the background, the sound of water burbled from a nearby fountain. This perfect moment was the goal of my weeding and tender ministrations. Yet, I was MIA in this exchange by lack of attentiveness to the present.

I hear the lone cricket sing. This sound is created by the pulling of the ridged vein located at the base of the forewings against the upper surface of the opposite wing and is amplified by the wing. Every cricket species has their own song, and a cricket can have a repertoire of several songs depending upon the purpose: courtship, warnings, etc.

In China, crickets are prized for their chirping. Crickets singing in the home is considered a sign of good luck and potential wealth. These cherished songsters are kept in beautiful bamboo cages. While I don’t have a bamboo cage, I think having a garden supporting a cricket population in addition to a thriving lizard and bird population (to help with control) counts.

In the garden, crickets are helpful in the breaking down of leaves and other debris. In return they issue cricket poo, a good source of fertilizer. As a food source for humans, they can be dried and ground into a high protein flour and made into baked goods.

Cricket flour is not one of my  kitchen staples, but I do love their singing. At night, I await the sound of the chorus of crickets. Currently their sounds are the main ones singing. Soon the katydids will join (cousins to crickets) to create a symphony of sounds. Listening to the insect chorus on a summer’s night is great inducer of sleep.

Not everyone loves the sound of crickets or wants their gardens decimated by invasions of bugs. Controlling crickets via non-toxic ways can be found by clicking here.

A world without crickets is a world without reptiles, lizards, birds, or comforting night calls. So here I sit. Waiting for the sound of crickets.