Scratching it isn't; interesting it is

A colony of wasps built a nest under one of our eaves. It is relatively close to the ground, and I have been watching them for weeks. Until recently, the wasps were busy gathering food and materials and capping and tending to cells that contained recently laid eggs or building new cells. Over the past several weeks, however, those activities have stopped and now the wasps rarely fly or do anything other than cling to the nest. They aren't visible in the early morning and only appear when the sun's rays reach the paper structure they so laboriously--mouthful after mouthful of masticated wood fibers--created. My guess is that as the evening comes on the night before they climb to the top of the nest, getting as much out of the elements as they can, and huddle together for warmth. Although temperatures here in Wisconsin have been unusually warm this fall, it can't last much longer and soon the air will drop below freezing. These wasps don't know it but they're days, like those of all creatures I suppose, humans included, are not endless. They appear to be waiting for something but it's hard to imagine they have any idea what.