Little People With Flashlights & Fireflies

Channel to Lake Michigan

We've been at our cottage in Pentwater, MI, for two weeks already. Lake Michigan is a quick walk & the marina is only 4 blocks away. The cool breeze from the lake and being surrounded by all the green is comforting. Time seems to fly by and every day is a new/interesting experience.

Late on the 3^rd night, I was writing at my desk which faces the treed canyon behind our place. Deep in thought, I raised my view from the computer screen and noticed a group of children, or small people, with tiny flashlights moving in a circle. They were at the bottom of the canyon near the creek.

 Of course, in my writer’s mind, I thought they might be a satanic group or perhaps it could be fairies. I quickly tiptoed to tell Jerry, but he was sound asleep.

Returning to my desk, I peered out my window again. The group had vanished.

The next morning, I told Jerry about seeing the children with their flashlights. He asked me if I’d pulled the wine out of the refrigerator after he’d gone to bed. He knew the answer…No!

That night he called me to the back door. “Is this what you saw last night?”

There flitting around in our back yard were a dozen fireflies.

I can only remember seeing these amazing insects once before as a child in McCook, Nebraska, while visiting my grandparents. As kids, we’d catch a few in a jar and take them home to Colorado. They didn’t survive. 

Then, living in Southern California for over 30 years, plus a few years in Sedona, Arizona, I haven't seen them since.  Almost every night here, they present a light show.

 Here are a few facts:

~Fireflies or Lightning Bugs emit light to attract mates and to communicate with    each other.

~The light is in the Fireflies tail or butt,  is an enzyme mixture of luciferase and luciferin. The light creates no heat. It's the most efficient use of energy known. Man cannot recreate this kind of light.

~Fireflies live only a few weeks. Only long enough to mate and lay eggs for the next generation. 

Sales of my novel "Visions of Evil," are going well & I have had over 14,000 downloads on Amazon.

I'm working steady on the next novel. 

I'll be writing another blog soon. Have a great summer.                

J. E. Neiman