Summer Painting #5

This is the last daily painting for this week. This is a small 4×4 painting of fireflies doing their summer evening dance in the dark. It was a little tricky because the fireflies in the painting are so small on the 4×4 surface. I almost did a 6×6 and I still may do a larger painting of fireflies. This was a fun painting to do.

Florida doesn’t have many fireflies. I have heard that there is only a small part of Florida where you can find them. I miss seeing fireflies but we do get cicadas, almost year round. And love bugs that stick to the front of your car or pickup truck. They are brutal to wash off.

Back in New Jersey and New York, fireflies came out every summer. They would fly like drunken pilots and you’d find them in your hair, they’d land on your lap, and on fences, in gardens. They were everywhere. I’ve never seen the females on the ground but I’ve seen plenty of flying blinking males. Fireflies were one of the best things to watch in the summer and it’s a shame their season is so short.

I heard something sad that overdevelopment is also taking its toll on fireflies. They would be a sad loss. I feel that every child should have the joy of chasing fireflies.

It’s just not summer until you see fireflies.