Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Lightning Bugs

As a little girl growing up in Tennessee, one of my favorite things to do on a summer evening was catch lightning bugs. I thought it great fun to watch the little things blink on, take a few steps towards them and wait for them to blink again. If the night wasn’t very dark, I could often squint through the darkness and catch them when they were not lit, but most often I had to wait until they blinked on near me. Then I would catch them in the palm of my hand, carry them to a jar, and drop them in. Katey and I would put our jar of lightning bugs on the dresser near our bed at night and watch them blink on and off until we fell asleep. The next morning, we would let those that had survived the night go…only to catch them again a few night later.

In New England and Texas, lightning bugs are not as plentiful. Perhaps it is too cold or too hot, but there are very few and hardly enough to fill a jar for a night. In Indiana though…

I wish I could take a picture, but my night time photography skills are non-existent (and my camera probably isn’t set up to do what I would like it to anyhow). But I hope you can imagine the vast darkness of the Midwest plains at night. You look out over them and little lights blink on and off as far as the eye can see. Lightning bugs – one of God’s wonderful little creations.

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