The Fireflies are back
Last night we saw the first fireflies of Summer.
We also heard the first crickets. Crickets are associated with Fall from my
childhood in Utah whereas fireflies make me think of Spring. It is the peak of
Summer in Madison.
Ena and I went for an after-dinner walk last
night. It was beautiful evening with perfect weather. We walked up the South
West bike path, under the trees along the edge of the golf course and through
the neighborhood. Green grass, rabbits and baby bunnies munching and hopping,
an Indigo bunting on the wire overhead, a Cat bird singing for the joy of
Summer, red berries on the bushes, lilies and roses in bloom, sparrows and
chickadees thick in the trees and the long evening of mid-Summer made for a
perfect walk and a great close to a nice weekend spent out and about.
Saturday, we had run some errands in the morning then we went to Spring Green to the Arts and Crafts fair. It is an hour drive from Madison to Spring Green through the green rolling woodlands and farmlands. We have had good rains the past few weeks so the country side is vibrant and rich. We almost came home with three things: a very entertaining penguin batik, some very large metal sculpture sun flowers and a bird bath... almost. We left as the Fair closed and a storm rolled in. We had a bit of everything on the drive home: bright sun and a downpour, driving rain, gray but dry. It poured for about an hour.
On Sunday's walk we heard the first crickets and saw the first fireflies of the Summer. I grew up in Salt Lake City. In SLC, the crickets would start up in late August just as the last days of Summer were winding down and Fall was around the corner. I remember that I would hear crickets for few weeks then I would notice that Orion was rising over Mount Olympus (a 10,000 foot peak on just East of my house) and then I knew that Fall was here.
I associate fireflies with early Spring from my brief stint in the south. So here, in Madison, I see the first fireflies and hear the first crickets at the height of Summer. It plays a bit with my senses - I feel a bit of the Fall melancholy from the crickets and Spring exuberance from the fireflies all while I'm drenched in the peak of a perfect Summer's evening.
Saturday, we had run some errands in the morning then we went to Spring Green to the Arts and Crafts fair. It is an hour drive from Madison to Spring Green through the green rolling woodlands and farmlands. We have had good rains the past few weeks so the country side is vibrant and rich. We almost came home with three things: a very entertaining penguin batik, some very large metal sculpture sun flowers and a bird bath... almost. We left as the Fair closed and a storm rolled in. We had a bit of everything on the drive home: bright sun and a downpour, driving rain, gray but dry. It poured for about an hour.
On Sunday's walk we heard the first crickets and saw the first fireflies of the Summer. I grew up in Salt Lake City. In SLC, the crickets would start up in late August just as the last days of Summer were winding down and Fall was around the corner. I remember that I would hear crickets for few weeks then I would notice that Orion was rising over Mount Olympus (a 10,000 foot peak on just East of my house) and then I knew that Fall was here.
I associate fireflies with early Spring from my brief stint in the south. So here, in Madison, I see the first fireflies and hear the first crickets at the height of Summer. It plays a bit with my senses - I feel a bit of the Fall melancholy from the crickets and Spring exuberance from the fireflies all while I'm drenched in the peak of a perfect Summer's evening.
Posted: Mon - June 30, 2003 at 04:56 PM
