The Mountain Laurel bloom peaked this week in the surrounding hills of Sloatsburg and beyond. Local photographer Geoff Welch caught shots of the blooming beauties just before the rain set in.

Joining the Mountain Laurel is the thrumming song of giant cicadas, red-eyed and fluttering about in trees atop Torne Mountain like a flock of tiny birds. The Magicicada is the genus of the 17-year periodical cicadas of eastern North America that are now climbing from their long grounded sleep. There are holes aplenty in the ground up in the surrounding hills and woods, evidence of Magicicada cicada nymphs digging up and out of their zombie sleep. They then climb, molt and shed that shell, and fly, fly around and sing in unison.

These cicadas have a softer sound than the pitched buzz of summer cicada; the Magicada sound is more a quiet thrum, much like that of the chirping tree frog.

Listen now, outside, and the low song of cicada can be heard.

Original photos of Mountain Laurel and daisies courtesy of Geoff Welch.