The warm, January Thaw weather we've been enjoyed is about to undergo a reality check, but while the temperatures remain, well, temperate, I've been outside at night... just checking. Too early, to be sure, for the quacks of Wood Frogs and the bell-ringing of Spring Peepers... heck, way too early to be thinking of spring. Still, some of the hardier insects have an apparent case of spring fever. Here's a small fly I spotted on the railings of the compost heap container this evening, and even though the mercury was in the chilly, upper-30s range, the dipteran was having no trouble whatsoever moving around. Would that the insect moved around on the appropriate identification page. I don't know which taxonomic basket this invertebrate belongs in, but I'm sure to have some additional long winter nights to try to solve the mystery.