There is at least a foot of snow on the ground, the temperature
at nights are in the low 20s, and most of the food for wildlife
is already eaten or inaccessible. Now I know why field crickets
squeezed under my garage door a month ago, seeking shelter
within, and why a field mouse found a hole somewhere in the
foundation and came up through the walls. A squirrel or raccoon
would be in the attic right now if there was a place for one to
enter. Even the Asian ladybugs saw the cold coming and came in.
To wildlife, our homes are like caves, places with stable
temperatures and shelter from storms that make them ideal for
riding out the extremes of the weather and seasons. Few animals
actually succeed in sharing our homes. The animals are part of
our adaptation to the environment, but our nests do not work
well if we share them with too many wild creatures. So the
squirrels have gone into dormancy, curled up together in their
biggest leaf-and-stick nest or, better yet, in a tree hollow
furnished with insulating leav