We took a camping trip in June to the Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania's only national forest, to see the synchronous fireflies during their mating season. These fireflies are best known in Asia and the Great Smokey Mountains but Allegheny Defense Project noticed them last year and brought researchers in to check 'em out this year.

They're amazing. Breath-taking amazing.

I didn't even try to take pix of the fireflies - incredibly difficult shooting conditions, much much harder than fireworks. So I took pix of camping.

A couple of the coop house kids got married on Thursday afternoon near the upper rapids at Niagara Falls State Park. A simple Episcopalian ceremony, a picnic, and croquet!

Basement kitteh in disguise.

The three houses destroyed in the fire in Bloss (e:heidi,56570) have been demolished and the fourth is gutted for rehab.

I set up the new wireless router today at Wendy's so I'm hanging on the back porch watching my laundry dry and surfing. Maybe I'll go for a little walk in the woods later. This is the longest stretch of unplanned time I've had in bloss in forever. It's lovely.

Last night I visited with my friends Hannah, Liz & Jennie at Liz' folks' place in the far northwestern region of Tioga County. It's in the same county as Bloss but it's over an hour's drive, 50-some miles. I got stuck in traffic! Unexpected at 11pm on a Saturday. The fireworks in Galeton let out the same time I left Liz' house. We made s'mores on the front lawn then it started to rain so we hung on the porch in candlelight. We could just barely hear the Galeton fireworks. Liz said that some nights she can hear her neighbors across the valley talk on their porch.



Liz' parents with one of her cousin's kids.


Conversation by candlelight.