Dr. Roundbottom: Scientist & Philosopher: Faery Wintering Nests

Faery Wintering Nests

I apologize for the long absence, dear readers. Business of a fairly mundane nature called me away from the city, but I have returned. The snows have begun and I am afraid I have captured little of interest since we last spoke. Instead, I have dug into my archives and found an image that represents a phenomenon that you will find scientifically stimulating.

Like the common gray squirrel of the 1st and 2nd worlds, many species of faery will build nests of leaves and other detritus in which to pass the time of the colder months, waiting for the world to grow warm again. Most faery species have no tolerance at all for the cold. It is my personal theory that the climate of the City Park has changed recently on a geologically recent time scale. We have evidence of the beginnings of many cold weather adaptations in the species I study, but most simply hibernate, which I suspect is a relatively easy trait selected for in cold-intolerant species.

The above photonic capture is a typical wintering nest, found in the shrubs near a small brook that bisects the eastern side of the Park. The bare limbs of trees and plants expose these nests everywhere, and they are a quite common site. I often wonder if owls or hawks, or even the mink sometimes seen near the banks of the stream make meals of the hibernating faeries. I have dissected a number of nests. The faeries within the nests will die when exposed to the cold, but if one brings a nest indoors and subjects to them to warming, the faery will, within 24 to 48 hours, leave torpor and behave as if the spring has arrived.

The hibernation instinct seems to be brought on specifically by cold weather, and not any other external factor. In controlled experiments, I can send faeries into and out of the hibernation state with this one external factor. The shortening days seem to have no relation to their behavior, oddly enough. In this manner, I am able to keep specimens alive in captivity throughout the year, provided I keep the heat up in my laboratory. Should the heating units malfunction, as once happened last year, the faeries will die if not provided with suitable nesting material. Since then, I have always made sure to line my cages with leaves and twigs so that my study subjects will not expire due to a faulty thermometer once again.

A Note Regarding Membership, Prints, and Members-Only Missives

And now, on to the unsavory matter of finance. Miss Watkins would like me to point out that our membership kits have been reduced in price for the holiday season, and the single limited edition prints have been cut in price by nearly half! I am informed to remind you that shipping to your world is at no cost to you–I have no idea how we manage to make a cent for the Foundation with inter-world shipping costs as they are, and I must say I objected to these discounts, but Miss Watkins assures me that it will entice you to purchase seasonal gifts for both yourself and your loved ones and further enrollment in the membership of the Foundation can only be considered a good–nay–wonderful thing.

Additionally, the password sent out to some members had an errant space between the two words. To enter the members-only area, you need to remove the space. This error has been corrected in future membership letters. If you have difficulty, please contact member support via the Informatitron.

Lastly, the members-only area has been updated with new content regarding the missive on the Deadly Mr. Whiskers. As members, you are welcome to request additional information or background research via the Informatitron. Your input on such matters is highly valued as always.

I am told by Master Periat that he is nearly finished repairing the acoustic recorder, so you should have more Field Sounds editions to listen to soon. I do hope so. Miss Watkins has been badgering me about it incessantly. I do believe she enjoys talking to you each fortnight.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

A Scholarly Discussion

Puk Tasmen

December 25th, 2008 at
5:37 am

It has been far too long since I have heard the melodious voice of our dear Miss Watkins. I hope all is well.

Professor Codwillip F.D

May 3rd, 2009 at
5:35 pm

Doctor, It has been almost five months since your last dispatch. I hope all is well. Here in the country we have heard rumors of trouble in the City following a harsh winter. My cousin who recently visited the Southbrough library, which is on the outskirts of the City, told me that the fog-bank of steam surrounding the City was denser and blacker than in years past. He heard rumors of labour disputes between the steam rats and the Bureau of Gears, which has led to rationing of steam power. IF so perhaps your Aetheric Clockwork Informatitron is no longer connecting to the Aetheric web.

Miss Emily Watkins

May 3rd, 2009 at
7:57 pm

ear Professor,

It is with heavy heart that I report upon the disappearance of Dr. Roundbottom. He recently departed on an expedition and never returned!

I would have posted news much earlier, but I have been busy securing the funds for an expedition to seek his wearabouts. I will share more information about my expedition and the organization funding it soon. Thank you for your concern.

Yours,
Miss Watkins

Mid-Week Mash Up « The Casual Art of Procrastination

December 2nd, 2009 at
5:04 pm

[...] Ever wondered where faeries sleep in the Winter? Now you [...]

Dr. William Hollow

July 6th, 2010 at
6:07 pm

Dear Miss Watkins,

I am saddened to say that I stumbled upon the professor’s and your research just recently and quickly became enamored by both of your work.

I say saddened because it has been so very long since an update has been added to the infomatatron on the whereabouts of the dear professor and yourself! Have you secured funds and equipment to find the erstwhile professor? If not I would gladly lend whatever aid I can to the matter. Granted I am no naturalist, and am a doctor of steam mechanics specializing in automatons, but I am sure I can be of help in finding the professor . Research such as his has rocked the very core of our understandings of the world of the fae, and I for one would not see it end.

Yours truly,

Doctor William Hollow, esq.

Mi-- Em--y --tkin-

July 6th, 2010 at
6:19 pm

Doct–

T——ds- —-d–re—d a-d inte–imension-l c–nctivit- fail-re. —s-d ——-d —-d—a —-v—s- —ha–aj – — ask— –.

S–n-ere-y,

Mis– -m-ly —-ins

Dr. William Hollow

July 8th, 2010 at
12:11 pm

Dear Miss Watkins,

Good Lord… About all I was able to make out of your last missive was “Inter dimensional Connectivity Failure” and part of your signature. Obviously things are quite amiss and I am astonished that you received my previous message at all given the circumstances.

Chivalry demands that I do not leave such august researchers as you and the professor in potentially dire straights, stranded… well Lords above knows where.

If I can locate your rough position and find, what I will assume to be the breach between dimensions, I will begin immediately to try and stabilize the connection to further communication. In the meantime I have three of my Steam-men out scouring the city for areas of high energy disruptions. If you should spot one and can flag it down, it may be of some use to you and the professor.

My Steam-men are easily identified, as they are not humanoid in appearance due to their jobs being mainly functional rather than in the realms of human interaction. Each will have a brass nameplate welded upon them with the Greek symbols Delta, Epsilon, and Gamma respectively.

I hope either they or I can find and lend aid to you and the professor in your time of need.

Sincerely,

Doctor William Hollow, esq.