The mystery has been solved!

Mary Jo and I were observing these crazy flying "bee" things and it dawned on me. I asked her "Have you ever heard of a "cicada killer"?". She had not. Someone mentioned the phrase to me once when we lived in Clifton during the cicada outbreak that year. I had since forgotten about it. I had already done some research on bees and wasps and found nothing but this time I searched "cicada killer" and guess what I found? Pictures of what is definitely in my yard. They are...The Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp! Hehe

Oh what did I do before I had access to the internet? I have enjoyed learning about them, they really are quite interesting, but I will try to make some changes in the yard to deter them from setting up shop next year.