FIREFLIES
A blog/Facebook friend recently commented that she just saw Fireflies for the first time in her life. This friend has moved in the last few years from England, to California, and then to Arkansas.
Fireflies are so common here in the Northeast; it was hard to imagine that anyone has never seen them. Then I remembered the first time I saw “lightning bugs.” I lived in Southern California from age 4 to 8. When we moved back east my first firefly sighting was exciting.
We captured them and put them in a jar with holes punched in the cap to create a living flashlight. I think we later released them but I don’t remember…let’s just say that we did. The sight of thousands of fireflies in the trees at night is a truly spectacular sight that we often take for granted.
How many other marvels of nature do we gloss over until someone points them out? When I returned “back east” at eight years old, I also remember my first serious snow fall. People often dread the snow. I still am fascinated by it. A good snow storm makes me feel young again. I go right back to those days of listening to WOR and John Gambling, praying to hear that my school was closed for the day. I love to look out at the street light at night during a big storm and watch the snow fall while I am safe and warm inside. It is hard to imagine that some people have never experienced snow.
There is so much in life that I have not seen. The Aurora Borealis, an eclipse of the Sun, elephants in the wild, a painted bunting, a Super Bowl Game from the fifty yard line, a wood duck, and lately my toes in the shower. Sometimes we need to stop and enjoy the wonders we do get to experience every year that many people only dream about.
Like a good snow fall in January.
Or
Fireflies in June.
Had a real grin on my face when I read that you couldn't see your toes when in the shower. Hope you can see them well enough to hide them in shoe leather.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though there are not as many fireflies now as in my childhood, or maybe I just don't take the time to notice?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I don’t like the aftermath of snow, but it certainly is a beautiful sight while it is coming down and the first hours when it is untouched. Fireflies are magnificent! When my California grandchildren visit in the summer, they look forward to seeing the wonderful sight of the thousands of fireflies that light up my yard in the evening.
ReplyDeleteSnow fascinates us because we just don't get it that often. One sight i treasure down here is the spanish moss in the oaks.
ReplyDeleteTotally share your love for fireflies and snow. I saw some fireflies the other day and was shocked. It had been years since I had enjoyed them. And snow? It totally brings out my 6 year old self. Both peal the years off and expose the non-jaded soul. You have a cool bucket list Joe, hope you get to see them all--including your toes.That was funny.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you are familiar with fireflies dear Joe
ReplyDeletei saw these flying tiny lights when we moved to our native village and i still can feel the excitement that i experienced that very first moment of watching them
they were absolute miracle to me ,we captured them but did not put them in jar but under the glass (one we drink water) we observed them and absorbed the enchanting moments fully and then released them
the idea of putting them was of my mother so we can not harm them
luckily i have experienced snow few times and found it MAGICAL
such natural wonders worth observations and contemplation ,these are way to keep us connect with not just who created them but to rediscover our spiritual selves
I've seen lots of snow, but I've never seen the fireflies. I'm so missing out.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day, Joe. ♪♫♪♫
You also have to love a crisp fall day when the leaves have changed colors, and the smell after a downpour on a hot summer day. There's a lot I'd miss if I didn't live where I can experience four seasons.
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember fireflies from when we lived in Pennsylvania, but its just a shooting image and I'm not sure how accurate it is. Something I never got tired of seeing is a sunset over the ocean.
ReplyDeletebetty
Oh how I loved lightening bugs in the summer as a kid. I too would catch them and dad would help us put them in a jar. I am a midwest/eastern type gal and when I moved to the PNW I experienced an earthquake. I was ready to move back east! Okay I experienced that and now I can go home.
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Joe; thanks. . .
ReplyDeleteI recall one evening my wife and I were visiting with friends who had a soybean farm, and we looked over the acres of soybeans while thousands of fireflies blinked. it was just magical.
I went to a large state university, and there was one dorm which housed foreign graduate students from around the world. Every fall, with the first snowfall, hundreds of Indian and African grad students, who had never seen snow before, would gather on the lawn taking pictures of each other, and just experiencing snow for the first time in their lives.
I grew up far enough north, that I've seen the Northern Lights, and let me tell you, they are wonderful! Like ghostly blue-green curtains of light flowing and fluttering in the sky. I especially recall one time, when we were on vacation; once the kids were asleep, my wife and I wandered down to the beach to (*ahem*) commune with nature, and the Northern Lights filled the sky above us. That was a transcendent moment. . .
What a wonderful post this time, Joeh. Thanx. Yes ... I have never seen fireflies. We don't seem to have them in the UK. There are so many wonders in this world which we ignore or take for granted.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Saw fireflies last night as I was gazing out my french doors into the dark night. Insomnia, at least that was a positive. So magical and so pretty.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Ark. for 5 years and I appreciated those fireflies every time I saw them. They're like little fairies twinkling in the night. Sometimes they would get in the house into one of the kid's rooms and those were flies that were always welcome. :) - I do the same thing with the snow. I love to watch it and early in the morning before the world wakes up I like to walk in it. - Love this post.
ReplyDeleteThere IS a lot we take for granted that really are little treasures...like your fireflies. Thanks for reminding us.
ReplyDeleteTwo things we don't get here in Adelaide; snow and fireflies. I wouldn't mind seeing fireflies, but I can do without snow.
ReplyDeleteWhat actually are fireflies? Ill have to Google it! I don't recall seeing any but they sound like fun. And your are right, we should stop and appreciate what we take for granted - the things others never see. Sometimes, when I am driving around my neighbourhood on the UK coast, I pretend I'm just on holiday here and try to see it through the eyes of a Londoner who lives in a high rise apartment. That always changes my perspective for the better.
ReplyDeleteQueenie and I spent some time watching them tonight. from different porches as she just needed to talk through the whole thing ....... some days are like that.
ReplyDeleteOh...the aurora borealis is on my bucket list!
ReplyDelete