I’m getting more like the meteorologists here at WSAZ trying to make a prediction with the weather.

However, my prediction with the weather is when the soil will warm up to that just right temperature to wake up the 17 year periodical cicada resting in the ground.

Personally, they can push the snooze button and take another 17 years to come out. By that time I will have retired and someone else can answer the cicada questions. I think you can just call it job security this year.

For your own experience especially if you didn’t see them 17 years ago, wander out to your landscape and take a look at the ground under trees like maples, oaks, dogwoods and apple and crab apple trees. I’m sure it looks like giant night crawlers have invaded your lawn. Think positive, you won’t have to aerate your lawn this spring. I don’t know if we will experience their exiting from the soil my predicted date of the 15th of this month. Looks like a better prediction is Election Day next week. Here I go again trying to be a meteorologist. Don’t forget to have that cloth cover ready for your young susceptible trees I mentioned.

However, anything over 8 feet is too mature for the cicada to effectively damage their branching structure. Remember, after they emerge, they will be with us, singing their hearts out for almost three weeks.