winged thingies

I was sitting peacefully at my work table after lunch (deadline-writing; admin; the usual) in the suddenly warm sunshine, when something horrific started to happen.  Out of the cracks round one of my windows, winged thingies started to swarm out - not one; not three, but battalions.  I fear they are termites: they emerged once before, in the same kind of massed and aggressive way, three years ago, but this time their appearance was both sudden and - well, invasive in the extreme.  I was bashing at them so fast that it was like a game of whack-a-mole on speed.  Eventually I did a rush to the kitchen for some immediate repellent in the form of peppermint essence and cinnamon (my study now smells rather strong); taped up all the cracks, and then found the organically-sound termite murdering spray that I ordered on that earlier occasion, and the repellent (which looks just like cat litter), and attacked the few that still managed to squeeze their way in.  Then I poured a kettle of boiling water onto the ground outside the window.  That all, touch wood (maybe wood isn't the best thing to be touching?) seems to have taken care of it for now (and no, I'm aware that this doesn't get to the real root of the problem, wherever that may be).

And then I saw that there were more insects, flying around in the yard - these ones had immolated (I think one can use that verb, even if no flame is involved?) themselves by drowning in a bird bath, and look positively pretty.