This morning, I stooped down to pick up a something on the floor. It jumped! So did I. The “something” was actually a small, black cricket. This is cricket weather–one of the signs that fall is approaching and summer is winding down.
There are other clues that autumn is waiting in the wings, ready to make an entrance–flowers starting to fade, shorter and cooler days, a certain feeling in the air. But, crickets is one of my favorite signs. I like them!
What other insect can tell us the temperature? Of course, you have to find one that is in a musical mood. But, if his fiddle is all tuned up, and you count the chirps, you’ll know. First, you have to find a cooperative cricket. The best time is the evening when the outside temperature is between fifty and a hundred degrees, Fahrenheit. Here’s the formula, according to Science Friday: Count the number of chirps the cricket makes in fourteen seconds. Do this three times, then average the three. Add forty to the average. This should give the approximate temperature outdoors.
At one time, I wrote a cricket poem and sold it to a publisher who also liked crickets. I hope you enjoy it too.
A Cricket’s Lullaby
As the fireplace flickers low
And logs are reddish ember glow,
A simple solo, drowsy-slow,
Hesitantly creeping,
A nightly nocturne he’ll begin,
His fiddle tucked beneath his chin.
A tinny tune that’s rusty-thin,
Played as the world is sleeping.
cartoon cricket playing a violin
Yes! I felt that “certain feeling” in the air yesterday too! I do love fall. A crickets—when they’re outdoors. 🙂
Thanks for writing, Kimberly. Not sure why I like crickets. Well, my grandmother said they were lucky–maybe that’s why. I have a little one sitting on my hearth.