Over the weekend my mom and I were hanging out by our lake and suddenly she stops and notices the sound of cicadas. She then let out a breath and said "well there goes summer".

There is an urban legend that cicadas predict when the first frost of the year comes.

Throughout history, cicadas have been part of folklore and myths around the world. They have been used as money, as ingredients in folk medicine, to forecast the weather and just to be enjoyed as messengers of song in China.

There is a long repeated folk legend that says when you hear the first song of the dog-day cicadas; it means there's just six weeks until frost.

In central Minnesota, the first freeze usually falls between the 2nd and 3rd week of September. Which is just about six weeks away.

This summer has been flying by, and we truly are in the dog-days of it. The weather over the first couple weeks of August has been sultry to say the least. High humidity and sudden thunderstorms are signs of the "dog days", and so is lethargy. I for sure felt that this weekend. I was pretty stationary in my lawn chair.

I'm not totally convinced that cicadas are trained meteorologists, but I do know that summer is winding down and while I hate to see it go, I could go for a bit less humidity in the air. So bring it on singing bugs.

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