Noise

Nelson is a pretty mellow place to live in and the weather is good. Riding my bike into Downtown Nelson today, I realized that there's a lot of pollution. Biking parallel with the beautiful aqua Tasman Sea, I take in a lot of exhaust. Nelson being a small town, I'm actually biking on Highway 6, which is used by the big cargo trucks all day long.

In the other direction, towards home, the sea breeze is against you, and there are bike trails away from the highway traffic. A very good bike ride from Nelson to Richmond (Railway reserve) is an excellent bike trail. On a major portion of it, it is accessible only to bikers and pedestrians. Nelson is a very biker friendly place. Even the children bike to school - girls and boys.

Everyday I hear this noise. It's 24/7 or until the windows are closed. Since we arrived, I haven't even seen one, but heard them all the time buzzing in the trees. I would wonder, "How many are in there?" Today, while biking home, one smashed into my chest. It was about 3 inches long and big. The previous night, I saw one in the house. ( the bathroom window will now be closed in the night). Some cidada fun facts below.

http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/cicada.html

http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/projects/cicada/NZ/gallery.htm