This evening, we sat on the back porch, in the heavy still air, to listen to the end of day sounds. Our outdoor cat, Mama, happily romped around the yard. As day gave way to dusk, the lightning bugs began to treat us to their fluorescent green light show. The legions of robins, who make their beds in the oak trees surrounding our house, chattered busily as they do each evening before falling silent, just as darkness arrives. Suddenly, Mama began to leap quite high into the air, at the, I'm sure, very startled lightning bugs. Over and over, she pranced and jumped at the tiny bursts of light. It was quite an amusing sight. Finally, she snagged one of the poor creatures, and buried her head in the grass to enjoy her catch. Very shortly afterward, she came racing to the back porch in search of her water bowl. She drank heartily. I'm wondering if the lightning bugs, which made my hands smell terribly when I caught them as a child, taste as bad as they smell. After drinking, she stretched herself out on the cool concrete and fell fast asleep. For the first time this year, the crickets began to wail.
Summer has arrived.
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