I hope you are well as you read this blog post!
I finished my Music Together classes at the end of June, and I only have one more gig this summer (at the retirement community, Longview, where my mother lives in Ithaca, NY).
So I have a little more time on my hands — hence my slightly more frequent blog posts…
Right now I am visiting family in upstate NY.
During my nocturnal walks around the countryside, I have been very happy to be reacquainted with the extraordinary magic of fireflies.
This summer they seem to be particularly healthy and active.
It was not easy finding a public domain photo of fireflies at night on the internet.
Thank you to Wikimedia Commons and a photographer named Tyler Savitsky for the image above.
As with so many natural phenomena, it is somewhat impossible to describe in words the majesty and miracle of a field full of fireflies at night.
To me it feels like I am entering nature’s (and/or G-d’s) brain — with each blink of a firefly corresponding to the firing of a neural synapse.
According to Wikipedia there are many different varieties of firefly‚ and most of them have the amazing ability to make some part of their body photoluminesce a.k.a. light up.
Among other things, this helps in the process of attracting and selecting a mate.
You can click the link two paragraphs above to learn a bunch of fascinating things about fireflies.
For example, in certain human cultures they are especially revered — such as in Japan, where there are parks created to watch them.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
A field of fireflies at night also reminds me of a sky full of stars, which is the theme of today’s throwback blog post.
You can click here to visit (or re-visit) a blog post from September 2014 inspired by the song “So Many Stars.”
What a special planet we live on… and what an extraordinary universe we live in!
Another deep breath in.
And deep breath out.
For some truly jaw-dropping photos of fireflies, you can click here to read a story done by NPR a few summers ago featuring a photographer in New York state named Peter Mauney.
Thank you to the folks who create and maintain and update Wikipedia.
Thank you to the photographer Tyler Savitski.
Thank you to the photographer Jaisung An at Pixabay.
Thank you to the photographer Pete Mauney and NPR.
And thank YOU for reading another one of my blog posts.
amusicalifeonplanetearth 
I would love to see fireflies! What magical creatures they are. We don’t get them here in England but we do have glow worms – which I’ve never seen either, though apparently they are to be found just a few miles from where I live!
I need to learn more about glow worms. I think they may be a cousin to fireflies. Perhaps you and another curious human being can make a small nocturnal expedition to see if you can view any glowworms in their natural habitat…
I think I am going to have to do just that! Our glow worms are not worms but beetles and it is the flightless females that glow to attract the winged males who only glow a very little; or so I have read.
I’m glad you’re enjoying family and nature time Will. I don’t see many fireflies anymore. They were a fun part of my childhood.
I mentioned fireflies to someone yesterday, and he confirmed that they are very sensitive to light (such as streetlights and outdoor lights on houses/barns, etc.) I, too, have summer memories of fireflies (outised in a yard with some of my cousins…) Luckily there are still some dark places here in upstate NY (as Pete Mauney’s photos beautifully attest).
Yay! 😊
Lovely you’re enjoying family time. That’s the best!!!!
I love the fireflies and I am always so excited when they appear in our garden every summer. Last year seemed to be a banner year for them. We’ve seen some already this summer. I hope they stay around until early August when my daughter’s boyfriend visits from Australia. He has never seen them.
They are a magical sight. I hope your daughter’s boyfriend gets to experience them later this summer.
You must have good genes, Will! It’s nice to hear you still have your mother and she’s enjoying music.
I do not know how good my genes are (since I’ve been living with a couple of unusual medical diagnoses for the past six years), but my mother is still going strong at age 91, bless her! And she has always enjoyed music and shared some of her enjoyment with the rest of us via singing and buying a wide variety of records when we were children!
Oh, how I love fireflies. I read somewhere that they were in abundance this year. Seeing them in upstate New York visiting your family had to be a wonderful experience. Yes, it’s much like seeing stars. Will, I often think of children who live in cities and never get to see stars or fireflies. That makes me sad. I’m so grateful for being close to nature. I haven’t seen the fireflies at night yet, but I know I will.
Yes. City life has much to recommend it, but missing out on stars and woods and forests and streams is very sad…
Well said, Will, and so true.
Growing up in western Massachusetts across from a farm, fireflies were a part of every summer. I haven’t seen them for many years now. Time for an early evening local farm visit. 😉
I say “Yes!” to a possible early evening local farm visit to re-connect with the beauty of fireflies…
Those are some nice pictures that you found, Will. I see them once in a while when I walk in my backyard at night. They are always wonderful to see.
Yes. I agree that fireflies “are always wonderful to see.” Hurrah for the persistence of mother nature!
Yes! 🙌🏼