The cold has moderated enough so that we're probably entitled to call the "heat" wave—it's in the 40s, even after dark—a bona fide January Thaw. The hallowed and much-anticipated break in true winter weather won't last, although this relatively mild January has me wondering whether it'll ever stay frigid for long, but however many days and nights we get a reprieve, humans are not the only species taking advantage of the meteorological gift. I was curious to see who might be attracted, on such a "warm" night, to the kitchen porch lights, and I instantly noticed a large dark and very slow-moving shape on the shingles near an old thermometer. This queen Paper Wasp—only the queens live through the winter—was out of her hiding place to taste the air and, perhaps, try to snag an even-slower-moving snack or two.