Down

Last night was darn cold!  I'm not sure how low the temperature actually got, but this morning revealed indisputable evidence of the drop:  the first real frost.  Looks like my prolific beans have succumbed, as have the impatiens in my windowboxes.  I find it interesting that the ten-day forecast does not show any lows even approaching the freezing mark.  So I guess that anything that survived last night can continue to grow.

That includes me.  I survived.  My habit is to leave my bedroom door open during warmer weather so that my cat can go in and out through her cat door.  It's a concession that works for both of us.  She gets to come in for a bite to eat whenever she wants, and I get to sleep undisturbed by the meowing at the door.  But last night marked the transition period in this arrangement.  Cassie will soon have to adjust to the stay-in-all-night half of the year, and I will have to adjust to more frequent changing of the litter box.  Ugh.

Cassie was outside when I crawled into bed last night, so I had to leave the door ajar.  I settled into my bed to watch another episode of The West Wing.  (I'm only half-way through Season 3.)  I found myself creeping further and further down into the bedding as I realized how cold it was.  And there's the key word:  down.  I discovered some years ago that down pillows were the best, and now I have a hard time resting my head on anything else.  But it was only last fall that I discovered the luxury of a down comforter.  I bought a lightweight one (to fit inside a duvet), which I use in spring and fall.  (That heavy non-down winter comforter is going to be a big disappointment in a couple of months.)

I remember seeing scary memes on Facebook about what critters suffer at the hands of humans harvesting down feathers, so I did some research.  Live-plucking, as it's called, is illegal in the United States and Canada, but is tolerated in countries like China.  The percentage of down products that are a result of live-plucking ranges anywhere from 1% to 80%, so that information is rather useless.  All I can say is that I purchased my down pillows and comforter before I knew anything about live-plucking.  If I buy any additional down products, I will be sure to check the country of origin and the methods used.

In the meantime, I am in love with my down bedding.  Heck, I'm in love with anything natural that allows me to have a good night's sleep!  If snuggling under a down comforter makes me feel warm and cozy and safe, then that's love-worthy.