I saw the first fireflies of the season the other night. They appeared like magic after the first drenching rain in what has been a parched couple of months.
Luckily, my neighborhood has enough old-growth shrubs and natural areas to support a modest population of “lightning bugs.” There is something incredibly nostalgic about seeing the sparkle of fireflies on a summer evening.
Fireflies to wine, you might ask? How’s he going to make that connection?
You don’t have to be an environmentalist to love wine, but wine—like fireflies—is one of nature's products. I’m sure many of my fellow wine drinkers have a keen understanding that the product they love so much is best produced in a healthy, natural environment. Biodynamics aside, the wine industry in general seems to be paying much more regard to nature’s process, instead of altering nature to suit its needs.
For those of us who tend back yards instead of vineyards, I recommend a fine piece of reading material, Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards, by Sara B. Stein. It’s a personal discovery of place and a guidebook for anyone who manages a chunk of this beautiful planet.
It’s been part of my inspiration to convert a sterile, empty back yard into my very own mini woodland garden. With fireflies.
Luckily, my neighborhood has enough old-growth shrubs and natural areas to support a modest population of “lightning bugs.” There is something incredibly nostalgic about seeing the sparkle of fireflies on a summer evening.
Fireflies to wine, you might ask? How’s he going to make that connection?
You don’t have to be an environmentalist to love wine, but wine—like fireflies—is one of nature's products. I’m sure many of my fellow wine drinkers have a keen understanding that the product they love so much is best produced in a healthy, natural environment. Biodynamics aside, the wine industry in general seems to be paying much more regard to nature’s process, instead of altering nature to suit its needs.
For those of us who tend back yards instead of vineyards, I recommend a fine piece of reading material, Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Back Yards, by Sara B. Stein. It’s a personal discovery of place and a guidebook for anyone who manages a chunk of this beautiful planet.
It’s been part of my inspiration to convert a sterile, empty back yard into my very own mini woodland garden. With fireflies.
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