Yesterday was a pretty great day because in addition to it being Benjamin's birthday, I also got cleared from jury duty, and we got to take our very first firefly walk of the season! I think the kids caught more than a dozen before we headed inside (they're still fairly sparse, but I'm sure there will be more soon).
Here's Benjamin showing off the firefly jar (from yesterday; they were out there again this evening):
Last year Alexander was obsessed with "firefly sunset walks," but after nearly a year of nothing but the memory of fireflies, Alexander struggled to remember what they were all about. He certainly remembered running around and catching them, and he remembered how they make flashes of light as they fly about...but he couldn't remember what they were called exactly.
He kept talking about "thunder bugs," which I suppose means he really picked up on the southern word for fireflies, which is "lightning bugs." He just...picked a word he associated with lightning instead of the word lightning itself.
We've had an infestation of box elder bugs in our front yard this spring, which Zoë and Alexander got really excited about because they mistook them for fireflies. They do look fairly similar, but they sure weren't happy when I told them that what they were holding were not, in fact, fireflies (though why they should be so picky, I don't know, because they'd already discovered that box elder bugs are pretty harmless).
Anyway, we're glad firefly season is here. We'll likely have a string of late bedtimes until it's over!
I love the way that you plan for late bedtimes so your kids can delight in the wonders of nature! Not all children get that lucky!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, I asked a group of online friends, and friends from Indiana, Massachusetts, and New Jersey said they grew up hearing and saying "lightning bugs" like us southern folk so I guess it's not totally a southern term. Your sentence about that made me curious because I like to read about regional differences in terminology.
ReplyDeleteOh, I see that "lightning bug" is the southern term, but also it's used a lot in the Midwest and apparently MidAtlantic states and some northern states, but I can't go back and sew what I wrote earlier since my comment disappeared (it has to be approved.) I like those little regional differences quizzes about is this a water fountain or bubbler or is that a sub, hero, or hoagie. I saw a Business Insider article about a possibly reason why some say lightning bugs and some say fireflies that was interesting, but they aren't sure it's correct.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.businessinsider.com/firefly-lightning-bug-english-language-map-2018-7
sorry for the confusing comments. I'd go back and delete, edit, clarify, but can't since my earlier comment disappeared! :)