Are the Stars Out Tonight?

Summer has officially arrived in Minnesota.

Pay no attention to the overwhelming scent of peonies wafting through every inch of my living space.

Never mind the 98 degree heat accompanied by North Carolinian levels of humidity (which has turned my hair into a mass of unrestrainable curls).

Please, take ever damn mosquito in the land of 10,000 lakes and send them to Arizona where they will be a novelty.

Nothing says 'summer' like the glow of the first firefly!

If you examine lightning bugs closely, there is nothing particularly appealing about them. In fact, they are rather unattractive creatures bearing a remarkable resemblance to roaches-ewww.
( So, it's best they come out after dark. ) A member of the beetle family, they are able to produce cold light-which in and of itself is AWESOME!!
Nocturnal in nature, they emit light as a way of locating a mate or prey.
(Aside) Hm-m-m-m...so if you are an insect responding to this beacon you are going to either:
a) get it on or
b)get eaten
Guess you want sex pretty badly if you are willing to bet your life on a luminescent glow.

But as long as you don't peer too closely at them, there is something utterly magical about the way they twinkle at dusk. Glitter for a summer's evening. What child isn't drawn to the chase? Waiting to pursue the next glimmer. Grasping at the lengthening darkness in the hope of snatching a star from the sky and stuffing it into a Mason jar. And what mother hasn't emptied said jar of slightly droopy (but well-satisfied) insects the next morning?



Summer, I salute you !

Retire the bottle of Bailey's and break out the Bombay Sapphire.
Pull out the lawn chairs.
Grab a Mason jar.
Extinguish all artificial light.
Prepare to be amazed.