During the summer of 1999, my family and I took a trip back to Nocona, Texas, to visit my mother at her little farmhouse. The trip from North Carolina was uneventful even though it did take more than two days to get there.
Once we were near her house, we noticed very little green on the trees, bushes or ground. I naturally assumed that the heat and drought were the culprit. But as we got closer, I noticed a lot more insects splattering on my windshield.
Yep, the cause of the lack of greenery wasn't the weather - it was grasshoppers! A person could not even walk in the yard without causing a flurry of activity: grasshoppers jumping on your pants, grasshoppers flying in swarms, grasshoppers grabbing hold of your hair and skin.
It was sad to see the devastation of this infestation. Not a single tree had any green leaves. All of the grass was eaten back to the roots. The entire vegetable garden was completely gone. In fact, even the mesquite trees were taking a toll! The cattle had no grass to eat so the ranchers had to use their storage of hay to get the cattle through the summer. The only animal around which appeared to be benefiting from this invasion (besides the grasshoppers) were the chickens. They all seemed very happy to be able to casually pick up an insect meal almost at will.
But the people in the area seemed to maintain their sense of humor. This is an advertisement in the local advertiser, The Nocona Shopper, of 25 August 1999:
-- GRASSHOPPERS:
Once we were near her house, we noticed very little green on the trees, bushes or ground. I naturally assumed that the heat and drought were the culprit. But as we got closer, I noticed a lot more insects splattering on my windshield.
Yep, the cause of the lack of greenery wasn't the weather - it was grasshoppers! A person could not even walk in the yard without causing a flurry of activity: grasshoppers jumping on your pants, grasshoppers flying in swarms, grasshoppers grabbing hold of your hair and skin.
It was sad to see the devastation of this infestation. Not a single tree had any green leaves. All of the grass was eaten back to the roots. The entire vegetable garden was completely gone. In fact, even the mesquite trees were taking a toll! The cattle had no grass to eat so the ranchers had to use their storage of hay to get the cattle through the summer. The only animal around which appeared to be benefiting from this invasion (besides the grasshoppers) were the chickens. They all seemed very happy to be able to casually pick up an insect meal almost at will.
But the people in the area seemed to maintain their sense of humor. This is an advertisement in the local advertiser, The Nocona Shopper, of 25 August 1999:
-- GRASSHOPPERS:
- $0.25 peck
- $0.15 bushel
- $0.10 for 55 gallon barrel.
- Pick your own, containers not provided.
Leo & Janice Blahuta.
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