Where are the fireflies? I used to look forward to their arrival in spring, perhaps late May or early June.

Now there's hardly a sprinkling, and how about the honeybees? They used to be everywhere, pollinating the dandelions, but those "weeds" are mowed down to create a "perfect" lawn these days. I even fashioned a little firefly box in the past. Fortunately, my husband Jeff, a retired landscape architect, kept one for himself, and I have included photos of it with this article.

The trouble is that the beautiful dark night sky is vanishing due to too many lights on at night, and too many are the new glaring-white kind even used as front headlights on vehicles. They disturb the environment and animals, birds, beneficial and beautiful insects, and sea turtles. Their migrating patterns and much more are affected adversely. It's their planet, too! Deer have even been seen strolling down the streets of Ocean City. Because of overdevelopment, they have nowhere to go.

The municipalities of Rehoboth Beach and Fenwick Island are doing something about this problem, using an idea called the Dark Sky Initiative. Lewes is also considering this, but officials could not be reached for a comment. Milton has nothing planned as of now, but the new Granary at Draper Farm community, which was annexed into the Town of Milton, is implementing this initiative. I received a telephone call, yes a live, returned telephone call, from a very engaging lady, Rose Mary Hoy, who's the head of Fenwick Island's Dark Sky Committee. I learned many things about this wonderful movement on behalf of Fenwick Island and I applaud them! Rehoboth is also making strides with an ordinance that will add a new chapter to its municipal code concerning outdoor lighting standards.

Some points of particular interest to me are the following goals: A - Minimize direct glare and prevent excessive lighting while promoting common courtesy among neighbors. B - Reclaim views of the night sky, thereby helping to preserve Rehoboth Beach's quality of life and scenic value. C - Provide sufficient lighting to promote safety and security.

Interestingly, I once read an article on home security in the AARP bulletin that stated that too much lighting actually helped burglars find what they were after, and a trial run of lighting all over a neighborhood increased crime! Also, light directed at one's house and spilling onto another property is considered by some to be a form of trespassing. "Light trespass" means a condition in which light emitted from a luminaire on one property is directed in such a manner that the light source is visible from the other property and exceeds .5 lux when measured at the property line of the owner of the light. This definition appears in the proposed lighting ordinance that Rehoboth is considering.

At the very least, outdoor lights should be dimmed and turned downward. I remember traveling down my beloved Cave Neck Road with my father in his car in the 1950s. Back then, children could cuddle up on a ledge next to the back window of the car. Yes, I know that's a no-no for safety reasons now, but this was 1956, and the night sky was aglow with stars, and even the northern lights, which my father pointed out to me one particular evening. I was enchanted and dreamed of the "aurora borealis" and even traveled to Norway with Jeff much later with hopes of seeing the fluorescent blue-green light show. It didn't make an appearance there and then, but I'm still hoping to see this wonder some night.

Earth Day this year has passed, but I remember the first one, April 22, 1970, sitting on the campus lawn when I was a student at New Mexico Highlands University. It really means something to us "older" hippies. Speaking of "older" hippies, I was even there for the filming of the movie "Easy Rider" in 1968 on the town plaza and stood right beside Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper, who were in the early years of their careers. I guess that dates me, but at least I'm old enough to remember the wonder of midnight blue, star-studded skies and the innocent light shows of fireflies. Let the night be the night!