The last firefly...

[Curmudgeoness]

I hate when I see that lone firefly wandering around. It tells me that summer is winding down, and that always makes me sad.

But it isn't only about me and how bummed I feel about summer's demise. You have to really feel sorry for this lonely little bug, coming out with love on his mind. He is flying all over, flashing his interest, and there is no one left. He is the only firefly left in the field. Gotta feel for him.

Tonight, there was that last firefly out there.

[Xipe Totec]

1. You just reminded me of Grave of the Fireflies

Now I'm sad.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I am sorry to have made you sad. I am always sad on this day too.

So, what is the Grave of the Fireflies?

[Xipe Totec]

5. Japanese anime about life after Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Viewed through the eyes of a 14 year old boy and his 4 year old sister.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSPwdBIbx_U

PS: They don't make it.

[Curmudgeoness]

7. Oh god. I wish I had not put that in your mind.

Now think happy thoughts. :hug:

[Frank Cannon]

6. Grave of the Fireflies is a Japanese animated film...

about the experiences of a teenaged boy and his little sister in Japan during World War II.

It is EXCELLENT. It is one of the most powerful anti-war statements ever committed to film. It is also probably the saddest movie ever made.

[Denninmi]

3. I haven't seen any for a few weeks now.

I always feel the same way seeing the last butterflies this time of year. Usually they're pretty beaten up. The Monarchs go south, of course, but the rest die, save the few in the brushfoot family such as Mourning Cloaks, Red Admirals, and Commas/Question Marks which hibernate to emerge very early in April with the first really nice days.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. Yep, butterflies do have a worn look late in the summer.

I never really notice the last butterfly, maybe because they are not as easy to notice in numbers. Every evening, I go out to watch the fireflies and bats in the field next door to the house, so it is very noticable when there is only one left. At least I still hear a lot of crickets. :)

[csziggy]

16. Not far from here is the point where monarch butterflies gather

Before they head out across the Gulf of Mexico to fly to Mexico for the winter. I've never made it on the right day, but it is supposed to be a wonderous sight.

Monarch Madness

The annual butterfly frenzy is still months off, but at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the Florida Panhandle, the anticipatory phone-calling frenzy has already begun. Callers' most frequently asked question: When will the butterflies arrive?

Falling temperatures and shorter days up north generally start butterflies on their migrations by late October, staffers reply. That should put them on schedule to show up in force on Saturday, October 23, the date for this year's St. Mark's Refuge butterfly festival, and if this year is anything like last, the monarchs' carpeting of the refuge in orange and black should be spectacular. But when you're dealing with Mother Nature, nothing is certain. "If we get a big tropical storm, it could be November before we see them," acknowledged Robin Will, St. Marks' supervisory refuge ranger.

Monarchs have the longest migrations of all tropical butterflies, flying up to 3,000 miles to their wintering sites in Mexico. En route, they stop to feed on nectar-rich plants such as salt bush and goldenrod, found extensively on the refuge.

http://www.fws.gov/refuges/mediatipsheet/August_2010/MonarchMadness.html

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

8. This presents a good excuse to post a poem I wrote some years ago

Enjoy.

Lightning Bugs

Warm springtime dusk-- Just right
for barefoot-running through
the back-yard grass so cool
and tickley; fresh and nice--
The flashes happen suddenly,
hidden at the corner of an
unsuspecting eye--
Now stop! Stand still;
don't breathe or blink,
for they may see and fly,
unseen, away!
Now over there! Up in the trees!
As night sneaks up to cool the breeze;
a Flash! and Flash!
Before you know you're darting
here and there across
the night-dark grassy lawn,
hands snatching at
a million zillion flecks
of winking yellow light--
You reach, and catch!
Your Mason jar is full
of blinking midnight
magic-lantern fire!
So, giggling, off to bed--
You keep your jar safe by your head--
You drowse to sleep, and smiling, dream
of whirring through the night on wings of
sprinkly, starry, winking, twinkly light.

© 2011 Steven A. Hessler
All Rights Reserved

[Curmudgeoness]

10. You made me smile. That is just how I remember summers

in my childhood. Thanks.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

15. Glad to be of soivice!

:hug:

[Flaxbee]

9. I know - I have the same thoughts; lonely little fireflies out there

It is a sad feeling, the end of summer...

[Curmudgeoness]

12. As a winterphobe, it is never a good sign that summer is going.

Ah well, life ain't fair. I want summer all the time! And lots of fireflies.

[Catlover827]

11. I hate not seeing them anymore at all

I don't think I've seen a single one since we moved to Texas in 2005. I used to see bunches of them in Pennsylvania and Kansas. Both places we've lived in in Texas have been new neighborhoods which aren't near water or woods. Sigh. Can you take a picture of him for me?

[Curmudgeoness]

13. LOL, a picture would be very elusive.

You know how it goes....blink, you see it. Then just dark. Blink over there. You just want me to run around the field all evening, don't you? Hmmmmm, I could do worse.

Yep, I am in PA now and there are still lots of them---no water or woods, just a neighborhood in town...but they have always been here. When I lived in Houston, the only place I ever saw them was at Armond Bayou (? God, I don't remember the name for sure) where they had a walking trail and I remember a bridge with fireflies everywhere. I was shocked.

[Catlover827]

14. Oh come on - where's your sense of adventure? ;)

We actually live in the Houston area now! I will have to check out that place!

[pokerfan]

17. They really mess up astrophotos

[Curmudgeoness]

19. I don't know, I think that is pretty neat.

Somehow, I can tell the fireflies from the stars. I like that picture.

It is interesting how some blinks are so short and others so long. You don't notice that without a photo like this.

[pokerfan]

21. Yeah, it is pretty cool

The description from the site:

A Summer Night's Dream
Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Rosinski
Explanation: Fix your digital camera to a tripod, start a long series of exposures, and you too can record star trails. The concentric arcs traced by the stars as planet Earth rotates on its axis often produce dreamlike scenes in otherwise familiar situations. Fall asleep, though, and the results might surprise you. Setting up on a summer night, photographer Mike Rosinski began his exposures, initially planning to capture about 45-55 minutes worth of star trails from his yard in Hartland, Michigan, USA. But he dozed, only to awaken some 3 hours later to find his camera had continued to run until the battery died. Composing the resulting images, the graceful concentric star trails were expected, along with light from a late rising Moon glinting on windows. Still, as he slept on the warm night a blizzard of yellow streaks flooded the scene, not left by fairies but fireflies.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110805.html

[sarge43]

18. It's when the crickets start singing Summer's last sweet song. n/t

[Curmudgeoness]

20. Don't tell me this. Crickets were singing before the last firefly.

I get sad enough when summer wanes.