It’s the end of July. They shouldn’t still be here, but they are. I’m not sure if that’s cause for delight or for concern. 

During the month of June fireflies appear in western NC. They start glowing just before sunset, and generally find their mates (and stop emitting light) 30 – 45 minutes later. That’s part of their magic. They only appear during one month, and during that one month only for a limited number of minutes each day. It’s easy to remember, because June is my birthday month. June is the month of fireflies. June is the month I go to the porch, just before sunset each evening, with a glass of something cold – ice water, iced tea, or wine.

However, it’s the end of July and they’re still glowing. Not as many, yet still a respectable showing. I’m delighted, as this truly is one of my favorite phenomena. I’m concerned, as fireflies shouldn’t still be glowing at the end of July. What has caused this? 

And yet, every evening, just before sundown, I mosey to my front patio with a glass of something cold. I sit in the glider that was Mom’s, and I listen to the increasingly loud sound of crickets. The chirping is a lullaby. Monotonous. Louder, then softer, then louder. The sound oozing into the humidity. Occasionally, a bat swoops above my head, quickly from one side of the house to the other. I enthusiastically hope that it is eating all the mosquitoes that like to eat me. I cannot imagine a more magical evening. How am I so lucky?