Ants

While pulling weeds from one of our flower beds, I disturbed some ants. I pulled up the root of a weed, turning over the soil, and hundreds of tiny black ants swarmed. Blake came by to watch.

So many ants covered the area where the soil had turned that it seemed the ground was moving. After a moment they dissipated slightly (where did they go?) and those remaining clustered around what looked like five grains of rice. Moving furiously, they unearthed a small hole and dragged the rice into it. With the rice underground they seemed to calm down. Most of the ants left. A half dozen hung around the hole they had made, working with bits of bark dust; I thought they were probably disguising the hole.

Apparently I disturbed an ant nest and unburied their eggs. I knew ants lived in that area -- these black ants love the ponderosa trees -- but I didn't realize they had a nest there. I was just pulling some weeds.

*

Human activity in Bend is like that. I didn't realize anyone was living there. Sorry. Sorry, cougars. Sorry, owls.

*

Last summer the city widened Skyliner Road, which runs a few hundred yards south of our house. They added bike lanes, curbs and a sidewalk. I had never seen a road rebuilt before. It was fascinating. Blake and I walked up there every few days. (Once he brought his wheelbarrow along, utterly charming the construction crew.)

One evening Blake updated his dad on the road's progress, and they decided to walk up together. It was nearly finished then; the curbs and guardrail were in place, but the drain pipes were still exposed.

As they approached the road, C. heard the quail crying. He and Blake watched two adult quail dashing back and forth on the far side, clearly in a panic. Their babies were stuck in the road. They couldn't hop the curb. C. walked over -- further panicking the parents -- and lifted them up. Then he heard more cheaping and discovered more babies inside the drain. A few of those babies were alive, just barely; C. climbed into the drain and rescued those, too. He placed them near the parents.

When they returned home, Blake was full of excitement, telling me how he and daddy had rescued baby quail.

Bug of the Month

Our master bedroom has a long window along the north side of the house which looks directly at my neighbor's garage -- so, of course, our curtain is nearly always drawn. But in the mornings Blake climbs into bed to wake me, and then I rescue Sasha (since he wakes her when he leaves their room; or, if she is already awake, she's vocal about being left behind), and then I raise the blinds to see what the day presents us.

At this time of year it's a lovely way to wake. It's nearly always sunny in the morning, damp from sprinklers. A young, ethereal vine maple which grows beside the house casts a green shadow. At the moment this vine maple has tiny, reddish flowers growing in clusters. The bees love them.

Two different species of bees hover constantly around this tree. I find it so interesting. I had to look it up. One species is clearly a bumblebee: a fat yellow and black thing with wings so tiny it's amazing it can fly. It's cute. The other species is long and thin with three distinct body sections: classic insect. It is not cute. It's not particularly notable except in contrast to the bumblee. But I looked around for awhile and I believe this is a leaf-cutter bee, which makes its home in underground holes that it lines with pieces of leaf. The leaf-cutter bee was Bug of the Month at the Pacific Northwest Native Gardening Society in August 1996.

*

Sasha has been weaning herself. Twice today she refused to nurse. Wait, wait! How do I get her back to sleep in the night if she won't nurse?