Lightning bugs!

If you are old enough to have been a kid in the 50s and 60s. you will remember the joy of romping in the yard in the early evening, right before and after the sun went down. We would chase the lightning bugs and catch them in jars in which we had poked holes in the tops. Then, we would keep them by our beds, fascinated by their blinking lights all night. Unfortunately, by morning, most of them would be dead. The lucky ones who had survived would be released outside.
These days, there are not as many lightning bugs around, although this year, in this area, they have had a resurgence. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071100443.html?sid=ST2009071103102
But, as with many innocuous but helpful creatures, humans conspire against them.
As a committment to my role as a Habitat Steward, I do not use chemicals in my yard - neither pesticides nor herbicides. I am rewarded with fireflies, as well as pollinators and many "good bugs" (more than 90% of bugs are "good bugs".) Michael Raupp, a very esteemed entomologist from the University of Maryland has a wonderful website which talks about bugs http://www.raupplab.umd.edu/ and really helps people to understand that bugs are not our enemies, but our friends, and that we must learn how to be AT HOME WITH NATURE.
Insects are an important part of the ecological balance. As I said before, 90% of insects are in the category of beneficial (meaning they help to eliminate "bad" bugs, or neutral - they do no harm.) As a Master Gardener, I often meet people who want to eliminate insects who may be doing only minor damage to their plants. The first thing to look at is how much damage you can tolerate. Perhaps we should look at how much damage your PLANTS can tolerate. Plants are survivors. Look at weeds. They want to survive. They will find ways to propagate themselves. We can let them do that. We can hand-pull them from our flower beds.
So, let's think about the joy of lightning bugs. Let's help to keep them going!

Feeding the birds...

I have a small suburban yard (about 1/3 acre) that has been a Certified Wildlife Habitat since 1996. Certification is done by the National Wildlife Federation, and is an easier process than one might imagine. (For more info, see here: http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/certify.cfm?campaignid=WH09HTOP)
One of the most enjoyable things to do is watch the birds who visit my yard. Last night, the feeders were nearly empty and I saw a little drama play out. A titmouse was searching the feeders for a pre-nightfall snack. There was a bluejay somewhere nearby, calling to his friends in his loud screeching voice. The titmouse became very apprehensive, probably anticipating that the jays would be arriving soon and bullying their way in. So the titmouse started calling out too. Several other titmice, and two chickadees arrived. The bluejays never showed up, and I then heard them calling from some distance away.
I knew I couldn't wait until the next day to fill the feeders, so I filled them all up in the last half hour before nightfall.