Coping with Winter

I keep hoping that winter is making its final retreat back to the desolate arctic tundra where it will plan anew its assault for next year (its hard work lately, what with global warming trends to contend with). Right now it's 42˚, and tomorrow it's supposed to crack 50, but the cold onslaught of the Massachusetts winter is not yet over, and I have a feeling that I will still have to contend with a few more blizzards before the season up. I take heart in the 'plight' of the Japanese Macaque, a fellow primate not blessed with the modern conveniences of LL Bean, fleece or central heating. They are the most northerly-dwelling non-human primate in existence, but they make do just fine with the help of conveniently located hotsprings scattered throughout their homeland in northern Japan:

Some more fun facts (courtesy of Wikipedia):

• The Japanese Macaque lives in troops 20-100 individuals in size usually subdivided into matrilineal groups consisting of many females and several males. On average, females outnumber males by 3 to 1. The females have a rigid hierarchy with infants inheriting their mother's rank. The males tend to be transient within the troop.
• Research shows that "male macaque monkeys pay for sex by grooming females". Study found that "after a male grooms a female, the likelihood that she will engage in sexual activity with the male was about three times more than if the grooming had not occurred."
• Same-sex relations are frequent, rates however vary between troops. Females will form consortships characterized by affectionate, social and sexual activities. In some troops up to one quarter of the females will form such bonds, which will vary in duration from a few days to a few weeks. Often, strong and lasting friendships will result from such pairings. Males also have same-sex relations, typically with multiple partners of the same age. Affectionate and playful activities are associated with such relations.
• It is the only animal other than humans and raccoons that is known to wash its food before eating it.
• It has been found that the Japanese Macaque can develop different accents, like humans. It was found that macaques in areas separated by only a couple hundred miles can have very different pitches in their calls, their form of communication.
• It is often the subject of Buddhist myths, and is thought to be the inspiration behind the saying "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

Three Wise Monkeys:

...I think I'm in love...