Thursday, June 7, 2018
Fireflies and empty jars.
Tonight after dark, I was coming back from the barn after doing a bedtime check on the animals and I could see that the fireflies were starting their dance for another summer. There is nothing that can make you feel like a kid again than seeing the spectacle of nature's mini fireworks. I felt a little lonely as my mom loved when they started, even when she was getting really ill, she would always notice the fireflies and watch them for a good length of time.
I remember when we were kids and we would get a glass jar to catch some. We used to wonder if one landed in the grass, could it catch on fire. My sister and I loved animals, we always joke that if we hadn't been raised on a farm, we would probably be radical animal rights activists. We would be happily catching them but then we would fall silent. The magic was gone, the fireflies would turn into ugly beetles and just crawl around the glass. We knew what the problem was, they were sad, nothing is beautiful when it's sad. We would release them again, we would release the magic again. We felt keeping them locked up was wrong and that the best way to enjoy their beauty was to leave the jars empty. Morning would come and we didn't want to stop them from returning to the magical world they belong to. To be a child again.
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8 comments:
Your post brings back memories of growing up in Missouri and watching the fireflies in the country. It truly was a magical time. I don't know why fireflies are so mesmerizing.
I've never, ever seen a firefly, if you don't count one of my favorite shows. My father was from Kansas City, MO. and he would tell us stories about growing up there. Catching fireflies, and sleeping in the park in summer were just two of them. I used to want to live on a farm, then I remembered: SPIDERS! So I'll stay where I can rack up the body count on my oh so modern popcorn ceiling, and protect balder half from any wayward lizard or snake that might wander inside. Okay, lizards, snakes don't come around.
I do love the way you write.
It's too early here yet for fireflies, but I love sitting outside when they start to come out. I too remember having a container my mom bought me for lightening bugs. It had a plastic leaf up the center and air hole for ventilation. But for some time we set them free. The little bastard kid who lived next door used to catch them and then smear them with his feet. He said there just bugs. They were magical to me. My mother said I once hit and knocked him to the ground. She said she would never have to worry about me after seeing that.
Our fireflies should arrive by end of june.
Fireflies.....one of my favorites things about summer. The Mistress is right though. Here on the mid Atlantic East Coast...it's a tad early for us yet. Same with crickets and katydids. With there singing and the fireflies, it's a lovely summer night's show.
RJ, fireflies are mesmerizing because they are bugs....... that light up...... bugs..... that..... light...... uppp! That's pretty amazing in my books, I love you RJ lol!!! XD
Deedles, oh boy do we have spiders, big hairy legged ones that could eat a poodle! Fireflies are very cool.
Maddie I think the fireflies send us secret signals through the blinking lights to not allow anyone to capture them.
Agnes, we don't get crickets until August, it signals the beginning of the end for us.
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