Fascinated by the Everyday

Yes, we are going to be seeing some really cool things now that we live in a historical area, and so close to Washington, D.C.  But it is some of the things we see in our everyday lives around Fredericksburg that fascinate us.

Fireflies

Last week I was driving after dark and kept noticing little flashes of light along the roadside.  I finally figured out they were fireflies!  I also see them often in the woods outside our door.  They are soooo cool!  Mom tells me that I used to catch fireflies at my grandma and grandpa's farm in Minnesota, but I don't remember that.  The only time I remember seeing fireflies is when I was an adult, at an outdoor reception in Pennsylvania.  But here in Virginia, I see them almost everyday.  It's got to be because there are so many wooded areas everywhere, because that is where I always see them.

Thunderstorms

It's been raining quite a bit in Fredericksburg, almost every day it rains somewhat.  I'm not sure if this is normal, but I think it might be.  It is pretty fun, watching storms roll in, listening to the rain (sometimes light, sometimes a downpour).  We were at home one day last week when a thunderstorm rolled in, and Elise thought it was really fun to stand on the patio with Jason and watch the rain without getting wet. 

Buzzard

Elise's tennis camp is on courts that are part of a larger park, which is located in a residential area.  One day we were watching her, when we noticed this HUGE bird come swooping down and land in the yard of a house across the street.  It flew up and came down again.  All the kids saw it, and the adults watching.  We wandered over to where we'd seen the bird land. 

It was a buzzard!  (or vulture, I think they are the same thing)  It looked much more impressive in the air, with it's huge wings spread out.  It had come in search of roadkill, which it found not far from the tennis courts.  Tennis lessons had be be paused while the kids watched the buzzard tear apart and eat the squished squirrel in the road.  I didn't watch it eat, but the bird itself was quite a sight.