Did you know . . .

. . . it may be possible to project hopelessness into an ant colony??!!! I don't know. I have no other explanation for our hard working, little ants odd behavior. A few posts ago, I told you that Harvester ants are fascinating creatures for children and adults to observe. Well, it only took me two days to realize that they actually drive me batty. I mean really, these poor little things digging, digging, digging . . . and for what? To get where? To just dig and dig and then die? I couldn't stand it. After declaring (more than a few times) what a sad existence these little guys have, I started to notice over the course of the week they were slowing down. They started congregating all together at the bottom of the ant hill in their biggest tunnel. Hopelessness had set in. They had two little guys posted at the top waiting to give the signal if the lid came open and there was chance of escape. And when I cracked the lid, you should've seen the commotion! They certainly weren't dead, they were trapped and they knew it! (That's my take on it.)

Finally, I couldn't take it. I asked the kids if we could let them go free. The novelty of the ants had worn off and this was a new exciting thing to observe. They were on board! We took them out in the dirt, opened the lid, and stood back to watch them scurry to freedom with great vigor. I'm certain I saw some of them sprinting. One even looked back and thanked me, even though there were over 25 of them.

I'm incredibly thankful I've been released from my prison cell of hopeless digging, digging, digging. Sure feels great to be FREE!


(Now someone is going to tell me it's illegal to let Harvester ants go free in California, right?! I should've checked into that BEFORE I let them go!)