The Hazards of Early Thawing

I admit to loving the feeling of warmth and comfort from being inside on gray winter days, snuggled in my soft flannel pajamas. I won't admit how often I am found in that state of dress. Or undress.

Just recently discovered, by the ever watchful Mabel, are new inhabitants who also desire warmth, and spring forth from being inside, safe and thawed, during the cold temperatures of winter.

Bugs.

Yes. A certain piece of my Christmas décor, an old beat-up miniature wine barrel which was a part of the Christmas tree I won from the Festival of Lights raffle, is the culprit. Actually, not the wine barrel. The wood logs that lie therein.

Picture this. Frozen chunks of wood, stored in an outside woodshed. In the midst of below freezing temperatures, a woman pulls out attractive pieces, has them cut to size, and plops them into a wooden vessel. AND displays said vessel in a nice, cozy, warm house.

No rain, snow, sleet, or sub-freezing climate inside this new abode.

Wait a month or so. And notice.

Why are the gray kitties suddenly making much ado over the wine barrel? What is so interesting amidst the sticks of wood and strings of white lights? Why does Mabel spend her time perched carefully on top of the logs?

Bugs.

Oh, yes. Hatching. My guess is it took about a week for the eggs to thaw out. Then about another three to four weeks for them to hatch. Now they are slowly migrating out into the light of our kitchen floor. And who waits for them?

Mabel, the bug killer and Monet, the sometimes assistant.

I guess humans are not the only ones who enjoy warm and cozy.