“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” ―Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
The same as every time I post this game, I am having a great time and enjoying all your guesses. Probably a little better because you aren’t all guessing the same thing. That means not all of you are “seeing” the true rest of the picture even as you focus in on the mystery picture.
Some of you have told me you’re having fun with the Mystery Photo Game. Thank you for that and for doing your best to figure out the mysteries of those photos. Only this one and then one more on Sunday before I pick the winners of the giveaway. As usual, I’m giving away books. Winners choice of one of my books. I like to give away books. That would be easier if postage wasn’t climbing up and up again. But for sure, I’m going to pick winners next week after the new deadline of midnight EST on June 10, 2025 . I had said June 8th earlier but I did promise 5 mystery photos. And this is only the 4th. So, I will need to post the last mystery photo on Sunday June 8th and give you a couple of days to come up with what that last picture is.
The 4th Mystery Photo is up top. I have no idea if this one is easy or not so easy. I don’t know if it will exercise your imagination or if you might know what it is right away. Sort of like Lucy on Sunday’s picture when she commented that it was an “ugly monster holding a votive candle.” And then with a laughing sticker, she said she knew she was right. I think that means she’s having fun. I hope you all are having fun with the pictures.
Sunday’s picture brought out the reptile guesses – frogs, toad, lizard, salamander, alligators and crocodiles, snakes, turtles, and let’s not forget Godzilla. I probably would have guessed frog. A couple of you said dog or at least his nose. Una and Marti just left it as an eye and they were right. Angie said eye too but then went on with bug and the reptiles. Diana said a doorknob – a great guess. Wrong but very imaginative. Carol said hornet and I shivered. I think I’d rather take a picture of those suggested snakes. Actually, I have taken snake pictures. Lee changed her guess of a bug to a blackberry. Should have stayed with that first thought.
Several got it right. Dana, Lavon, Victoria with exactly right answers of cicada. Angie, Judi, Rebecca were mostly right with the guess of bug. Dana and Lavon and Victoria must be here in my area where the cicadas have come for their every 17 year visit. They are everywhere. We’ve seen plenty of them on grass blades and bushes, tree trunks, fences,. You name something outside and one or maybe a dozen will be clinging to it. So, we have no problem recognizing that red eye.
We’re hearing the constant chirring and whirring of the bugs. I suppose after 17 years underground they have a right to make a little noise. Well, a lot of noise. My dog, Frankie, snacked on them before they were awake enough to fly up into the trees. The birds are having a feast. I’m not that hungry, but I have let some hitch a ride into the house on my shirt. Of course, I politely asked them to go back outside.
Here are a few cicada facts in case you’re interested.
Every 17 years some broods of cicadas emerge from the ground by the thousands, millions, well, a bunch anyway. Our brood that we’re seeing and hearing this year are Brood XIV. There are other 17 year broods and some 13 year broods and generally a few stragglers that get their years mixed up and show up in other years. But the 17 year broods are the really noisy ones. They molt out of their shells (exoskeletons) and transform from nymphs to adults. The males do their mating call – loudly. They “sing,” if you want to call it that, by vibrating a membrane on the sides of their bodies. Once the female is impressed with that song, she lays eggs in twigs. Nymphs hatch from the eggs, fall to the ground and burrow into the earth to find tree roots to feed on for 17 years before they emerge for the new cycle to begin yet one more time. They don’t bite. They ae just noisy and sometimes snack on something you’d rather they didn’t.
In a few weeks they will have completed their mission of reproducing and the cicadas will be gone. We’ll still have some other kinds of bugs making noise, but it will sound quiet after the cicada stop singing. One odd thing I’ve noticed is that the noise of those right around you sounds different from the sounds coming from farther away. Must echo in the air or something.
Anyway, those of us who have seen all these cicadas had a step up on those of you who haven’t. But everyone still gets an entry in my book giveaway for making a guess or leaving a comment. And now here is Mystery Photo #4. Let’s see what you think about it. I’m saving one I thought would be easy and then my daughter and son-in-law couldn’t figure it out. So, it might be easy or it might not. The same with this picture up top. It’s easy if you know what it is. But not so easy if you don’t. Either way, I hope you will think it’s fun to exercise your imagination.
Have you ever seen cicadas? And what’s your guess for Mystery Picture #4?
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I think this mystery photo has gotten the most suggested answers yet. That’s great. And the guesses have been diverse and interesting. Somebody might have even gotten it right. That will be revealed on Sunday.
Hope, you certainly had two different things in mind on this one to go from a blower in a creek bed to a pie. Shows a very healthy imagination.
Birdie, Hope had a flower in a creek and you have one coming up out of the mud. But both flowers, so a familiar thought.
bn100 & Jacinda – Moth is a great guess. I have taken pictures of moths whenever I can. Especially those sphinx moths that always somehow surprise a little at their beauty. We’ll see if you are right on my next post.
Susan, the cicadas can be loud while the birds are well fed. My dog seems to have grown tired of them and doesn’t hunt them as much. Of course, most of them are up in trees and out of his reach now. I see you were thinking moth like Jacinda and bn100. Or a blanket. Could be.
Trudy, interesting that you’ve not seen cicadas. I thought they might be everywhere at different times. Maybe they need certain kinds of trees to lay their eggs and have their nymphs grown on the roots. A doily isn’t a bad guess. Just thinking up an answer and using your imagination means you’re great at the game.
Dana, the cicadas do have a pretty wide territory. They’ll be gone in a few weeks. Flower has been a popular guess but tree roots is interesting too.
Lucy, love the neat guesses you come up with. A chocolate lava cake. Hmm. And then to go from that to a fungus on a tree. I’ve heard some of those are eatable too. 🙂
Marji, you’re with Dana with the flower or decaying tree. Well, sort of the same anyway.
Elisabeth, you did have an idea. A couple of them. Shell is a great answer. Not saying it’s right, but it could be. And a scrunched up rug? Knowing me, I could try to be that tricky.
Suzanne, hamburger is a great guess. In a bun or a shepherd’s pie. We did have hamburgers for supper the other night, but I’ve never made a shepherd’s pie. Still I could have seen one someone else made.
Wilma, I like someone who just comes out and admits it when they are stumped. 🙂
Megan, it does look like a rock. Not to say that’s what it is. And you and Deborah are seeing a rocky countertop.
Una, you’re with Suzanne on seeing meat for supper. Could happen.
Lisa H., you and Hope are thinking alike with that flower in a creek. I do have a creek with lots of wildflowers all around it.
Connie Lee – mushroom is a great guess. As much rain as we’ve had here in Kentucky this spring, the mushrooms are popping up everywhere, and I have been known to take pictures of them.
Deborah, I’m smiling at you saying your geology professor would be proud of your stone countertop guess. But wouldn’t he insist you know what kind of stone that countertop was made out of? 🙂
Angie, Smores are so much fun to make and so messy to eat. It doesn’t take much for me to be wishing for some chocolate. In fact, I like my chocolate straight. Forget the marshmallows and graham crackers. LOL.
We had cicadas a few years ago in Indiana. I remember my dod liked to eat them 😂 My guess for this picture is a sphinx moth.
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More great answers yet again. thank those of you who are sticking with me in this Mystery Photo Game. Some of you have been exercising your imaginations on every picture, and what imaginations you have. We’ve had some very dissimilar guesses which make the game more fun. The same thing is happening with this picture that I thought might turn out to be too easy. Not saying it hasn’t been easy for some of you, but since we have some different answers, you can’ all be right. You could all be wrong. I’m not saying you are, but if that were to be true, you wouldn’t all be wrong with the same answer.
Pam – I did plant some flowers recently and ended up with muddy hands. The question is did I take a picture or ask someone to take a picture.
Lisa B – I have been warned that snakes like cicada and that snakes might even climb up in trees to find them. Frankie likes them for sure. The cicadas. Not the snakes. And I see that little flower you’re seeing, but the question is, are we seeing things?
Kris. you got right to the center of the matter. Granite. Maybe you are right. Maybe you aren’t. We will see on Sunday.
Paula – I thought all the turtle answers came last time, but it could be a turtle shell. Maybe.
Diana – Towels come in all sizes and colors. So, you might have the right guess or maybe not.
Marti – Feathers. Well, that is a unique guess so far in the comments. And it could even be right. If so you’ve out thought most of the others. Or if your wrong.
Lee, Wait a minute, I guess it wasn’t so unique after all since here you are, Lee, saying bird and birds have feathers. You made me smile to think you giving those insect shells a lift.
Judi – whether you are good or bad at the Mystery Photo game, I’m glad to see the you are having fun, or at least I think you are. And tree bark makes a great guess.
Lavon, a chocolate pie does sound pretty good or a rocky outcropping. Those guess are pretty far apart but sometimes it’s good to try different thoughts.
My first thought was a smore/brownie with marshmallows…now I want some chocolate, LOL!
I think it looks like a close up of a stone counter top. If I’m right my geology professor would be very pleased as I didn’t do so well in his class.
I’ve seen the shell that cicadas leave behind, but I haven’t seen them before they shed the shell.
My guess about the mystery picture is a mushroom.
Flower floating in a creek
Some kind of meat.
Looks like a rock, or maybe a close up of veining in a countertop.
Stumped me again 🤷♂️
I think this photo is of a hamburger in a bun or ground beef in a shepherd’s pie with mashed potatoes above and below it.