With the warmer weather upon us, I am delighting in the return of the fireflies! Like most children, I chased after their intermittent beacons of light in my younger years and despite the desire to keep them close, I never captured them "for keeps". My appreciation of insects and spiders has always been high - any house "intruders were captured with dixie cups and released back into "nature". But it wasn't until I was 22 years old and wandering around the Garden for the Blind one night around 3am with a certain fella that my fascination with fireflies hit a fevered pitch. We discovered a glowworm (firefly larvae) nesting area. The little glowing nuggets were scattered all over the ground like fairy dust or stars that had fallen to earth. I scooped up a handful of dirt & glowworms and I felt like a prospector at Sutter's Mill. Who needs gold when you can hold the glory of nature in your hand?
