Fireflies!

Hi guys! It is firefly season here in East Tennessee. As dusk approaches, the fireflies come out from whence they have been napping to twinkle and blink and my son and grandson start yelling..THE FIREFLIES ARE OUT!

Fireflies prefer humid climates and Tennessee is perfect for them. Some people also call them "lightning bugs" and they are actually a nocturnal beetle. They are pretty friendly..I have never gotten a bite from one anyways! This is my daughter and grandson "on the hunt"(yes those are pajamas..if he is at home, he is in his "cozy pants"). There is actually something stress relieving about catching them. We are a "catch and release" family.

I had a hard time getting a pic of him standing still! The fireflies blinking is actually a mate-ing call *cue the Barry White....Leeeet's get it oooooonnn* I have read that after they hatch some species do not even eat..just find a mate..do the deed.."plant" their eggs in the ground and go to firefly heaven! That is some single minded bugginess there!

My son Jack still sporting his baseball uniform and his sister's flip flops. Jack and I started a family tradition when he was younger of catching and naming each firefly with cool and crazy names..Fernando, Elinor, Theodore...it was funny what he would come up with!

Pretty proud! I have read the story of "Gus the Firefly" from the Dr. Suess series (not by him but from his book club) to all my kids and now Hunter..Zow-Wow!

After about 2 dozen pics I finally caught ONE flashing..they are trixie to photograph! I decided most pics you see (as below) are taken with a timer and multiple exposures and layered.

These are also from East TN.You don't usually see this many flashing at once, but when they peak it is like you have Christmas twinkle lights in your trees.

I hope sometime you get to experience this for yourself! For me, it is a moment to slow down and quit whatever I am doing and spend some precious minutes with my little men..they won't be little for long and I suspect catching and naming fireflies will just not quite be the same by myself! 'Til next time! Julia