TheBanyanTree: February Fireflies

[Theta Brentnall]

The Texas fireflies are amazing.  I vividly remember a warm summer night 
camping in the Texas hill country and the fireflies being so bright and 
plentiful that it looked like the Milky Way was shining below the 
horizon.  I hope the silly things don't get frozen.

Theta

On 2/13/2017 10:57 PM, Dale M. Parish wrote:
> February Fireflies
>
>   
>
> The weather has been unseasonably warm lately.  We had a freeze back in
>
> December, for which I bought a half-cord of wood.  Actually, a half-cord is
>
> what I wanted, but the people reduced to cutting firewood today partly don't
>
> know the technical definition of a cord, or, more likely, they know if
> you're
>
> out in freezing weather buying firewood, that you aren't going to argue with
>
> them.
>
>   
>
> But since that freeze, it warmed up.  Too much.  Azaleas are blooming, grass
>
> is starting to grow, and I've got too much firewood on the porch that I
> don't
>
> want growing bugs when spring comes.  So we've been trying to keep a fire in
>
> the fireplace any time it's cool enough to have a good excuse.  But I won't
>
> build a fire when the air conditioner is running.  Which has been a lot,
>
> lately, for February.
>
>   
>
> I came to bed after Cindy had put down her book and turned off her light.
>
> Takes a little while for eyes to adjust to the dark, and I'd taken off my
>
> glasses and closed my eyes, drying to drift off to sleep, but opened them
> and
>
> gazed in the general direction of the window at nothing.  Something flashed.
>
> >From the upstairs window, there shouldn't have been anything.  It wasn't
>
> raindrops on the window catching some mysterious light from across the road.
>
> Must have been a cosmic ray passing through my retina.  Nothing.
>
>   
>
> Something flashed again.  And again.  I sat up in bed, waking Cindy.  "What
> is
>
> it?" she asked.  I reached for my spectacles.  "For a minute, I thought I
> saw
>
> fireflies," I replied.
>
>   
>
> "You did.  I see them.  Now, go back to sleep."
>
>   
>
> I don't recall ever seeing fireflies in February before.  I lay back down
> and
>
> wonder if another freeze will catch these silly lightning bugs and decimate
>
> the species for the summer.  Maybe we'll have two crops.
>
>   
>
> Hope so.
>
>   
>
> Hugs,
>
> Dale
>
> --
>
> Dale M. Parish                For all of mankind's supposed accomplishments,
>
> 628 Parish RD                 our continued existence is dependent upon 20
>
> Orange TX 77632-0264          centimeters of topsoil and the fact that it
> rains.
>
> Dale.M.Parish at gmail.com                   --toilet stall wall
>
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