A night like tonight

Its almost 11, I cant sleep. Hubby is long gone, sleeping contentedly in the bedroom. I envy him, his ability to fall asleep in 5 minutes flat. Its too hot tonight to sleep. We have the fan going in the bedroom but it just moves the air around. I got up to putter around and was immediately distracted by the free show going on in my backyard. Quietly I opened the screen door and stepped out into the night. From my back patio I can hear the chickens sighing in their sleep. The goats make a clunking sort of noise as they shift their weight around for a better position to sleep. The geese are the light sleepers, ready to sound the alarm should they be needed. But what draws me to tonights show, is not the usual farm night noises. No, tonight the fireflies are playing. Today was humid, with tomorrow promising to be worse. The only good thing about this weather is...you guessed it...fireflies! Hundreds light up the backyard. For mere seconds at a time they flash before disappearing, and flashing in a new spot. The teenager fireflies, who havent figured out how to work their headlights, leave their blinkers on as they go flying through the night. They look like shooting stars. Others blink on and off faster than the grandparent fireflies. Unlike a plane or bird in the sky, you can not track fireflies as they fly. The blink on for just a second and then they are gone. It adds to their mystery. I remember last year, living on Fort Detrick and helping the neighborhood kids catch the fireflies at dusk. I will not be catching them this year. I prefer to marvel at their mystery as they light up my otherwise dark night. The show continues as I headed inside. I hope they will be playing in town tomorrow night. This is one show I can watch over and over!