Here there be fireflies.

Chattanooga is at the far western edge of the Eastern time zone. Las Cruces is near the eastern edge of the Mountain time zone. That's why it's lighter in the mornings there and lighter in the evenings here. The sun was up by 6:00 a.m. in Las Cruces, but I was starting my crew in the dark at the same time in Chattanooga. On the flip side, I was going to bed while it was still light in Chattanooga. Now, though, autumn is approaching, so it's nearly dark when I go to bed.

As such, I was delighted (no pun intended) last night when I was out late enough to see a firefly when I got home. It wasn't the first one I've seen this summer; I think the Night of No Brakes kept me up late enough to see several. I am pleased to be in a part of the country again with fireflies.

I don't care for other species of nocturnal insects as much. There is some sort of cricket that produces a high pitched, double chirp that sounds remarkably like the alarm system in my apartment. I got out of bed the other night to make sure it wasn't going to set itself off and discovered that it wasn't the alarm system at all. Then, of course, I was too awake to fall back asleep, and the chirping helped keep me awake -- and this was with the windows closed. Last night (this morning), I heard it again.

I'd lie on my desk to take a nap, but everyone manages to find me when I'm in my office. (One person likened it to "a moving target is harder to hit".)