Fireflies

A big consolation for the heat of summer is the return of the fireflies. Look out at night over the garden, dimly visible with the big white plumes of goatsbeard and astilbe, and there are the  mysterious lights of the fireflies, dancing in the darkness like the spirits of the blessed.

Sure, their bioluminescence is all about making another generation of glowing larvae and eventually adult fireflies, but its a lovely spectacle. Up there with song thrushes, dancing cranes and our own music, vocal and instrumental, as a little gift to the universe.