Instinct

\ˈin-ˌstiŋ(k)t\
2b : behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level

All of our 4-legged fellow travelers here on Planet Earth do it. There should be no surprise that we want to too. When the days get short and the temperatures fall, the Nesting Instinct appears.

• You want to pull the covers over your head
• You don't want to go out in the morning (Morning? It's still dark!)
• When you get home at night, there is a powerful urge to settle in, with a mug of hot cocoa or a glass of wine (both? would that work?) and do quiet things

It was 22° F here in Seattle this morning. I definitely wanted to stay under the electric blanket (set to "beach", as Jane said last nite). Most specifically, I didn't want to get up at 04:00 and light the Dickenson diesel heater. But when it is this cold, the heat pump can't keep up, and needs some help to warm the boat up from the nighttime temp of 60° F to the daytime temp of 70° F.

So I got up. The cabin sole was cold. I got the heater going. And then I crawled back into the bed again, and pulled the blanket over my head.

It was a double blessing - I got to experience that satisfaction of surrendering to the Nesting Instinct twice in one nite.

And it was warm when I *really* got up at 05:15 to make Jane her eggnog latte.

Instinct