Fireflies -- Fantasy or Nightmare??

Shane and I camped 2 nights at Julian Price Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway -- really nice place. The weather was mostly perfect, we saw a little wildlife (couple of deer, couple of chipmunks, some birds) and a bajillion fireflies. . . . .Thursday night about 10 or 10:30, we walked up to the bath house and the fireflies were flickering and glowing all around us. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen -- surely no fairy wonderland is any more beautiful. It was incredibly enchanting, and we turned off our flashlights for quite a while, just stood, captivated by the amazing "laser show" these guys were doing for us. Things like this are the reason I like camping anyway -- getting close to nature and seeing things that people who don't like to camp don't get to see. . . .and then I got home, and waiting in my email was an email from enature.com -- one of my favorite wildlife sites. They were sharing summer interest stories, and my mind was on the fireflies, so I clicked on that one to learn more. . . .Imagine my surprise to learn that some species of firefly after they have mated, the female's body chemistry changes somewhat, and hormones are activated that make her a man-eater. She still lures the males with her enchanting flickering beacon, and then as he joins her in the bushes hoping for some romance, she attacks him and has him for dinner. Now, I'm sure I'll get over it and still enjoy seeing the beautiful fireflies flickering, but I gotta tell you -- for a while I'm gonna think twice -- it kind of destroyed the romance for me. . . .I guess there really IS such a thing as TOO MUCH INFORMATION!!!!!!!!!!

Fencing Hummers

Fencing Hummers
With fancy wingwork, the hummers dance around the feeder on the fence,
Fighting, fighting, fighting
For food, for survival, for sheer competition, for territory.

One perches high on a branch above the feeder,
Watching , guarding his special feeding spot,
Then, as another jeweled green hummingbird nears the feeder,
He advances.
You can almost hear the announcement, “En garde”
As the other hummer leaves the feeder for a quick battle.
Swords at the ready, the wingwork is intricate, complicated, and so fast
It appears a blur, wings moving 50 times in a second, readying him to advance, then retreat.
One hummer cuts, while the other flicks.
They glide as they hover, moving their sword-like beaks in time
To an imaginary song of nature
Or a medieval song of competition
They thrust, parry, retreat, reprise. . . .
Swords at the ready continually,
They sip, dip, flip, hover, attack, counter-attack. . . .
Fencing hummers on the fence.

My Mother's Day Poem for Mama

On days like today, I think of the gifts I’d like to give,
But, instead of giving, I’d actually take away –
The discomfort of 9 months of waiting,
The long, hard hours of labor,
The 6 weeks of crying, sleepless nights.
I’d take away the sibling squabbles,
The skint-up knees and temper tantrums.



I’d take from you the sass and attitude
I gave back then – wiping out their memory.
I’d remove all the nights of missed curfews,
The lies told, and the worries I brought.
I’d lovingly scrape away all the hard times
Throughout our lives together, leaving only happy memories.











But then, when I came to now,
Our relationship wouldn’t be the same. . .
Those challenges made us the mother and daughter we are.
Yes, I have regrets, and things I’d take away,
But it would change who we are now –
The friendship we have and the love we hold dear.




I hope it’s enough to look back on those days
As building blocks that helped create
The woman I am today, and the relationship we share.
I hope you know
That I appreciate the love that wound itself through
All the memories, good and bad,
And brought us to the place we are today.

A Year without Cigarettes

Well, Mama has made it a whole year with no cigarettes. So many blessings -- her grandson will hopefully never have to see her with one of those things in her hand or mouth. We were looking at pictures recently, and Mama had a cigarette in most of them . . . .how wonderful to see her smoke-free now and still. We are all so proud of her! We sent cards and balloons for her 1-year anniversary. Yay, Mama!!!!!!!!!!!!!