Back to work today after a needed break. Took the week off. Oh, time. The sort of thing that you take when you need, and look forward to until you can take again. That sounds like I already miss the pool — and I do! — but I also miss not hearing an alarm in the morning. It’s the simple things, really, that are the most demanding work. Like waking up on time.

I’m already trying to plan my next off days. And presently there’s nothing on my calendar until November. That seems like an oversight. Seems like a long time.

It’ll take a few days to catch up at work, or an hour or two. It is all in the timing. So I rode my bicycle to work, and I made a new friend by the back door. This is a green darner (Anax junius) which is the most common dragonfly in North America. And I can tell you this guy, it is a male based on the coloring, has a different way of thinking about time than we do.

Wikipedia says you can find this in Mexico, Panama, the Caribbean, Tahiti, Japan and mainland China. (Spare a moment to think of the entomologists who have to collect and process this sort of information. Someone, perhaps several someones, have made this little guy their last work.) Apparently they are sometimes found in other places, too. It is believed strong winds can send them off their natural migratory courses. (Every once in a while that entomologist breaks out, and updates, the dragonfly map. What a Wednesday that must be.)

It is also the official insect of the state of Washington.

And those eyes will follow you everywhere. (That is actually the forehead.)

The more I studied it, the more I marveled at the bioengineering at play. And then I googled the darner’s lifespan. Seems like a great waste. That’s an awful lot of work for a creature that typically lives four to seven weeks.

But aren’t we all?

Somehow, after a week away, I thought that I would miss something at the old Poplars Building. The destruction has been going on — or not, as is sometimes the case — since the beginning of August. But, from our vantage point, it looks like they haven’t done anything since the beginning of September.

Not all work is visible, though, and that’s OK, too.

The good news is we didn’t miss out on whatever is in that central bit. I’m hoping it is cream-filled, or an easily torn-down elevator shaft. Or, perhaps, filled with dragonflies.

We didn’t run the site’s most popular feature last week, so we’re sorely overdue. Without dragging this out any further, let’s check on the kitties.

This very morning, Phoebe was sitting all casual-like by the bannister.

I’m always more interested in why they sit in the random places they do, than the random hijinks they get into. What made that quiet, semi-shaded spot the place to be this morning. On the other hand, I know why Poseidon got in this bag. It is in his nature.

Hilariously flailing away at getting out of the bag is also in his nature.

And here’s the rare shot of the two of them sitting together. Sorta.

They almost looked in the same direction at the same time. Almost. That takes a lot of time, too.