Backyard and Beyond

Fireflies retreat during the day, tucking themselves out of the way. The common Photinus seems to prefer the underside of leaves. Not sure which species this is, but it’s a tree-hugger. There were fourteen of them on this part of an old oak’s trunk.

Fireflies are another family of insects that are in decline. The decline is uneven. Here in Brooklyn, it certainly seems like a pretty good year for these night-blinkers. I was so heartened to hear some kids yelling “Fireflies!” in the neighboring park recently. There are several dead ones in the foyer and even in the stairwell of our building. But these, of course, are all anecdotal observations — my comparisons are with scant years, so a slightly better year seems marvelous. The fish I caught this year is the biggest I’ve ever seen! Yet the historical record shows how much bigger they regularly were in years past. Shifting baselines.
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SCHIFF: “Trump and his campaign welcomed and encouraged Russian interference?”

MUELLER: “Yes.”

SCHIFF: “And then Trump and his campaign lied about it to cover it up?”

MUELLER: “Yes.”