Let The Red Ants Win

If anyone has had experience with red fire ants, you know that they are very aggressive and have a nasty sting. I lured this ant away from the hill, but as soon as I got down on my knees to photograph him charging me, I could see hundreds of ants right behind him running full speed toward me. 

I got the ant up on a stick, held him close to the camera and told him to smile. I'm surprised I got him to come out as clearly as he did. I had him moving around on the stick in one hand and the camera with a macro lens, with no stabilization in the lens or camera, in the other hand. The ant was not happy, and as long as I held the camera close he tried to go for it. If I backed off the camera, he'd go for my hand. He never held still for a moment!

We got a little yard work done this afternoon. I got a new chain for the 8" chain saw, and some new pruning shears and pruning saw. Of course we had to try everything out. I still have sawdust and wood chips all over me from pruning the butterfly bushes with the chainsaw. When I first turned on the chainsaw after putting the new chain on it, Rosencratz jumped straight up in the air and took of the other direction while air-borne like a cartoon kitty. I about sawed my leg off laughing.

The weather was really nice tonight, so we ate dinner out on the deck. Laurie made really good salads with a freshly made French dressing. Bulbs are sprouting up all over getting ready to bloom. Spring has sprung!

The neighbor's grey and white striped kitty has been hanging around and he a Rosencrantz just had a spat through the screen. Luckly, they didn't tear the screen, but I probably better put some wire grating over the bay windows to keep them from ripping up the screens.

According to Laurie's sister, "Let the red ants win!" is a cliche . I had never heard it before she told us it was a cliche, but I guess it is now.