Bug Joy

After strolling around my garden in my nightgown this morning, i came back indoors and felt something crawling on my leg. Even though the weather is too hot for ticks, i live in deer tick country, so i looked carefully. About twice the size of a wood tick, this 6-legged insect looked like a beetle.

A baby lightning bug! About half an inch long, it spread its wings and flew away.

So that's the result of the flurry of fireflies in June. The males flying their flashers around, and the females lying in the grass glowing back.

Lightning bugs bring joy--to young children chasing them and to grown-ups lying in a hammock at 10 p.m. looking at the night sky full of stars and fireflies.