{"id":3529,"date":"2015-06-23T07:46:10","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T11:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=3529"},"modified":"2015-06-23T08:20:25","modified_gmt":"2015-06-23T12:20:25","slug":"lightnin-bugs-here-a-moment-and-then-gone-as-the-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=3529","title":{"rendered":"Lightnin’ Bugs – Here a Moment and Then Gone – as the Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BLog<\/a>Photo Credit: www.strangesounds.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Catching lightnin’ bugs (as we called them in Georgia) was a grand part of our summers growing up. We never got tired of it. Sometimes, mom would say “Just enjoy them”, and we put the jars away.\u00a0 My brothers and I would play outside in the hot sticky evenings.\u00a0We played\u00a0until it was too dark to see how to run. Often, we would just follow the lightning bugs as they flashed signals to each other.\u00a0Male seeking female, mating on their minds.<\/p>\n

As children, we were mesmerized by them because they seemed to not exist until those few hours every night. From dusk until deep dark, they flew, and we were enchanted with them. We didn’t notice mosquito bites then, nor the heat.<\/p>\n

Called in from the yard at last, we would take turns washing up in our one bathroom in those days. I never understood how that line of dirt made its way around our necks. Or how filthy feet could get from chasing around the yard with no\u00a0shoes. Summer nights, after long\u00a0hours of play, were filled with deep sleep for us as brothers and sister, growing up with shared life. Dreaming of fireflies darting up from the grass, flitting through the night sky, to a mysterious mate.<\/p>\n

Our children spent most of their growing up years in\u00a0the \u00a0Africa bordering the Sahara. No lightning bugs there. Summer vacations back in the US were made all the more magical by these evening lightshows.<\/p>\n

I just recently found out that lightning bugs were beetles. Beetles in Africa are big and shiny black and not for play in our family. They are right up there with the mammoth flying roaches, in terms of creepiness. Fortunately, lightning bugs, in the dazzling loveliness of their glow, make\u00a0them an altogether different creature…almost on the order of fairies, rather than insects.<\/p>\n

Summer, like the season of lightning bugs, never seems long enough. So we savor it. From indoors and out.\u00a0I am thankful for a yard lit up at night by these little showmen. Every place we have ever lived had its own loveliness…for now, in Virginia,\u00a0this is part of what we celebrate\u00a0of God’s creation…in our back yard. You are welcome.<\/p>\n

\"Blog<\/a>Photo Credit: www.robindance.me<\/a><\/p>\n

Firefly<\/p>\n

Light in play<\/p>\n

Silent signal<\/p>\n

End of day<\/p>\n

Rhythmical<\/p>\n

Illumination<\/p>\n

Simple<\/p>\n

Childlike fascination<\/p>\n

Demanding chase<\/p>\n

They blink and dance<\/p>\n

One more spark<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s your chance<\/p>\n

Neon glow<\/p>\n

Adorn the night<\/p>\n

Summer\u2019s glory<\/p>\n

Our delight\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by Robin Dance<\/a>*<\/p>\n

*Magic of the Night<\/em> by Robin Dance<\/a><\/p>\n

Fireflies! 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Lightning Bugs<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

How to Attract Fireflies to Your Backyard<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Blog<\/a>Photo Credit: thaynesworld.com<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: www.strangesounds.org Catching lightnin’ bugs (as we called them in Georgia) was a grand part of our summers growing up. We never got tired of it. Sometimes, mom would say “Just enjoy them”, and we put the jars away.\u00a0 My brothers and I would play outside in the hot sticky evenings.\u00a0We played\u00a0until it was … Continue reading Lightnin’ Bugs – Here a Moment and Then Gone – as the Summer<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[147,1277,50,1435,33,888,233],"tags":[443,1478,1475,1306,1469,1477,1473,1470,1471,5,1474,1476,1472],"class_list":["post-3529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-2","category-glory-of-god","category-god","category-growing-up","category-inspired","category-memories","category-vacations","tag-africa","tag-beetles","tag-catching-lightning-bugs","tag-childhood","tag-fireflies","tag-georgia","tag-jar","tag-lightning-bugs","tag-magic","tag-memories","tag-mosquitos","tag-robin-dance","tag-summer-nights"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-UV","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3529"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3547,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions\/3547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}