Back to Burnsville

We jumped at the chance to spend a little more time at the farmhouse near Burnsville, North Carolina. The heat wave hit early and was the headline in the local newspapers but the evenings were wonderful and, as early risers, we loved the mornings on the porch. We noticed the longer days, relative to our Tallahassee daylight hours. The fireflies had their alarm clocks set for 9 p.m.

But there was another 45 minutes of light left in the evening sky.

It was a game to see the first firefly come on. It was invariably at 9 o'clock. By the time we went inside, there were hundreds of them on this property alone. On clear nights when the stars came out, the twinkling effect started at the ground, rose to the top of the highest poplar and just kept going into the heavens. It was mesmerizing.

In the morning, at six, it was awfully bright, though the sun had not yet risen over the mountain. The morning fog lay low in the valley ...

...and the fireflies were just going to sleep.

The birds sang and sang to welcome each new day and our spirits sang too as the coolness---and the COOLNESS!---of it all, soaked in.