Hotaru

We have fireflies in our backyard. Apparently this is no particularly big deal around here. I asked my 11 year old niece what she thought about fireflies and she said they're cute and cool. I asked if they had any special connotations and she kind of looked at me funny. Not because I said "connotations" because I didn't, but because she had no idea why I would think there was anything special about fireflies other than the fact that they glow in the dark.
In Japan fireflies are a big deal. People go out in groups (of course) on summer nights to view them. In old times people collected fireflies in cages and used them as lamps. They are a very romantic symbol of summer. Towns in Japan that still have fireflies consider it something to boast about. They consider it proof they have unpolluted waterways.
When I brought the dog out last night before going to bed I thought I saw a few flashes back among the trees on the edge of the yard, but wasn't sure if it was fireflies or a visual effect of my pollen soaked contact lenses. Then I saw a few very bright bugs making their way among the trees and I called Shiro and Rachel out to the yard. The dog seemed pleasantly surprised that everyone was suddenly in the yard to accompany him on his regular nightly business. We all stood there watching the blobs of bluish luminescence and raved about how cool it is to have fireflies right in our own backyard.