Lightning and Fireflies

Tonight it's hot and the air is heavy. After it got dark I sat on the front steps for an hour watching the most incredible lightning storm I've ever seen. The lightning flashed almost constantly above me, mostly staying high in the clouds, but occasionally appearing below to strike something on the ground. The thunder came in a continuous low rumble, punctuated by loud cracks when the lightning struck close. There was no rain, just eerily still, oppressive air.

As I watched the lightning fireflies came out and began flashing in the street and yard in front of me. I saw my first firefly up close the day I arrived in DC, but this is the first time that I've seen them all around me. They flashed on the periphery of my vision, sometimes fooling me into thinking that they were a trick of my eyes and not really there.