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... to share my yard, at night, with fireflies -- dozens and dozens and dozens of them.
I remember when I read that people used to make money by catching lots of them and keeping them in a lantern, to be used as ... a lantern. I thought once that might be a fun sideline, but I was concerned about what the fireflies would think of it. That's their way of attracting mates, like the flower a Hawaiian woman might put in her hair. Would Hawaiian women like to be tied together to form a bouquet?
Fireflies are like watching stars on one's lawn. The ones here in the Carolinas will let me walk up to them as they fly, and as I put my hand out, they can be coaxed to land on me and light me up.
Fireflies. I am as happy as I was as a boy.
I remember when I read that people used to make money by catching lots of them and keeping them in a lantern, to be used as ... a lantern. I thought once that might be a fun sideline, but I was concerned about what the fireflies would think of it. That's their way of attracting mates, like the flower a Hawaiian woman might put in her hair. Would Hawaiian women like to be tied together to form a bouquet?
Fireflies are like watching stars on one's lawn. The ones here in the Carolinas will let me walk up to them as they fly, and as I put my hand out, they can be coaxed to land on me and light me up.
Fireflies. I am as happy as I was as a boy.
(no subject)
Jun. 26th, 2009 03:50 pmGardening
It's a little muggy here in the center of the Carolinas, but Lauren the Mrs. Alien Cat had talked some plants out of some of our friends -- she has chamomile and she has black eyed susans to plant. So Tom the Alien Cat has to get out the shovel and dig holes, and fetch water and planting soil, replant the dug-up sods someplace useful.
It is about 8 p.m. and the sun sets as we work. The black eyed susans go in around the mailbox. The chamomile plants, on the other hand, are in a "bushier" part of the yard, closer to the brook.
As the Mrs. Alien Cat prods the soil into accepting the lovely smelling herbs, Tom sees something interesting -- a big big bug hovering near her. And he knows what it is.
"Turn slowly and take a look at that," he tells her.
She gets to see it, just as its bottom half lights up. "Oh, wow," she says. "A lightning bug."
And a minute later, Tom points out the rest of them. "You have probably never seen a lightning bug, up close, in the daylight before."
"No, never," she says.
These are bigger than the fireflies Northerners see, and the whole lot of them seem to just hang in the air, facing Lauren, as if they are watching what she is doing. "They seem really interested in what you're up to," Tom says.
This is strange to her, as pleasing as it is. But it may be that the animals like that section of the yard anyway, but also that they like the plants she has been clearing away, or even that they like the smell of the chamomile she is planting ... or EVEN that they like the way she smells. She does smell nice, if her husband does say so himself, and not just because she sometimes uses perfume.
Even a half hour after sunset, the bugs are visible in the daylight as they hang over the plants and around Mrs. Alien Cat. But now they flash and flash, too.
Over it all, there is the smell of the ground and of chamomile. Tom doesn't think he will ever forget this half hour with his wife and the fireflies around her.
It's a little muggy here in the center of the Carolinas, but Lauren the Mrs. Alien Cat had talked some plants out of some of our friends -- she has chamomile and she has black eyed susans to plant. So Tom the Alien Cat has to get out the shovel and dig holes, and fetch water and planting soil, replant the dug-up sods someplace useful.
It is about 8 p.m. and the sun sets as we work. The black eyed susans go in around the mailbox. The chamomile plants, on the other hand, are in a "bushier" part of the yard, closer to the brook.
As the Mrs. Alien Cat prods the soil into accepting the lovely smelling herbs, Tom sees something interesting -- a big big bug hovering near her. And he knows what it is.
"Turn slowly and take a look at that," he tells her.
She gets to see it, just as its bottom half lights up. "Oh, wow," she says. "A lightning bug."
And a minute later, Tom points out the rest of them. "You have probably never seen a lightning bug, up close, in the daylight before."
"No, never," she says.
These are bigger than the fireflies Northerners see, and the whole lot of them seem to just hang in the air, facing Lauren, as if they are watching what she is doing. "They seem really interested in what you're up to," Tom says.
This is strange to her, as pleasing as it is. But it may be that the animals like that section of the yard anyway, but also that they like the plants she has been clearing away, or even that they like the smell of the chamomile she is planting ... or EVEN that they like the way she smells. She does smell nice, if her husband does say so himself, and not just because she sometimes uses perfume.
Even a half hour after sunset, the bugs are visible in the daylight as they hang over the plants and around Mrs. Alien Cat. But now they flash and flash, too.
Over it all, there is the smell of the ground and of chamomile. Tom doesn't think he will ever forget this half hour with his wife and the fireflies around her.
