One of my favorite movies is Medicine Man. Maybe because I respect ants. Which is why it's always difficult for me to wipe out the colonies eating my house. Sometimes I weigh who I would rather lose the house to, and ants always come up as the ones who love the house as much as I do.
When we moved here my father pulled out all the Rose of Sharon (along with every other small plant). They were buggy, he said.
The Rose of Sharon came back to me. Pink, white, lilac, every combination, they line the fences and they'd grow to the sky if I let them, but I prune them in winter because I need to see if a raccoon is trying stop in for...whatever it is they do. Hummingbirds and butterflies visit to check out the flowers, and the ants who still live outside of the house--because ants are hardy bastards--stand on the petals looking awesome.
I like ants. Monty Python devoted an entire episode to them once.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
No Juju In Skyflower, Only House For Bugs.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Friday Freakiness
Okay, I forget if I've mentioned that the neighborhood, having gotten uppity about stray cats, has seen a lot more field mice lately. This is dodgy speak for we had a few mice in the house. They came for the catnip, and stayed for the dog kibble. I swear, they threw catnip all over the place one morning. Which, I guess, is why my slinky guy was so kind to the one mouse he carried out of the house and let go a few weeks back. I never knew a cat that believes in catch and release, whatta guy.
We've got these "humane" traps that tip and lock closed when a breeze blows past them, and for a while we've had no takers on the bits of muffin or cookie or cheeto or kibble we put in there, but today...today there were so many ants in the trap that it tipped closed.
Why I didn't take a picture, I don't know. You would have screamed along with me. I don't know why I scream at the sight of loads of ants in places I don't expect them, but it's one of those nasty side-effects of being a girl, I guess. It all started when I picked up a paper cup that had juice in it...no, it's too disturbing to go back to.
I can't believe that many ants can hang out and get along, really. Ants rock. Outside of my house. Far, far outside.