Tuesday, May 6, 2008

view from the enchanted forest

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We arrived around dusk last night for a long overdue visit to the Firefly Forest. There was enough light for a few pictures before I put the camera away and enjoyed the light show.

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We saw one distant glimmer. "There!" "I saw one!"

Soon, there were three or four in the distance, and one flying toward us, emitting a steady, pale blue glow. Within minutes, there were hundreds flying down the hillside, like a mass of Christmas lights stretched among the trees.

These fireflies, Phausis reticulata, are found en masse in only a few places in the southern Appalachians. They live - and light - for only a couple of weeks each spring. But what an impression they leave behind.

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