today i took a bike ride a little later than normal and was riding back just at the cusp of dusk. the sun had just set, but it was still light enough to be out for a walk or bike ride. rochester has quite the array of bike trails, and i am able to trail ride for all but about three blocks of my rides. the final stretch of trail runs alongside a ditch that slopes up into a wooded area. tonight as i was riding home past the ditch, it suddenly lit up with fireflies, blinking my way home.
there were fireflies when we lived in austin – midsummer evening twilights my siblings and i would run out across the lawn to catch the blinky bugs. my dad would catch one and smear the butts across his shirt, neon yellow fluorescing his chest. when we moved to new london, the fireflies were nowhere to be found, but i didn’t realize they were gone. once in st. joe i saw a firefly, but i think it was lost.
last summer i had a glimpse – once or twice in austin i would sit outside at the right time and see some fireflies, but i think they tried to stay away from the cows. this summer, however, it’s been a bevy of bugs. last weekend jane and i were driving from lacrosse back to rochester, and the ditches were glittering with fireflies – one hit my windshield. the past couple nights i’ve been outside at dusk and fireflies light up the ditches, the yard, the driveway – they’re everywhere, and i am fascinated. how on earth did i go so long without fireflies, and why did i forget about them?
ever so slowly, i might be ok with the move to this part of the state.