(Check out my new digital camera! And by 'MY new camera', I really mean NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S photographer's camera who posted this photo on National Geographic's website.)
Despite growing up around the beach, I always envisioned summer as tall grasses waving in the early evening breeze. I'd dream of sitting on a porch swing drinking lemonade or iced tea and holding hands with my beau. That's what Laura Ingalls Wilder used to call boys that would come visit. I LOVED Little House on the Prairie. I wanted a beau too. But my beaus rode skateboards and wore Jimmy'z hats that looked like they had a pair of boxers on their heads. And if I ever tried to call them my beau, they probably would have said something like "dude, my name's not Beau, it's John." But I digress ...
My dreams of summer also ALWAYS included watching fireflies.
I have no idea how I learned of their existence, but just the thought of nature creating its own version of twinkly lights that would come on during my favorite time of day was so compelling , they entered into and remain, firmly planted, in my daydreams.
Despite all of this, I have actually never seen a firefly. Unless of course you count the ones in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say that those were PROBABLY fake. I imagine part of never having seen a firefly stems from my avoidance of any place that is HOT and has HUMIDITY. So bye bye any place east of the Rockies during summer!
I did a little Google search today. Somewhere, someone is commenting on their blog "Some TRUCKER Googled 'Are there any fucking fireflies on the West Coast?' and landed on my site today."
BUT Peeps! I learned that there are fireflies in OREGON & WASHINGTON. And I THINK Portland is in one of those two states. I click click clicked my little heart away and learned that the Oregon fireflies reside in Corvallis, OR, home of the Oregon State Beavers and only about an hour and a half south of me! I was JUST about ready to pack my bags and then I saw it ... "though they are the same species of lightening bug, they do not glow."
DAMN IT FIREFLIES OF THE CORVALLIS, OREGON FIREFLIES!
Next time someone asks me the question "Is everybody really THAT into 'living green' in Oregon?" I can say, with one hundred percent certainty, that yes. Yes they are. Even our lightening bugs conserve energy.
6 comments:
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this made me laugh so hard...
I've never seen one before either
Hello my Goddess, I have been blessed with the viewing of the firefly. In fact, in my youth, I was somewhat of a "wrangler" of them. Ah, camping in the woods with a jar of flickering flies, makes me all warm inside. (side note- I always let them go before falling asleep - that way they could make more flies to play with!) The only thing about firefly's is that their season peeks at the same time the mosquitoes grow to the size of teredactals! One must be very careful during the time! I was once almost carried off to Oz by one, but I used all the princess powers I could muster to escape! Yes, my heels were clicking together so hard, the military thought it was morse code! No firemen were sent though, sorry!
I'm glad the fireflies are doing their part (or they just are snoozin' on the job).
Seriously, I can't stop giggling.
I grew up right outside Corvallis, and I can honestly say, I've never seen one in or near Corvallis. Or maybe I just didn't know they were fireflies because they didn't glow, dammit! But rest assured, I have spent summers catching them in canning jars (just like you see in the movies). I have a whole side of my family from the South (an unincorporated town in Georgia to be exact), and in the South you must take pleasure in the simple things because 5 hours south of Atlanta boasts nothing cosmopolitan or "too fabulous." Get my drift?
Hope you're having a great weekend. Time for a bike ride!
Oh god, this is so funny. I was getting so excited for you and bam-energy saving bugs. You know, I don't think they should really be allowed to be called fireflies when there is apparently no fire. I swear I am going to wrangle up the last few hanging out here this summer, poke some holes in a jar, and call Fedex stat! :)
Portland is so cool! Gotta get back there, and soon.
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