lmao poo! i swear sometimes that i have a tail and it is all bristled out :) they always happen when you are "away." papers sliding off bulletin boards and down walls get me, even. i just love your stretching style! last year, i heard the great horned every night all night with h/her screech. at times i would see that great wing span in the shadows going to or from the light poles. as winter was coming i became almost hollow thinking how used to hearing it i had become and how i would miss it. then, there it was one day, i think i heard it in the winter still. i said, in my mind, "hello friend. glad to hear from you, even if only a great once in awhile." as spring came and even now, it is out there, hunting the same areas in close proximity still to the building i work in. when it isn't there, it is like a light is burned out and you can't figure out what is missing or different. brenda, first lets get one thing perfectly clear! i wasn't sniffing it. honest. the smell easily wafted up to my face. :) you have been officially snuffed off by a doe. sort of like, ha, i am upper class. get back across the tracks, fiend. don't you just love those foot stomps? back to the toad pellet, or whatever they are called. i believe, though do not know, that it came out the anterior end, but looked like poopy all the same. my current experience with cicadas are having headless ones on my patio. i know how that sudden rattling sound stimulates the feline prowess, but what is it with cats and heads? i wonder if a cat attacked that one california store. hmmmmm. other than protecting yourself from an occassional, though not likely, collision with a cicada, or wondering what keeps hitting the windows so you go to bed with a flashlight and a cleaver, the most i have experienced was a mind numbing buzz in my ears from the deafening song. that was the precursor to the lunacy the constant buzzing would cause. here's a wild looking cicada. we don't have those here. i was looking for the black with the red eyes when i found this page. those are further down, along with an interesting zuni legend. Here is a link that might be useful: cicadas

Most window wells, in newer construction, if they were constructed properly, should have a drain in the bottom so that the well will not fill with water in case of a heavy rain. And in reference to Ron's comment: Basements do not get water in from rainfall (into window wells), he apparently doesn't live in Illinois. This very thing happened to a friend of ours and the pressure broke the window flooding the basement. But that was an older home. The reason for a cover is to keep out lawn debris and the little critters, i.e. toads, field mice, rabbits, etc. from falling into the window well and to keep me from having to fetch them! Innerweld has a really nice cover because it's a heavy metal grate that can be left open in the summer months and then covered to prevent snow from getting in during the winter. Here is a link that might be useful: Innerweld

How much would be involved in sticking in a metal window well? An excellent idea. Otherwise, over time, the soil will collapse in on the hole. However, you should dig down at least another foot below the window, fit in a well and fill the hole with gravel. That will give any water that does go into the well a place to disperse. You should attach the well to the house foundation. Just use masonry bits and plastic or lead anchors. If you don't attach it to the house, soil and excess water will leak in between the metal well and the house. If you truly can't use a drill and work bothers you, forget it, relax, have another beer!

I bought mine from an iron worker who stuck a flyer in my mailbox looking to make a little money on the side. My basements windows have drains in them so I could go this route. If you don't have drains this might be bad. I wanted air in the basement if I opened the windows, didn't want kids to fall in and you can only rescue so many frogs and mice that fall in before you want to give them a home. LOL The real biggie for me, what if my Grandson or neighbor kid tripped, plastic wouldn't save them. For $75.00 per window, I have a grate over my window wells that will withstand 250 pounds of weight and I get air and light in my basement. It also locks from the inside of the window well with short rods you pull out in case of emergency exit. It can't be opened with a coat hanger and I was given a big discount on my HO insurance. All I have to worry about is the same as if I had no cover. A snow storm, and the snow might build up and break the window. We didn't have to worry last winter but who knows about the one coming, for me it is easy to fix if a big storm comes. A piece of cardboard that doesn't have to cover it all and something to keep it from blowing away. A gallon milk bottle filled with water would do the trick. Maintenance is no different than a wrought iron railing. If it starts to rust, take a wire brush to it and repaint.